A prospective, multi-site, cohort study to estimate incidence of infection and disease due to Lassa fever virus in West African countries (the Enable Lassa research programme)–Study protocol

Background Lassa fever (LF), a haemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa fever virus (LASV), is endemic in West Africa and causes 5000 fatalities every year. The true prevalence and incidence rates of LF are unknown as infections are often asymptomatic, clinical presentations are varied, and surveillance systems are not robust. The aim of the Enable Lassa research programme is to estimate the incidences of LASV infection and LF disease in five West African countries. The core protocol described here harmonises key study components, such as eligibility criteria, case definitions, outcome measures, and laboratory tests, which will maximise the comparability of data for between-country analyses. Method We are conducting a prospective cohort study in Benin, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria (three sites), and Sierra Leone from 2020 to 2023, with 24 months of follow-up. Each site will assess the incidence of LASV infection, LF disease, or both. When both incidences are assessed the LASV cohort (nmin = 1000 per site) will be drawn from the LF cohort (nmin = 5000 per site). During recruitment participants will complete questionnaires on household composition, socioeconomic status, demographic characteristics, and LF history, and blood samples will be collected to determine IgG LASV serostatus. LF disease cohort participants will be contacted biweekly to identify acute febrile cases, from whom blood samples will be drawn to test for active LASV infection using RT-PCR. Symptom and treatment data will be abstracted from medical records of LF cases. LF survivors will be followed up after four months to assess sequelae, specifically sensorineural hearing loss. LASV infection cohort participants will be asked for a blood sample every six months to assess LASV serostatus (IgG and IgM). Discussion Data on LASV infection and LF disease incidence in West Africa from this research programme will determine the feasibility of future Phase IIb or III clinical trials for LF vaccine candidates

PROBLEME OUVERT ET MEMOIRE A LONG TERME : PERCEPTIONS DES ENSEIGNANTS SUR LE CAS DU PROJECTILE / OPEN-ENDED PROBLEM AND LONG-TERM MEMORY: TEACHERS IDEAS ON PROJECTILE CASE

Il ressort de nombreux travaux, que des élèves et étudiants font du « par cœur », qui a l’inconvénient de saturer l’espace de travail de la mémoire et de ne pas être mobilisable. L’objectif de ce travail était d’identifier les types de problèmes utilisés par des enseignants de physique-chimie de lycée d’enseignement secondaire général lors des évaluations formatives et sommatives, dans le cas du mouvement d’un projectile. Les résultats de nos entretiens avec cinq enseignants de physique-chimie montrent, qu’ils ne font pas recours au problème ouvert. Ils ont reconnu l’impact positif du problème ouvert proposé, sur la mémoire à long terme, pour un meilleur apprentissage, contrairement au problème fermé. Les enseignants doivent, eux-mêmes, être formés à l’enseignement par problème ouvert, dont la résolution se fait par modélisation. Cette double dimension (épistémologique et didactique) favorise les apprentissages dans le contexte de l’approche par compétences (APC). Many studies have shown that pupils and students use « rote learning », which saturates their working memory space and is not mobilizable. The objective of this work was to identify the types of problems used by high school physics-chemistry teachers during formative and summative evaluations, in the case of projectile motion. The results of our interviews with five physics-chemistry teachers show that they do not use open-ended problems. They recognized the positive impact of open-ended problems on long-term memory for better learning, unlike closed-ended problems. Teachers themselves must be trained in open-ended problem-based teaching, whose resolution is done through modeling. This dual epistemological and didactic dimension promotes learning in the context of the competency-based approach (CA).  Article visualizations

ATTITUDES D’ELEVES ET ELEVES-MAITRES ENVERS LES SCIENCES PHYSIQUES ET CHIMIQUES ET APPROPRIATION DE L’APC PAR DES ENSEIGNANTS DU SECONDAIRE / STUDENTS AND STUDENTS-TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD PHYSIC AND CHEMISTRY SCIENCES AND AC APPRIATION BY SECONDARY TEACHERS

Ce travail de recherche a lieu dans un contexte d’innovation curriculaire, marquée par une diminution drastique des effectifs dans les séries scientifiques maliennes comme partout ailleurs. Nous avons donc réalisé une enquête auprès de 600 élèves de Seconde CG (14-15 ans) et 100 élèves-maîtres de 2e année IFM, afin d’identifier leurs rapports aux Sciences physiques et chimiques (SPC), ainsi qu’auprès de 50 enseignants du secondaire sur leur mode d’appropriation de l’APC. Les résultats ont mis en évidence une relation entre l’attitude négative et les sujets d’évaluation de la part de 52% et 85%, respectivement des élèves et élèves-maîtres enquêtés. Ces pourcentages défavorables envers les SPC, qui sont les plus élevés parmi nos résultats, peuvent être minimisés par l’application correcte de l’Approche Par Compétence (APC), non encore effective par manque de formation des enseignants ; car 56,5% des élèves de seconde CG sont désireux de poursuivre en 1re Science.  This research takes place in a context of curricular innovation, marked by a drastic decrease in enrollments in Malian science programs as elsewhere. We conducted a survey of 600 Seconde CG students (14-15 years old) and 100 student-teachers in their 2nd year of IFM to identify their relationships with Physical and Chemical Sciences (PCS), as well as 50 secondary school teachers on their mode of appropriation of the APC. The results highlighted a relationship between negative attitude and evaluation topics among 52% and 85%, respectively, of the surveyed students and student-teachers. These unfavorable percentages towards PCS, which are the highest among our results, can be minimized by the correct application of the Competency-based Approach (CA), which is not yet effective due to lack of teacher training; because 56.5% of high school 1st year students are willing to pursue in 2nd year Sciences.  Article visualizations

DISRUPTIONS IN LIVELIHOODS, HEALTHCARE ACCESS AND HEALTH OUTCOMES IN WEST AFRICA DURING EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASE OUTBREAKS

Background Outbreaks of infectious diseases like Ebola virus disease, Lassa fever, and COVID-19 have severely strained infrastructural systems and social services across West Africa. We investigated the disruptions caused by emerging outbreaks on access to healthcare, health outcomes, and livelihoods in West Africa.Method A mixed-methods approach was utilized, conducting extensive studies in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia through structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews with key informants, and focus group discussions. Using a device-to-cloud system guided by GIS for randomized sampling across the four nations, this technique allowed us to comprehensively analyze implications across imposed lifestyle changes on health and wellbeing due to disrupted healthcare.Results Our findings indicate drastic shifts in food consumption patterns and healthcare access. In Guinea, self-reported “Once Daily” meals astonishingly surged from 148 to 775 individuals (p<0.001), with analogous substantial increases observed in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nigeria exhibited a varied response, with notable rises both in “Once Daily” and “Twice Daily” meal frequencies (p<0.001), reflecting broad dietary adaptations out of necessity. Additionally, there was a significant decrease in consumption of traditional protein sources like bushmeat, beef, and mutton, mainly because of disrupted supply chains and heightened concerns over food insecurity. Conversely, fish consumption slightly fell possibly due to its perceived safety or accessibility amidst the outbreak.Healthcare services faced severe disruptions, particularly acute in Sierra Leone and Liberia compared to Guinea and Nigeria. The interruption of services drastically impacted everything from immunization rates to mental health, with a rise in reported anxiety and depression alongside public dissatisfaction towards the healthcare disruptions.Conclusion This study demonstrates the dramatic effects of infectious disease outbreaks on health access and diets in West Africa. The research calls for integrating health initiatives with social protection to strengthen the resilience of societies to meet all types of health challenges. It is imperative districts establish robust health systems and social security mechanisms to counter future public health crises

Distinct lineages of Ebola virus in Guinea during the 2014 West African epidemic

International audienceAn epidemic of Ebola virus disease of unprecedented scale has been ongoing for more than a year in West Africa. As of 29 April 2015, there have been 26,277 reported total cases (of which 14,895 have been laboratory confirmed) resulting in 10,899 deaths. The source of the outbreak was traced to the prefecture of Guéckédou in the forested region of southeastern Guinea. The virus later spread to the capital, Conakry, and to the neighbouring countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Mali. In March 2014, when the first cases were detected in Conakry, the Institut Pasteur of Dakar, Senegal, deployed a mobile laboratory in Donka hospital to provide diagnostic services to the greater Conakry urban area and other regions of Guinea. Through this process we sampled 85 Ebola viruses (EBOV) from patients infected from July to November 2014, and report their full genome sequences here. Phylogenetic analysis reveals the sustained transmission of three distinct viral lineages co-circulating in Guinea, including the urban setting of Conakry and its surroundings. One lineage is unique to Guinea and closely related to the earliest sampled viruses of the epidemic. A second lineage contains viruses probably reintroduced from neighbouring Sierra Leone on multiple occasions, while a third lineage later spread from Guinea to Mali. Each lineage is defined by multiple mutations, including non-synonymous changes in the virion protein 35 (VP35), glycoprotein (GP) and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (L) proteins. The viral GP is characterized by a glycosylation site modification and mutations in the mucin-like domain that could modify the outer shape of the virion. These data illustrate the ongoing ability of EBOV to develop lineage-specific and potentially phenotypically important variation