Molecular characterization of high-risk humanpapillomavirus genotypes in women with or without cervical lesions at VIA/VILI in Kara, Togo

Background: Persistent infection with high-risk (HR) papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes plays a central role in the pathogenesis of invasive cervical cancer. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and distribution of HR-HPV among women with or without cervical lesions at VIA/VILI in Togo. Methods: Cervical samples were collected from 238 women with or without cervical lesions at VIA / VILI and[c3] DNA [c4]was extracted and analyzed by real-time multiplex PCR. Logistic regression analysis was used to determined risk factors associated with HPV infection. inPietro Annigoni Biomolecular Research Center (CERBA / LABIOGENE) in Burkina Faso. Results: The age of the women ranged from 17 to 61 years old, and most were married (73.5%). The prevalence of HRHPV was 35.71% and this was higher in the age range 35-39 years. The six most common genotypes were HPV 31 (18.7%), HPV 52 (13.82%), HPV 68 (13.01%), HPV 66 (9.76%), HPV 58 (8.13%) and HPV 56 (8.13%). Genotypes HPV 18 (4.07%)and HPV 16 (0.81%) were less frequent.[c5] Married or living with a partner was associated with HPV infection ( OR=2,17, IC [1.20-3.91], p<0,009). Conclusion: This study allowed characterizing for the first time in Togo, HR-HPV genotypes. This will help mappingHR-HPV genotypes circulating in West Africa. Keywords: Human papillomavirus; High-risk; Genotyping; Kara; Togo

Neonatal Azithromycin Exposure and Childhood Growth: Long-Term Follow-Up of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Single-dose azithromycin is being considered by the WHO as an intervention for prevention of child mortality. However, concerns have emerged related to longer term unintended consequences of early life antibiotic use, particularly among infants. We conducted a long-term follow-up in a random sample of children who had been enrolled in a trial of neonatal azithromycin versus placebo for prevention of mortality to assess whether neonatal azithromycin exposure led to differences in child growth up to 4 years of age. We found no evidence of a difference in any anthropometric outcome among children who had received a single oral dose of azithromycin compared with placebo during the neonatal period. These results do not support long-term growth-promoting or deleterious effects of early life azithromycin exposure

Monitoring the elimination of gambiense human African trypanosomiasis in the historical focus of Batié, South-West Burkina Faso

The World Health Organisation has targeted the elimination of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) as zero transmission by 2030. Continued surveillance needs to be in place for early detection of re-emergent cases. In this context, the performance of diagnostic tests and testing algorithms for detection of the re-emergence of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense HAT remains to be assessed. We carried out a door-to-door active medical survey for HAT in the historical focus of Batié, South-West Burkina Faso. Screening was done using three rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). Two laboratory tests (ELISA/T. b. gambiense and immune trypanolysis) and parasitological examination were performed on RDT positives only. In total, 5883 participants were screened, among which 842 (14%) tested positive in at least one RDT. Blood from 519 RDT positives was examined microscopically but no trypanosomes were observed. The HAT Sero-K-Set test showed the lowest specificity of 89%, while the specificities of SD Bioline HAT and rHAT Sero-Strip were 92% and 99%, respectively. The specificity of ELISA/T. b. gambiense and trypanolysis was 99% (98-99%) and 100% (99-100%), respectively. Our results suggest that T. b. gambiense is no longer circulating in the study area and that zero transmission has probably been attained. While a least cost analysis is still required, our study showed that RDT preselection followed by trypanolysis may be a useful strategy for post-elimination surveillance in Burkina Faso.</p

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Les sanctions alternatives et complémentaires aux peines classiques en droit de l'environnement : étude comparative (France et Burkina Faso)

Damage to the environment constitutes a new type of criminality to which conventional criminal penalties are not always well-suited. For this reason, the legal Systems in France and Burkina Faso have developed several alternative and complementary sanctions in addition to conventional penalties. Some of these sanctions are imposed by the judge in criminal law proceedings. Examples of such approaches include positive obligations to undertake certain actions, such as restoration and work in the public interest : these penalties are clearly useful for environmental protection but are not yet widely applied. Other alternative and complementary sanctions are just as useful : measures such as the loss or restriction of certain rights, advertising measures and confiscation are often imposed in order better to adapt criminal sanctions to the environmental field. The administration also has important powers to impose environmental sanctions, not only through mechanisms for seulement or compromise but also by the occasional imposition of penalties in rem on the offender. However, this can raise problems of cumulative penalties which conflicts with the principle of proportionality in penalty-setting.Les atteintes à l'environnement constituent une nouvelle forme de délinquance à laquelle les sanctions pénales classiques ne sont pas toujours adaptées. C'est ainsi qu'en la matière, les systèmes législatifs français et burkinabé ont multiplié les sanctions alternatives et complémentaires aux peines traditionnelles. Certaines de ces sanctions sont prononcées par le juge judiciaire statuant en matière pénale. L'on note à ce titre des sanctions se traduisant par une obligation de faire telles que la remise en état, le travail d'intérêt général, peines se révélant être d'une utilité certaine en matière de protection de l'environnement, mais dont l'application n'est pas encore très généralisée. Mais d'autres sanctions alternatives et complémentaires, non moins utiles, telles que les privations ou restrictions de droits, les mesures de publicité, les confiscations, sont souvent prononcées, pour une meilleure adaptation de la répression au domaine de l'environnement. L'administration dispose également d'un important pouvoir de sanction en matière d'environnement, non seulement à travers le mécanisme de la transaction, mais aussi en infligeant parfois des sanctions à caractère réel au délinquant. Se pose alors le problème du cumul des sanctions qui se heurte au principe de la proportionnalité des peines.Ouedraogo Clarisse. Les sanctions alternatives et complémentaires aux peines classiques en droit de l'environnement : étude comparative (France et Burkina Faso). In: Revue Juridique de l'Environnement, n°4, 2000. pp. 533-553

Bioactive Natural Product and Superacid Chemistry for Lead Compound Identification: A Case Study of Selective hCA III and L-Type Ca2+ Current Inhibitors for Hypotensive Agent Discovery

International audienc

Phéochromocytome et paragangliome: rôle du scanner multi-barrette (Burkina Faso)

Le phéochromocytome est une tumeur endocrine rare sécrétant des catécholamines, responsables de complications cardiovasculaires redoutables. L’imagerie notamment le scanner joue un rôle important dans sa prise en charge [1,2]. Il s’est agi de 4 cas colligés en 12 ans. Tous les patients ont bénéficié d’un scanner abdomino-pelvien avec injection intraveineuse de produit de contraste iodé (PDCI). Le diagnostic était confirmé par l’histologie. Il s’agissait de 2 femmes et de 2 hommes d’un âge moyen de 42 ans. Les signes cliniques étaient l’hypertension artérielle (4 cas) et les douleurs abdominales (3 cas). Le dosage des métanephrines a été réalisé dans 1 cas. Le scanner montrait une masse surrénalienne dans 3 cas dont un cas de bilatéralité, une localisation extra surrénalienne dans 1 cas, latéro-aortique gauche. Dans tous les cas, la masse était bien limitée hétérogène à centre nécrotique de taille comprise entre 4 et 9 cm. Le scanner est l’imagerie de choix dans notre contexte. Il précise le nombre, le siège et les rapports de la tumeur. Il fait habituellement suite au diagnostic clinico-biologique.Mots-clés: Phéochromocytome, paragangliomes, scanner abdominalEnglish Title: Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma: role of multi-slice CT (Burkina Faso)English AbstractPheochromocytoma is a rare endocrine tumor secreting catecholamines, responsible for formidable cardiovascular complications. Imaging, in particular CT, plays an important role in its management 1,2]. These were 4 cases in 12 years. All patients underwent abdominal-pelvic CT with inject of intravenous iodinated contrast. The diagnosis was confirmed by histology. There were 2 women and 2 men with an average age of 42 years. The clinical signs were arterial hypertension (4 cases) and abdominal pain (3 cases). The metanephrine assay was performed in 1 case. The CT scan showed an adrenal mass in 3 cases, one case of bilaterality, an extra adrenal localization in 1 case, left lateral aortic. In all cases, the mass was well limited heterogeneous necrotic center size between 4 and 9 cm. CT is the imaging of choice in our context. It specifies the number, the seat and the reports of the tumor. It usually follows the clinical-biological diagnosis.Keywords: Pheochromocytoma, paragangliomas, abdominal CT sca

The hypotensive agent dodoneine inhibits L-type Ca2+ current with negative inotropic effect on rat heart.

International audienceAgelanthus dodoneifolius is one of the medicinal plants used in African pharmacopeia and traditional medicine for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. A chemical analysis has identified one of the active principles: Dodoneine (Ddn). It is a new dihydropyranone which exerts hypotensive and vasorelaxant effects on rat. Since the mechanism of the hypotensive effect is unknown, we performed a variety of preclinical and mechanistic studies to characterize the specific cardiac effect of Ddn at tissue (ex-vivo) and cellular levels (in-vitro) in order to determine a molecular target. Ddn effects were evaluated in an isolated rat heart preparation using Langendorff retrograde perfusion and then, the effects of Ddn were characterized in freshly dissociated cardiac ventricular myocytes using the whole-cell patch-clamp configuration. Ex-vivo, Ddn produced a dose-dependent negative inotropic effect with an IC50 value of 10 µM without changed heart rate. 100 µM Ddn decreased left ventricular developed pressure of about 40%. In isolated cardiac myocytes, Ddn reduced I(Ca),L density of about 30% with an IC50 value estimated at 3 µM. Ddn did not change current-voltage relation but it shifted the inactivation curve toward negative potentials and modified the half inactivation potentials. Furthermore, Ddn induced a phasic-dependent blocking on ICa,L. This study demonstrates that the hypotensive property of dodoneine is likely associated with a negative inotropic effect and the blockade of the L-type calcium channels

Vasorelaxation induced by dodoneine is mediated by calcium channels blockade and carbonic anhydrase inhibition on vascular smooth muscle cells.

publicationInternational audienceDodoneine (Ddn) is one of the active compounds identified from Agelanthus dodoneifolius (DC.) Polhill and Wiens, a medicinal plant used in traditional medicine for the treatment of hypertension. This dihydropyranone exerts hypotensive and vasorelaxant effects on rats, and two molecular targets have been characterized: the carbonic anhydrase and the L-type calcium channel in cardiomyocytes with biochemical and electrophysiological techniques, respectively. To further evaluate the involvement of these two molecular targets in vasorelaxation, the effect of Ddn on rat vascular smooth muscle was investigated. The effects of Ddn on L-type calcium current and on resting membrane potential were characterized in A7r5 cell line using the whole-cell patch-clamp configuration. The molecular identities of carbonic anhydrase isozymes in smooth muscle cells were examined with RT-PCR. Vascular response was measured on rat aortic rings in an organ bath apparatus and the effect of Ddn on intracellular pH was determined by flow cytometry using the pH-sensitive fluorescent probe BCECF-AM [2,7-Bis-(2-Carboxyethyl)-5-(and-6)-Carboxyfluorescein, Acetoxymethyl Ester]. 100µM Ddn reduced calcium current density of about 30%. In addition, carbonic anhydrase II, III, XIII and XIV were shown to be expressed in rat aorta and inhibited in smooth muscle cells by Ddn. This inhibition resulted in a rise in pHi of about 0.31, leading to KCa channel activation, thereby inducing membrane hyperpolarization and vasorelaxation. The results of vascular reactivity experiments obtained with pharmacological tools acting on the L-type calcium current and carbonic anhydrase suggest that Ddn produces its vasorelaxant effect via the inhibition of these two molecular targets. This study demonstrates that Ddn induced vasorelaxation by targeting two proteins involved in the modulation of excitation-contraction coupling: L-type calcium channels and carbonic anhydrase