Assessment of schistosomiasis and intestinal helminths following mass drug administration in the Centre and Plateau Central regions of Burkina Faso

Schistosomiasis is the most important waterborne disease in Sub-Saharan Africa. Transmission is governed by the spatial distribution of specific freshwater snails that act as intermediate hosts and human water contact patterns. In developing countries, such as Burkina Faso it remains a serious health problem, which management face important gaps. The main of theses gaps is the lack of reliable information about prevalence. Then, this study has been undertaken in order to determine the prevalence of schistosomiasis in the Centre and Plateau Central regions in Burkina Faso. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Plateau Central and Centre regions of Burkina Faso to assess the status of schistosomiasis and intestinal worms among school age children. 1,455 school-age children were selected to participate to the study. Results shows that prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium in the Plateau Central and Centre regions were 4% and 0.6% respectively, with an overall prevalence of 2.3% (95% CI: 1.5% - 3.1%) in two regions. The following intestinal parasites were found in stools with various prevalence: Schistosoma mansoni 0.1% (95% CI: 0% - 0.3%) and Ancylostoma duodenale 0.1% (95% CI: 0% - 0.2%). The prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis in the Centre and Plateau Central regions had been greatly reduced from the previous level in the published data since the large-scale population treatment initiated in 2004. The study confirmed the success in controlling the disease by preventive chemotherapy. However, the progress toward its elimination requires that the implementation of a monitoring and evaluation system focused on sentinel sites, and aiming at quantifying the impact of treatment, be gradually coupled with a monitoring system to identify any outbreak of residual transmission.© 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reservedKeywords: Schistosoma soil-transmitted helminths, mass drug administration, Burkina Fas

Évaluation des pratiques agricoles des légumes feuilles : le cas des utilisations des pesticides et des intrants chimiques sur les sites maraîchers de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Objectif : La présente étude vise à évaluer les pratiques phytosanitaires des maraîchers et à fournir une meilleure connaissance des risques liés aux pratiques de maraîchage, notamment l’utilisation des pesticides et intrants chimiques à Ouagadougou au Burkina Faso.Méthodologie et résultats : Des enquêtes ont été réalisées du 10 mars au 08 Avril et du 18 Juillet au 06 Août 2016 auprès de 200 producteurs dans les sites de Tanghin et de Boulmiougou où se pratique une forte activité de production maraîchère. Les observations ont révélées une utilisation des pesticides non autorisés souvent destinés spécialement à d’autres cultures. L’étude a révélé une imprécision manifeste de concentration des insecticides avec une moyenne du nombre d’épandage de 9,5. En outre, 77,88% des maraîchers ont appliqué les insecticides de Profenofos sur Ipomaea batatas (Patate douce), Lambda Cyhalothrine sur Amaranthus hybridu (Amarante), Le Manèbe sur Cleome gynandra (Gynandro)et l’emanectin benzoate sur Hibiscus sabdariffa (Oseille) respectivement dans 67%, 55,5%, et 8,66% des cas d’utilisation détournée. Les résultats révèlent que la plupart des producteurs (96 % à Tanghin et 87 % à Boulmiougou) n’observent aucune mesure de protection lors des traitements phytosanitaires des cultures. En effet, 65 % des pesticides utilisés sont classés selon l’échelle de toxicité de l’OMS et 67,5 % de ses sont destinés au traitement du coton et non à des cultures maraichères.Conclusion et application : La gestion et l’utilisation très peu rigoureuses des pesticides constatés dans ces sites pourraient constituer une menace pour le maintien de la biodiversité et de la productivité des écosystèmes naturels et de la santé des producteurs et des consommateurs. Face à ce constat, le défi de la recherche serait la détermination du niveau actuel de contamination des légumes feuilles et des eaux du barrage et celui de l’État serait l’initiation de programmes de sensibilisation des producteurs par rapport à une gestion plus rigoureuse des pesticides.Mots-clés : pratiques paysannes, cultures maraîchères, pesticides, risques, Burkina Fas

Health and economic burden estimates of snakebite management upon health facilities in three regions of southern Burkina Faso

Background Snakebite has become better recognized as a significant cause of death and disability in Sub-Saharan Africa, but the health economic consequences to victims and health infrastructures serving them remain poorly understood. This information gap is important as it provides an evidence-base guiding national and international health policy decision making on the most cost-effective interventions to better manage snakebite. Here, we assessed hospital-based data to estimate the health economic burden of snakebite in three regions of Burkina Faso (Centre-Ouest, Hauts Bassins and Sud-Ouest). Methodology Primary data of snakebite victims admitted to regional and district health facilities (eg, number of admissions, mortality, hospital bed days occupied) was collected in three regions over 17 months in 2013/14. The health burden of snakebite was assessed using Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) calculations based upon hospitalisation, mortality and disability data from admitted patients amongst other inputs from secondary sources (eg, populations, life-expectancy and age-weighting constants). An activity-based costing approach to determine the direct cost of snake envenoming included unit costs of clinical staff wages, antivenom, supportive care and equipment extracted from context-relevant literature. Findings The 10,165 snakebite victims admitted to hospital occupied 28,164 hospital bed days over 17 months. The annual rate of hospitalisation and mortality of admitted snakebite victims was 173 and 1.39/100,000 population, respectively. The estimated annual (i) DALYs lost was 2,153 (0.52/1,000) and (ii) cost to hospitals was USD 506,413 (USD 49/hospitalisation) in these three regions of Burkina Faso. These costs appeared to be influenced by the number of patients receiving antivenom (10.90% in total) in each area (highest in Sud-Ouest) and the type of health facility. Conclusion The economic burden of snake envenoming is primarily shouldered by the rural health centres closest to snakebite victims–facilities that are typically least well equipped or resourced to manage this burden. Our study highlights the need for more research in other regions/ countries to demonstrate the burden of snakebite and the socioeconomic benefits of its management. This evidence can guide the most cost-effective intervention from government and development partners to meet the snakebite-management needs of rural communities and their health centres

Onchocerciasis prevalence, human migration and risks for onchocerciasis elimination in the Upper Mouhoun, Nakambé and Nazinon river basins in Burkina Faso.

Historically, the whole of Burkina Faso was considered to be endemic for onchocerciasis (except a small area in the far north of the country) with prevalence rates 60-80%, but all endemic areas were included in the World Health Organisation Onchocerciasis Control Programme, which operated a system of vector control by larviciding beginning in 1974. In Burkina Faso larviciding had been phased out by 1989 when it was considered that onchocerciasis had been reduced to levels below the transmission breakpoint (and any residual infections would disappear without further intervention). There was never any mass drug administration against onchocerciasis in Burkina Faso, except in the Bougouriba and Comoé river basins (from 1996 and 2011 to present respectively) because in each of these two areas there was a resurgence of infection, and in parts of the Nakambé River basin and Sissili River basin from 1992 to 1998. However, mass drug administration with ivermectin was also phased in across the whole country starting in 2000 using ivermectin against lymphatic filariasis and is currently being phased out (depending upon the epidemiological parameters). In this publication we report a new epidemiological survey for onchocerciasis which was carried out in 2014 in the Upper Mouhoun, Nakambé and Nazinon river basins in Burkina Faso to evaluate the prevalence and intensity of infection of onchocerciasis. A total of 11,195 people from 61 villages were examined across these three river basins, and onchocerciasis prevalence by skin-snip was below 5% in all villages, below 1% in 57 villages (93% of 61 villages) and zero in 47. In the 14 villages with positive skin snips, prevalence figures ranged from 0.31% to 3.50%. During the survey 31 infected individuals were found. All of them were Burkinabé, of whom 30 had a recent history of residence in Côte d'Ivoire (with a range of 0.5 to 73 microfilariae per skin-snip from two snips per person) and only one had no history of migration and presumably had an autochthonous infection (mean of 0.5 microfilariae per skin snip from two snips). According to parasitological indicators listed by the World Health Organization African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control in 2010, the situation for onchocerciasis was considered to be satisfactory in all three river basins and probably below the transmission threshold, in which case the disease should disappear naturally without the need for further intervention in the absence of continuing immigration. However, the results clearly indicate that infected persons coming from endemic zones of Côte d'Ivoire are settling in small communities which are otherwise nearly free from onchocerciasis in Burkina Faso. They are thus a source of continuing re-introduction of the parasite into the basins and could be a risk for the achievement of onchocerciasis elimination in all three basins. This would justify the continuation of periodic epidemiological surveys to monitor the possible recrudescence of the disease, and entomological (vector) surveys should be undertaken to assess and monitor the residual transmission

The global burden of trichiasis in 2016.

BACKGROUND: Trichiasis is present when one or more eyelashes touches the eye. Uncorrected, it can cause blindness. Accurate estimates of numbers affected, and their geographical distribution, help guide resource allocation. METHODS: We obtained district-level trichiasis prevalence estimates in adults for 44 endemic and previously-endemic countries. We used (1) the most recent data for a district, if more than one estimate was available; (2) age- and sex-standardized corrections of historic estimates, where raw data were available; (3) historic estimates adjusted using a mean adjustment factor for districts where raw data were unavailable; and (4) expert assessment of available data for districts for which no prevalence estimates were available. FINDINGS: Internally age- and sex-standardized data represented 1,355 districts and contributed 662 thousand cases (95% confidence interval [CI] 324 thousand-1.1 million) to the global total. Age- and sex-standardized district-level prevalence estimates differed from raw estimates by a mean factor of 0.45 (range 0.03-2.28). Previously non- stratified estimates for 398 districts, adjusted by ×0.45, contributed a further 411 thousand cases (95% CI 283-557 thousand). Eight countries retained previous estimates, contributing 848 thousand cases (95% CI 225 thousand-1.7 million). New expert assessments in 14 countries contributed 862 thousand cases (95% CI 228 thousand-1.7 million). The global trichiasis burden in 2016 was 2.8 million cases (95% CI 1.1-5.2 million). INTERPRETATION: The 2016 estimate is lower than previous estimates, probably due to more and better data; scale-up of trichiasis management services; and reductions in incidence due to lower active trachoma prevalence

Description of the first sleeping sickness case diagnosed in Burkina Faso since two decades.

Burkina Faso belongs to a group of countries in which human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, is no longer considered to be a public health problem. Although no native cases have been detected since 1993, there is still the risk of HAT re-emergence due to significant population movements between Burkina Faso and active HAT foci in Côte d'Ivoire. Since 2014, Burkina Faso receives support from the WHO to implement a passive surveillance program. This resulted in the detection in 2015 of the first putative native HAT case since two decades. However, epidemiological entomological and molecular biology investigations have not been able to identify with certainty the origin of this infection or to confirm that it was due to T. b. gambiense. This case emphasises the need to strengthen passive surveillance of the disease for sustained elimination of HAT as a public health problem in Burkina Faso

Data for: Onchocerciasis prevalence, human migration and risks for onchocerciasis elimination in the Upper Mouhoun, Nakambé and Nazinon river basins in Burkina Faso

The data relate to historical epidemiological surveys for the prevalence in onchocerciasis in some areas in Burkina Faso

Disease patterns and causes of death of hospitalized HIV-positive adults in West Africa: a multicountry survey in the antiretroviral treatment era

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