IR AND UV-VISIBLE SPECTRA OF IRON(II) PHTHALOCYANINE COMPLEXES WITH PHOSPHINE OR PHOSPHITE

We have prepared and studied by vibrational and electronic spectrometry of a series of ferrophthalocyanine complexes with phosphine or phosphite axial ligands [PMe3, P(OMe)3, PPh3, P(OPh)3, PPh(OMe)3 and POH(OEt)2]. With PMe3, P(OMe)3 as ligands, only hexacoordinated complexes are obtained but with PPh3, P(OPh)3 and POH(OEt)2 as ligands, the coordination number depends on the FePc:ligand ratio in the reaction mixture. In the ratio 1:1 the complexes thus formed are pentacoordinated and in the ratio 1:2 hexacoordinated complexes are obtained. In the electronic spectra of hexacoordinated complexes, two charge-transfer transition bands, one at ~375 nm and the other at ~421 nm can be observed. We attribute the band at 375 nm to charge-transfer from axial ligand to macrocycle (CT Lax ® Pc) and the band at 421 nm to charge-transfer from metal to axial ligand (CT Fe ® Lax). In the IR spectra, the position of the n FeN4 band is linked to the coordination number; in the spectra of pentacoordinated complexes, its frequency is almost the same as that in the FePc spectrum but in hexacoordinated complexes, it moves to high frequencies. (Received September 10, 2001; revised February 26, 2002) Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2002, 16(1), 73-79

Biological status and dietary intakes ofiIron, zinc and vitamin A among women and preschool children in rural Burkina Faso

Background Food-based approaches such as biofortification are meant to sustainably address micronutrient deficiencies in poor settings. Knowing more about micronutrient intakes and deficiencies is a prerequisite to designing and evaluating interventions. Objective The objectives of the study were to assess biological status and dietary intakes of iron, zinc and vitamin A among women and children aged 36-59 months in rural Burkina Faso and to study relationships between intake and status to better inform future food-based interventions. Design A cross-sectional survey was carried out in two rural provinces of Burkina Faso on a random cluster sample of 480 mother-child pairs. Dietary data was obtained by 24-hour recalls repeated on a random sub-selection of 37.5% of subjects to allow calculation of nutrient's probability of adequacy (PA). Biomarkers were measured on a sub-sample of 180 mother-child pairs. Blood samples were analyzed for hemoglobin, serum ferritin, soluble transferrin receptors (sTfR), C-reactive protein, alpha-1-glycoprotein, serum zinc concentration (SZnC) and retinol. For each micronutrient the relationship between biomarker and dietary intake was investigated by multiple linear regression models accounting for inflammatory biomarkers. Results Mean PA for iron, zinc and vitamin A was 0.49, 0.87 and 0.21 among women and 0.61, 0.95 and 0.33 among children, respectively. Prevalence of anemia, corrected low serum ferritin and high sTfR was 37.6%, 4.0% and 77.5% among women and 72.1%, 1.5% and 87.6% among children, respectively. Prevalence of low SZnC and corrected low serum retinol was 39.4% and 12.0% among women and 63.7% and 24.8% among children, respectively. There was a tendency for a positive relationship between vitamin A intakes and serum retinol among women (beta = 0.0003, P = 0.06). Otherwise, no link was found between micronutrients biomarkers and intakes. Conclusion Our study depicted different images of micronutrient deficiencies when based on dietary intakes or biomarkers results, thus highlighting the need for more suitable biomarkers and more precise measures of absorbable micronutrient intakes at the individual level. It thus points to challenges in the design and evaluation of future biofortification or other food-based interventions in rural areas of Burkina Faso

Magnitude and associated factors of latent tuberculosis infection due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex among high-risk groups in urban Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and risk factors for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among three high-risk groups - household contacts of TB index cases, healthcare workers and slaughterhouse workers - in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Methods: Participants were recruited to this cross-sectional study from March to July 2020 after giving informed consent. Sociodemographic, clinical and biological data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus test (QFT-Plus) and the tuberculin skin test (TST) were used for detection of LTBI. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for LTBI. Results: The prevalence of LTBI among 101 participants (age range 15-68 years) was 67.33% [95% confidence interval (CI) 57.27-76.33] and 84.16% (95% CI 75.55-90.66) based on QFT-Plus and TST results, respectively. Compared with healthcare workers and household contacts of TB index cases, the prevalence of LTBI among slaughterhouse workers was significantly higher for both QTF-Plus (96.8%; P /=15 years of exposure (AOR 5.617, 95% CI 1.202-32.198), having an animal at home (AOR 2.735, 95% CI 1.102-6.789) and protozoal infection (AOR 2.591, 95% CI 1.034-6.491) were significantly associated with LTBI on the QFT-Plus assay. Conclusion: The prevalence of LTBI was high in all three groups, particularly slaughterhouse workers. The risk factors identified could form the basis of targeted intervention

Screening of BRCA1 (c.5177_5180delGAAA rs80357867 and c.4986+6T>C rs80358086) and the BRCA2 (c.6445_6446delAT rs80359592) genes for breast cancer prevention in Burkina Faso

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to search for mutations in the BRCA1 (c.5177_5180delGAAA and c.4986+6T>C) and BRCA2 genes (c.6445_6446delAT) in a population of women diagnosed with breast cancer.METHODS: This is a case-control study that involved 140 participants, including 70 patients with histologically diagnosed breast cancer and 70 healthy women without breast cancer. Mutations in the BRCA1 (rs80357867, rs80358086) and BRCA2 (rs80359592) genes were tested by real-time PCR. The 95% confidence interval Odds Ratio (OR) was used to estimate the associations between specific genotypes and breast cancer.RESULTS: The study revealed that no mutations were detected for rs80359592. Similarly, no reference allele (TTTC/TTTC) of rs80357867 was found in this study. However, the homozygous double mutant (-/) genotype of this rs80357867 was observed in 11.43% and 1.43% of patients and controls respectively, while 88.57% of patients and 98.57% of controls had a heterozygous deletion (TTTC/-). Concerning rs80358086, 8.57% of the patients had a heterozygous mutation (A/G) with no significantly risk association with occurrence of breast cancer (OR = 6.46; 95% CI: 0.75-55.21; p = 0.11). In addition, this heterozygous mutation was significantly associated with a family history of breast cancer (OR=128; 95% CI: 9.46-1730.93) and breast cancer risk in nonmultiparous women (OR=6; 95% CI: 1-35.90; p= 0.05) but no association with overweight/obesity (OR=1.66; 95% CI: 0.18-15.35; p=1).CONCLUSION: This study shows high frequencies of heterozygous mutation of rs80357867 and rs80358086 from patients. In Burkina Faso, these results could help with early diagnosis of breast cancer in patients

Dynamic of plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter gene Pfcrt K76T mutation five years after withdrawal of chloroquine in Burkina Faso

We investigated the evolution of Pfcrt K76T mutation five years after the withdrawal of chloroquine in Burkina Faso. A total of 675 clinical isolates collected from October 2010 to September 2012 were successfully genotyped. Single nucleotide polymorphism in Pfcrt (codon 76) gene was analyzed. The prevalence of resistant Pfcrt 76T allele was 20.55%. There was a progressive decrease of the proportion of mutant type pfcrt T76 from 2010 to 2012 (X2=5.508 p=0.0189). Our results suggest a progressive return of the wild type Pfcrt K76 in Burkina Faso but the prevalence of the mutants Pfcrt T76 still remains high

Meningococcal carriage and cerebrospinal meningitis after MenAfriVac mass immunization in Burkina Faso

The aims of this study were to evaluate the impact of conjugate vaccine A, MenAfriVac, on Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) asymptomatic carriage and cerebrospinal meningitis in three health districts (Bogodogo, Kaya, and Dandé) of Burkina Faso. Asymptomatic carriage of Nm was assessed by performing cross-sectional studyrepeated (rounds 1 to 10) before and after introduction of the conjugate vaccine against serogroup A of N. meningitidis (NmA), MenAfriVac. In each round at least 1,500 people were enrolled in each district for a month. Data oncases of meningococcal meningitis in the three studied health districts were collected through meningitides epidemiological surveillance of Burkina Faso.Nm was identified in680 of 23,885 throat swabs before vaccination (2. 84%)withNmYasthe dominant serogroup(1.87%). During the same period (2009 and 2010), 891 cases of suspected meningitis were reported in the three health districts among whom 42 were due toNm (4.71%) withNmX (3.70%) asthe most frequently identified serogroup. After vaccination, Nm was identified in 1117 of 27,245 pharyngeal samples (6.42%); NmX (4.42%) wasthe dominantserogroup. From 2011 to 2013, 965 cases of suspected meningitis were reported in all health facilities in the three studied health districts located in the geographical study area; 91 was due toNm (9.43%) andNmWasthe most commonserogroup(52 cases= 5.38%).After introduction of conjugate vaccine A (MenAfriVac), the NmAserogroup almost disappeared both in asymptomatic carriers and in patients with cerebrospinal meningitis. However the presence of the NmW and NmXserogroups, which appear to have replaced serogroup A, is very worrying with regard to meningitis prevention and control in Burkina Faso. It appears necessary to strengthen surveillance and laboratory diagnosis of the different meningococcal serogroups circulating in Africa.Keywords: meningococcal meningitis, serogroups W and X, meningococcal carriage, MenAfriVac

Quality assessment of health management information system (HMIS) data for maternal and child health in Jimma zone, Ethiopia

Health management information system (HMIS) data underpin attainment of health targets in low- and middle-income countries. However, the quality of HMIS data is often poor. The study appraised the completeness, timeliness, and internal consistency of eight key maternal and child health (MCH) indicators collected for all the primary health care units (PHCUs) located within three districts of Jimma Zone, Ethiopia. Results show that the HMIS may over-report the coverage of key MCH services, namely, antenatal care, skilled birth attendance and postnatal care. The quality of data at the zonal level could be improved to inform MCH research and programmatic efforts.Global Affairs Canada (GAC)Canadian institutes of Health Research (CIHR

Safety and Immunogenicity of ChAd63 and MVA ME-TRAP in West African Children and Infants.

Malaria remains a significant global health burden and a vaccine would make a substantial contribution to malaria control. Chimpanzee Adenovirus 63 Modified Vaccinia Ankara Multiple epitope thrombospondin adhesion protein (ME-TRAP) and vaccination has shown significant efficacy against malaria sporozoite challenge in malaria-naive European volunteers and against malaria infection in Kenyan adults. Infants are the target age group for malaria vaccination; however, no studies have yet assessed T-cell responses in children and infants. We enrolled 138 Gambian and Burkinabe children in four different age-groups: 2-6 years old in The Gambia; 5-17 months old in Burkina Faso; 5-12 months old, and also 10 weeks old, in The Gambia; and evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of Chimpanzee Adenovirus 63 Modified Vaccinia Ankara ME-TRAP heterologous prime-boost immunization. The vaccines were well tolerated in all age groups with no vaccine-related serious adverse events. T-cell responses to vaccination peaked 7 days after boosting with Modified Vaccinia Ankara, with T-cell responses highest in 10 week-old infants. Heterologous prime-boost immunization with Chimpanzee Adenovirus 63 and Modified Vaccinia Ankara ME-TRAP was well tolerated in infants and children, inducing strong T-cell responses. We identify an approach that induces potent T-cell responses in infants, which may be useful for preventing other infectious diseases requiring cellular immunity

PlasmoView: A Web-based Resource to Visualise Global Plasmodium falciparum Genomic Variation

Malaria is a global public health challenge, with drug resistance a major barrier to disease control and elimination. To meet the urgent need for better treatments and vaccines, a deeper knowledge of Plasmodium biology and malaria epidemiology is required. An improved understanding of the genomic variation of malaria parasites, especially the most virulent Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) species, has the potential to yield new insights in these areas. High-throughput sequencing and genotyping is generating large amounts of genomic data across multiple parasite populations. The resulting ability to identify informative variants, particularly single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), will lead to the discovery of intra- and inter-population differences and thus enable the development of genetic barcodes for diagnostic assays and clinical studies. Knowledge of genetic variability underlying drug resistance and other differential phenotypes will also facilitate the identification of novel mutations and contribute to surveillance and stratified medicine applications. The PlasmoView interactive web-browsing tool enables the research community to visualise genomic variation and annotation (eg, biological function) in a geographic setting. The first release contains over 600 000 high-quality SNPs in 631 Pf isolates from laboratory strains and four malaria-endemic regions (West Africa, East Africa, Southeast Asia and Oceania)