HIV/AIDS-related non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas and confounders: preliminary report of the Sub-Saharan Africa Lymphoma Consortium (SSALC)

CITATION: Ayers, L.W. et al. 2012. HIV/AIDS-related non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas and confounders : preliminary report of the Sub-Saharan Africa Lymphoma Consortium (SSALC). Infectious Agents and Cancer, 7(Suppl 1):P11, doi:10.1186/1750-9378-7-S1-P11.The original publication is available at http://infectagentscancer.biomedcentral.comSSALC was established to characterize HIV/AIDS-related lymphoma and the indigenous background of malignant lymphomas (ML) in sub-Saharan Africa. Because WHO classified lymphoma subgroups can vary in prevalence African, Asian or European ancestry, we surveyed lymphoma heterogeneity in geographically diverse East, South and West sub-Saharan populations, particularly for HIV/AIDS associated immunophenotypes.http://infectagentscancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1750-9378-7-S1-P11Publisher's versio

Cerebrospinal fluid neopterin as marker of the meningo-encephalitic stage of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense sleeping sickness.

BACKGROUND: Sleeping sickness, or human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), is a protozoan disease that affects rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Determination of the disease stage, essential for correct treatment, represents a key issue in the management of patients. In the present study we evaluated the potential of CXCL10, CXCL13, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, MMP-9, B2MG, neopterin and IgM to complement current methods for staging Trypanosoma brucei gambiense patients. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Five hundred and twelve T. b. gambiense HAT patients originated from Angola, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.). Their classification as stage 2 (S2) was based on the number of white blood cells (WBC) (>5/µL) or presence of parasites in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The CSF concentration of the eight markers was first measured on a training cohort encompassing 100 patients (44 S1 and 56 S2). IgM and neopterin were the best in discriminating between the two stages of disease with 86.4% and 84.1% specificity respectively, at 100% sensitivity. When a validation cohort (412 patients) was tested, neopterin (14.3 nmol/L) correctly classified 88% of S1 and S2 patients, confirming its high staging power. On this second cohort, neopterin also predicted both the presence of parasites, and of neurological signs, with the same ability as IgM and WBC, the current reference for staging. CONCLUSIONS: This study has demonstrated that neopterin is an excellent biomarker for staging T. b. gambiense HAT patients. A rapid diagnostic test for detecting this metabolite in CSF could help in more accurate stage determination

Seasonal botanical and chemical composition of sheep and goat diets on a common range in eastern Africa

The botanical and chemical composition, intake and digestibility of local sheep (Ovis aries) and goat (Capra hirtus) diets were evaluated over the wet (growing) and dry (dormant) seasons. Diet botanical composition was related to the vegetation composition on the range. Commiphora riperia and Acacia tortilis were the most dominant tree species, while Duosperma kilimandscharicum and Premna hildebrandtii were the most dominant shrub species. Enteropogon macrostachyus, Cenchrus ciliaris and Chloris roxburghiana were the most abundant grass species, while Brepharis integriifolia, Commelina benghalensis and Macrotylomma axillare were the most dominant forb species. Grasses increased towards the end of the wet season and the beginning of the dry season, while the forbs decreased. Eragrostis caespitosa, Cenchrus ciliaris, Eragrostis superba, Enteropogon macrostachyus and Themeda triandra were the most dominant grass species in sheep diets during both seasons, accounting for over 82% of the diet. Acalypha fruticosa, Grewia similis and G. bicolor were the most important browse species in goat diets in both seasons, while Eragrostis caespitosa and E. superba were the most common grass species during both seasons. Overall, goat diets comprised 81% browse, 17% grass and 2% forbs during the wet season; and 82% browse, 15% grass and 3% forbs during the dry season. Whilst the goat diets had higher (P < 0.05) crude protein (CP) content than sheep diets during both seasons, the sheep diets were lower in lignin content than goat diets during the wet season. Overall, the goat diets were lower in neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) than sheep diets during both seasons. There was no difference (P < 0.05) in digestibility between the two animal species. However, it was higher (P < 0.05) during the dry than the wet season. Although sheep and goats are commonly herded together in east African rangelands, they have differing abilities to utilise forages. These differences must be taken into consideration in grazing management decisions, and selected grazing areas should be able to cater for the forage requirements of both species. Keywords: diet selection, forage, free-grazing, Kenya, range herbivores,, rangeland, seasonal variation African Journal of Range & Forage Science 2004, 21(1): 11–1

Afri-Can Forum 2

CITATION: Mukudu, H., et al. 2016. Afri-Can Forum 2. BMC Infectious Diseases, 16:315, doi:10.1186/s12879-016-1466-6.The original publication is available at https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.comENGLISH ABSTRACT: We are pleased to present peer reviewed forum proceedings of the 2nd synchronicity forum of GHRI/CHVIfunded Canadian and African HIV prevention and vaccine teams Forum objectives ∙GHRI-funded capacity building and HIV prevention research teams presented highlights of achievements ∙Teams discussed how to jointly build on achievements for sustainability ∙Provided an opportunity for inter-team collaboration, synchronize best approach to capacity building, mentoring of new researchers and building leadership ∙Provided opportunities for informal discussions and networking among the teams. ∙Teams learnt about recent advances in the area of African regulatory and ethics review process ∙The forum proceedings was a special supplement in an openaccess journal was producedhttps://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/supplements/volume-16-supplement-2Publisher's versio

The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator: development and validation of a tool for identifying African surgical patients at risk of severe postoperative complications

Background: The African Surgical Outcomes Study (ASOS) showed that surgical patients in Africa have a mortality twice the global average. Existing risk assessment tools are not valid for use in this population because the pattern of risk for poor outcomes differs from high-income countries. The objective of this study was to derive and validate a simple, preoperative risk stratification tool to identify African surgical patients at risk for in-hospital postoperative mortality and severe complications. Methods: ASOS was a 7-day prospective cohort study of adult patients undergoing surgery in Africa. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator was constructed with a multivariable logistic regression model for the outcome of in-hospital mortality and severe postoperative complications. The following preoperative risk factors were entered into the model; age, sex, smoking status, ASA physical status, preoperative chronic comorbid conditions, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery. Results: The model was derived from 8799 patients from 168 African hospitals. The composite outcome of severe postoperative complications and death occurred in 423/8799 (4.8%) patients. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator includes the following risk factors: age, ASA physical status, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery. The model showed good discrimination with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.805 and good calibration with c-statistic corrected for optimism of 0.784. Conclusions: This simple preoperative risk calculator could be used to identify high-risk surgical patients in African hospitals and facilitate increased postoperative surveillance. © 2018 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Medical Research Council of South Africa gran