Les rhumatismes inflammatoires chroniques (RIC) de l'enfant : à propos de cinq cas suivis dans le service de rhumatologie de CHU de Brazzaville

Introduction : En Afrique Sub-saharienne, les rhumatismes inflammatoires chroniques sont des affections peu rapportées chez l'enfant. Objectif : Contribuer à la connaissance des rhumatismes inflammatoires chroniques chez l'enfant Patients et Méthodes : Le service de Rhumatologie du CHU de Brazzaville a mis en place depuis janvier 2012, une consultation spécialisée des maladies auto immunes et des systèmes. La filière active compte 90 patients. De celle-ci sont extraits cinq dossiers de patients âgés de moins de 18 ans. Leurs données épidémiologiques, cliniques, para cliniques et évolutifs ont été colligés pour en faire ressortir les particularités éventuelles. Résultats : Il s'agissait de 3 filles et 2 garçons âgés de 8 ans à 16 ans suivis depuis 38 mois en moyenne (extrême de 33 à 42 mois). La douleur articulaire était le principal motif de consultation. Elle intéressait principalement les grosses et petites articulations des membres, d'horaire inflammatoire. Il existait une altération de l'état général dans 3 cas. Les signes de synovites étaient présents à l'examen physique. Il existait un syndrome inflammatoire biologique dans trois cas. Le bilan auto immun (FR, Ac anticcp, AAN, Ac anti DNA, ANCA) a été réalisé chez quatre patients. Les diagnostics retenus étaient l'arthrite juvénile idiopathique dans deux cas, sclérodermie systémique, connectivite mixte et la maladie de Still et dans 1 cas chacun. Tous ont bénéficié d'une corticothérapie et d'un traitement de fond. Trois enfants sont en rémission, deux autres sont contrôlés. Un seul cas d'intolérance a été observé (rash cutané sous plaquenil). Conclusion : Affection peu fréquente. Le diagnostic repose sur une démarche clinico-biologique et une approche pluridisciplinaire, gage d'un traitement efficace et bien toléré

Syphilis and HIV infections among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Republic of Congo.

INTRODUCTION: HIV and syphilis during pregnancy remain a public health concern especially in developing countries. Pregnant women attending antenatal clinics sites for the first time between September and December 2011 and who accepted to participate in the study were enrolled. The objective was to estimate the syphilis and HIV infection rate in this population. METHODS: A study was conducted in 44 selected ANCs from 12 departments (5 urban and 7 rural). Pregnant women who accepted to participate in the study, attending selected sentinel ANCs sites for the first time between September and December 2011 were enrolled. To detect HIV antibodies, two consecutive ELISA assays were used (Genscreen Ultra HIV Ag/Ac, (BioRad, France) and Enzygnostic Intergral II (Siemens, GMBH, Marbug-Germany). In case of discordant results, the Western blot test II, HIV1 and 2 (Bio-Rad, Marne la Coquette, France) was used as the reference method. The RPR (Bio-Scan, Karnataka, India) test was performed to detect syphilis infection. The RPR positive results were confirmed using the TPHA test (Biotech, Cambridge, UK). Data were analyzed using SPSS 17.0 software. RESULTS: A total of 2979 pregnant women attending ANCs were enrolled. The global HIV infection rate was estimated to be 3.6% (CI: 95%; 3.0-4.4). As expected, HIV prevalence was significantly higher in women aged above 25 years (4.4% (3.4-5.6), p = 0.026) and those attending urban ANCs (5.04%, p < 0.01). Also, women living in the urban area are more at risk to be infected (5.04 VS 2.38, p < 0.01). The RPR test was positive in 117 pregnant women (3.92%). The risk for syphilis occurrence was significantly higher among the single women compared to the married ones (4.4% VS 2.7%; p < 0.01). It was also estimated that the HIV and syphilis coinfection occurred in 22 cases (0.73%). CONCLUSION: The prevalence's of syphilis and HIV were relatively low. Marital status and sentinel site location were a risk factor associated with HIV and syphilis infections respectively. Therefore, substantial effort is needed to reinforce prevention strategies in this population to prevent mother-to-child and further horizontal transmissions of these infections.

HIV-1 genetic diversity and primary drug resistance mutations before large-scale access to antiretroviral therapy, Republic of Congo.

BACKGROUND: In this work, we investigated the genetic diversity of HIV-1 and the presence of mutations conferring antiretroviral drug resistance in 50 drug-naïve infected persons in the Republic of Congo (RoC). Samples were obtained before large-scale access to HAART in 2002 and 2004. METHODS: To assess the HIV-1 genetic recombination, the sequencing of the pol gene encoding a protease and partial reverse transcriptase was performed and analyzed with updated references, including newly characterized CRFs. The assessment of drug resistance was conducted according to the WHO protocol. RESULTS: Among the 50 samples analyzed for the pol gene, 50% were classified as intersubtype recombinants, charring complex structures inside the pol fragment. Five samples could not be classified (noted U). The most prevalent subtypes were G with 10 isolates and D with 11 isolates. One isolate of A, J, H, CRF05, CRF18 and CRF37 were also found. Two samples (4%) harboring the mutations M230L and Y181C associated with the TAMs M41L and T215Y, respectively, were found. CONCLUSION: This first study in the RoC, based on WHO classification, shows that the threshold of transmitted drug resistance before large-scale access to antiretroviral therapy is 4%.