Community effectiveness of chloroquine and traditional remedies in the treatment of young children with falciparum malaria in rural Burkina Faso

BACKGROUND: There is little information on the effectiveness of modern compared to traditional malaria treatment from the rural areas of Africa. METHODS: Follow-up of 402 episodes of clinical malaria among pre-school children in Nouna Health District, northwestern Burkina Faso. The exposure of interest was the type of treatment (chloroquine versus traditional); the outcome was clinical response to treatment. RESULTS: Out of the 402 observed malaria episodes, 87% were treated with chloroquine and 13% with traditional remedies. Overall, community effectiveness was 67% with chloroquine and 54% with traditional treatment. Chloroquine effectiveness was associated with age and ethnicity. An additional interview survey demonstrated wide variations in the dosages of chloroquine given to young children in this community. CONCLUSIONS: The effectiveness of chloroquine, when used within the community, was significantly lower in this study than its known efficacy in the study area. This concerns, in particular, the very young children. These findings demonstrate the need for better education of parents about correct dosage of first-line malaria drugs, and for particular attention in the treatment of very young children

Factors affecting the uptake of HIV testing among men: a mixed-methods study in rural burkina faso

Includes bibliographical references (page 13-15).Background This study aimed to explore factors shaping the decision to undergo Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) testing among men in rural Burkina Faso. Methods The study took place in 2009 in the Nouna Health District and adopted a triangulation mixed methods design. The quantitative component relied on data collected through a structured survey on a representative sample of 1130 households. The qualitative component relied on 38 in-depth interviews, with men purposely selected to represent variation in testing decision, age, and place of residence. A two-part model was conducted, with two distinct outcome variables, i.e. “being offered an HIV test” and “having done an HIV test”. The qualitative data analysis relied on inductive coding conducted by three independent analysts. Result Of the 937 men, 357 had been offered an HIV test and 97 had taken the test. Younger age, household wealth, living in a village under demographic surveillance, and knowing that HIV testing is available at primary health facilities were all positively associated with the probability of being offered an HIV test. Household wealth and literacy were found to be positively associated, and distance was found to be negatively associated with the probability of having taken an HIV test. Qualitative findings indicated that the limited uptake of HIV testing was linked to poor knowledge on service availability and to low risk perceptions. Conclusion With only 10% of the total sample ever having tested for HIV, our study confirmed that male HIV testing remains unacceptably low in Sub-Saharan Africa. This results from a combination of health system factors, indicating general barriers to access, and motivational factors, such as one’s own knowledge of service availability and risk perceptions. Our findings suggested that using antenatal care and curative services as the exclusive entry points into HIV testing may not be sufficient to reach large portions of the male population. Thus, additional strategies are urgently needed to increase service uptake.Manuela De AllegriIsabelle AgierJustin TiendrebeogoValerie Renée LouisMaurice YéOlaf MuellerMalabika SarkerPublishe

Ermittlung pflanzenbaulich relevanter Bodenkenndaten mit Hilfe ausgewählter Bodensensorik

Die Fachhochschule Osnabrück hat ein eigenes Bodensensorsystem für geo­elektrische Messungen im Oberboden entwickelt. Das verwendete Messprinzip ist die Erfassung des komplexen elektrischen Leitwerts mit einem Elektrodenpaar. Die Funktionsfähigkeit dieses Systems wird anhand von Vergleichen der Zusammen­hänge zwischen der elektrischen Leitfähig­keit und den Korngrößen sowie dem organischen Kohlenstoffgehalt mit zwei kommerziellen Systemen nachgewiesen. Weiter wird eine Methode vorgestellt, wie mit Hilfe der elektrischen Leitfähigkeit die räumliche Verteilung der Korngrößen­fraktion Ton abgeschätzt wird

Access to malaria treatment in young children of rural Burkina Faso

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Falciparum malaria in young children of rural Burkina Faso: comparison of survey data in 1999 with 2009

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Roll Back Malaria (RBM) interventions such as insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITN) and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) have become implemented with different velocities in the endemic countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in recent years. There is conflicting evidence on how much can be achieved under real life conditions with the current interventions in the highly endemic savannah areas of SSA.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study took place in a rural area of north-western Burkina Faso, which was defined as holoendemic in 1999. Clinical and parasitological data were compared in two cohorts of young children of the same age range from eight villages. Surveys took place in June and December of the year 1999 and 2009 respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Prevalence of mosquito net use increased from 22% in 1999 to 73% in 2009, with the majority of nets being ITNs in 2009. In 2009, <it>P. falciparum </it>prevalence was significantly lower compared to 1999 (overall reduction of 22.8%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The reduction in malaria prevalence in young children observed between 1999 and 2009 in a rural and formerly malaria holoendemic area of Burkina Faso is likely attributable to the increase in ITN availability and utilization over time.</p

Взаимосвязь понятий «стиль» и «имидж» как эстетическая проблема

<div><p>The intestinal microbiota influences the development and function of myeloid lineages such as neutrophils, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are unresolved. Using gnotobiotic zebrafish, we identified the immune effector Serum amyloid A (Saa) as one of the most highly induced transcripts in digestive tissues following microbiota colonization. Saa is a conserved secreted protein produced in the intestine and liver with described effects on neutrophils <i>in vitro</i>, however its <i>in vivo</i> functions remain poorly defined. We engineered <i>saa</i> mutant zebrafish to test requirements for Saa on innate immunity <i>in vivo</i>. Zebrafish mutant for <i>saa</i> displayed impaired neutrophil responses to wounding but augmented clearance of pathogenic bacteria. At baseline, <i>saa</i> mutants exhibited moderate neutrophilia and altered neutrophil tissue distribution. Molecular and functional analyses of isolated neutrophils revealed that Saa suppresses expression of pro-inflammatory markers and bactericidal activity. Saa’s effects on neutrophils depended on microbiota colonization, suggesting this protein mediates the microbiota’s effects on host innate immunity. To test tissue-specific roles of Saa on neutrophil function, we over-expressed <i>saa</i> in the intestine or liver and found that sufficient to partially complement neutrophil phenotypes observed in <i>saa</i> mutants. These results indicate Saa produced by the intestine in response to microbiota serves as a systemic signal to neutrophils to restrict aberrant activation, decreasing inflammatory tone and bacterial killing potential while simultaneously enhancing their ability to migrate to wounds.</p></div