IN VITRO EVALUATION OF ANTIPLASMODIAL ACTIVITY OF EXTRACTS OF ACANTHOSPERMUM HISPIDUM DC (ASTERACEAE) AND FICUS THONNINGII BLUME (MORACEAE), TWO PLANTS USED IN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE IN THE REPUBLIC OF CONGO.

The aim of this study was to evaluate extracts from two medicinal plants, Acanthospermum hispidum and Ficus thonningii, used in traditional medicine in Congo Brazzaville, for in vitro antiplasmodial activities against two laboratory strains of Plasmodium falciparum: the chloroquine sensitive 3D7 and the chloroquine resistant Dd2. ELISA HRP2 assay was used to evaluate the in vitro inhibitory activity of the extracts alone or in combination with chloroquine. Cytotoxicity was assessed on human HeLa cell line and reflected by the selectivity index. Methanolic extract of Acanthospermum hispidum exhibited a strong and a moderate inhibitory activity on the growth of Dd2 and 3D7 at 2.8 µg/ml and 9.2 µg/ml concentrations respectively with a selectivity index >10. The combination of the most active extract (methanolic extract of Acanthospermum hispidum) with chloroquine showed a synergistic interaction on both strains. The good selectivity index of Acanthospermum hispidum on HeLa cells reflects the safety of this plant. Extracts from Ficus thonningii did not show any promising antiplasmodial activity on both 3D7 and Dd2. Except the methanolic extract which exhibited a slight antiplasmodial activity with inhibitory concentration and selectivity index corresponding to 9.61 µg/ml and 11.16 respectively. Methanolic extract of Acanthospermum hispidum exhibited moderate to high inhibitory activity on 3D7 and Dd2 laboratory strains and a synergistic antimalarial effect when combined with chloroquine. Ficus thonningii seems to have no antimalarial activity. Phytochemical analysis, in vivo investigations using animal models and later clinical trials in collaboration with traditional practitioners are necessary to clarify the potential antimalarial activity of both plants

Highly diverse and antimicrobial susceptible Escherichia coli display a naïve bacterial population in fruit bats from the Republic of Congo

Bats are suspected to be a reservoir of several bacterial and viral pathogens relevant to animal and human health, but studies on Escherichia coli in these animals are sparse. We investigated the presence of E. coli in tissue samples (liver, lung and intestines) collected from 50 fruit bats of five different species (Eidolon helvum, Epomops franqueti, Hypsignathus monstrosus, Myonycteris torquata, Rousettus aegyptiacus) of two different areas in the Republic of Congo between 2009 and 2010. To assess E. coli pathotypes and phylogenetic relationships, we determined the presence of 59 virulence associated genes and multilocus sequence types (STs). Isolates were further tested for their susceptibility to several antimicrobial substances by agar disk diffusion test and for the presence of an Extended-Spectrum Beta- Lactamase phenotype. E. coli was detected in 60% of the bats analysed. The diversity of E. coli strains was very high, with 37 different STs within 40 isolates. Occasionally, we detected sequence types (e.g. ST69, ST127, and ST131) and pathotypes (e.g. ExPEC, EPEC and atypical EPEC), which are known pathogens in human and/or animal infections. Although the majority of strains were assigned to phylogenetic group B2 (46.2%), which is linked with the ExPEC pathovar, occurrence of virulence-associated genes in these strains were unexpectedly low. Due to this, and as only few of the E. coli isolates showed intermediate resistance to certain antimicrobial substances, we assume a rather naïve E. coli population, lacking contact to humans or domestic animals. Future studies featuring in depth comparative whole genome sequence analyses will provide insights into the microevolution of this interesting strain collection

Socializing One Health: an innovative strategy to investigate social and behavioral risks of emerging viral threats

In an effort to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases in animals and people, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) PREDICT project funded development of regional, national, and local One Health capacities for early disease detection, rapid response, disease control, and risk reduction. From the outset, the EPT approach was inclusive of social science research methods designed to understand the contexts and behaviors of communities living and working at human-animal-environment interfaces considered high-risk for virus emergence. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, PREDICT behavioral research aimed to identify and assess a range of socio-cultural behaviors that could be influential in zoonotic disease emergence, amplification, and transmission. This broad approach to behavioral risk characterization enabled us to identify and characterize human activities that could be linked to the transmission dynamics of new and emerging viruses. This paper provides a discussion of implementation of a social science approach within a zoonotic surveillance framework. We conducted in-depth ethnographic interviews and focus groups to better understand the individual- and community-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices that potentially put participants at risk for zoonotic disease transmission from the animals they live and work with, across 6 interface domains. When we asked highly-exposed individuals (ie. bushmeat hunters, wildlife or guano farmers) about the risk they perceived in their occupational activities, most did not perceive it to be risky, whether because it was normalized by years (or generations) of doing such an activity, or due to lack of information about potential risks. Integrating the social sciences allows investigations of the specific human activities that are hypothesized to drive disease emergence, amplification, and transmission, in order to better substantiate behavioral disease drivers, along with the social dimensions of infection and transmission dynamics. Understanding these dynamics is critical to achieving health security--the protection from threats to health-- which requires investments in both collective and individual health security. Involving behavioral sciences into zoonotic disease surveillance allowed us to push toward fuller community integration and engagement and toward dialogue and implementation of recommendations for disease prevention and improved health security

La relaxation endothelium-dependante induite par l'acelcholine in vitro sur l'aorte de rat

SIGLECNRS T Bordereau / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueFRFranc

Henipavirus-related Sequences in Fruit Bat Bushmeat, Republic of Congo

TO THE EDITOR: Bats are hosts for various emerging viruses, including the zoonotic paramyxoviruses Hendra virus and Nipah virus, which occur in Australia and Southeast Asia, respectively, and cause severe disease outbreaks among humans and livestock (1). Antibodies and henipavirus-related RNA have also been found in the straw-colored fruit bat, Eidolon helvum, in Ghana, West Africa (2,3). These bats are a chief protein source for humans in sub-Saharan Africa and are therefore targeted by hunters (4,5). This practice raises special concern about the risk for virus transmission from bats to humans

Sickle-Cell Disease Healthcare Cost in Africa: Experience of the Congo

Background. Lack of medical coverage in Africa leads to inappropriate care that has an impact on the mortality rate. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the cost of severe acute sickle-cell related complications in Brazzaville. Methods. A retrospective study was conducted in 2014 in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. It concerned 94 homozygote sickle-cell children that developed severe acute sickle-cell disease related complications (average age 69 months). For each patient, we calculated the cost of care complication. Results. The household income was estimated as low (<XAF 90,000/<USD 158.40) in 27.7%. The overall median cost for hospitalization for sickle-cell related acute complications was XAF 65,460/USD 115.21. Costs were fluctuating depending on the generating factors of the severe acute complications (p=0.041). They were higher in case of complications generated by bacterial infections (ranging from XAF 66,765/USD 117.50 to XAF 135,271.50/USD 238.07) and lower in case of complications associated with malaria (ranging from XAF 28,305/49.82 to XAF 64,891.63/USD 114.21). The mortality rate was 17% and was associated with the cost of the case management (p=0.006). Conclusion. The case management cost of severe acute complications of sickle-cell disease in children is high in Congo