The HPAfrica protocol : assessment of health behaviour and population-based socioeconomic, hygiene behavioural factors - a standardised repeated cross-sectional study in multiple cohorts in sub-Saharan Africa

The objective of the Health Population Africa (HPAfrica) study is to determine health behaviour and population-based factors, including socioeconomic, ethnographic, hygiene and sanitation factors, at sites of the Severe Typhoid Fever in Africa (SETA) programme. SETA aims to investigate healthcare facility-based fever surveillance in Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar and Nigeria. Meaningful disease burden estimates require adjustment for health behaviour patterns, which are assumed to vary among a study population.; For the minimum sample size of household interviews required, the assumptions of an infinite population, a design effect and age-stratification and sex-stratification are considered. In the absence of a population sampling frame or household list, a spatial approach will be used to generate geographic random points with an Aeronautical Reconnaissance Coverage Geographic Information System tool. Printouts of Google Earth Pro satellite imagery visualise these points. Data of interest will be assessed in different seasons by applying population-weighted stratified sampling. An Android-based application and a web service will be developed for electronic data capturing and synchronisation with the database server in real time. Sampling weights will be computed to adjust for possible differences in selection probabilities. Descriptive data analyses will be performed in order to assess baseline information of each study population and age-stratified and sex-stratified health behaviour. This will allow adjusting disease burden estimates. In addition, multivariate analyses will be applied to look into associations between health behaviour, population-based factors and the disease burden as determined in the SETA study.; Ethic approvals for this protocol were obtained by the Institutional Review Board of the International Vaccine Institute (No. 2016-0003) and by all collaborating institutions of participating countries. It is anticipated to disseminate findings from this study through publication on a peer-reviewed journal

The HPAfrica protocol: Assessment of health behaviour and population-based socioeconomic, hygiene behavioural factors - a standardised repeated cross-sectional study in multiple cohorts in sub-Saharan Africa.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of the Health Population Africa (HPAfrica) study is to determine health behaviour and population-based factors, including socioeconomic, ethnographic, hygiene and sanitation factors, at sites of the Severe Typhoid Fever in Africa (SETA) programme. SETA aims to investigate healthcare facility-based fever surveillance in Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar and Nigeria. Meaningful disease burden estimates require adjustment for health behaviour patterns, which are assumed to vary among a study population. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: For the minimum sample size of household interviews required, the assumptions of an infinite population, a design effect and age-stratification and sex-stratification are considered. In the absence of a population sampling frame or household list, a spatial approach will be used to generate geographic random points with an Aeronautical Reconnaissance Coverage Geographic Information System tool. Printouts of Google Earth Pro satellite imagery visualise these points. Data of interest will be assessed in different seasons by applying population-weighted stratified sampling. An Android-based application and a web service will be developed for electronic data capturing and synchronisation with the database server in real time. Sampling weights will be computed to adjust for possible differences in selection probabilities. Descriptive data analyses will be performed in order to assess baseline information of each study population and age-stratified and sex-stratified health behaviour. This will allow adjusting disease burden estimates. In addition, multivariate analyses will be applied to look into associations between health behaviour, population-based factors and the disease burden as determined in the SETA study. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethic approvals for this protocol were obtained by the Institutional Review Board of the International Vaccine Institute (No. 2016-0003) and by all collaborating institutions of participating countries. It is anticipated to disseminate findings from this study through publication on a peer-reviewed journal

The Severe Typhoid Fever in Africa Program: Study Design and Methodology to Assess Disease Severity, Host Immunity, and Carriage Associated With Invasive Salmonellosis

Background. Invasive salmonellosis is a common community-acquired bacteremia in persons residing in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is a paucity of data on severe typhoid fever and its associated acute and chronic host immune response and carriage. The Severe Typhoid Fever in Africa (SETA) program, a multicountry surveillance study, aimed to address these research gaps and contribute to the control and prevention of invasive salmonellosis. Methods. A prospective healthcare facility-based surveillance with active screening of enteric fever and clinically suspected severe typhoid fever with complications was performed using a standardized protocol across the study sites in Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, and Nigeria. Defined inclusion criteria were used for screening of eligible patients for enrollment into the study. Enrolled patients with confirmed invasive salmonellosis by blood culture or patients with clinically suspected severe typhoid fever with perforation were eligible for clinical follow-up. Asymptomatic neighborhood controls and immediate household contacts of each case were enrolled as a comparison group to assess the level of Salmonella-specific antibodies and shedding patterns. Healthcare utilization surveys were performed to permit adjustment of incidence estimations. Postmortem questionnaires were conducted in medically underserved areas to assess death attributed to invasive Salmonella infections in selected sites. Results. Research data generated through SETA aimed to address scientific knowledge gaps concerning the severe typhoid fever and mortality, long-term host immune responses, and bacterial shedding and carriage associated with natural infection by invasive salmonellae. Conclusions. SETA supports public health policy on typhoid immunization strategy in Africa

First Isolation and Clinical Case of Brevundimonas diminuta in a Newborn with Low Birth Weight, in Democratic Republic of Congo: A Case Report

International audienceBrevundimonas diminuta is rarely described in clinical specimens, never at the umbilical stump. Most of the reported cases are in patients with underlying pathologies. We must integrate this microorganism in the etiological agents of nosocomial infections, but much remains to be understood about its virulence. We present a case of umbilical stump infection (omphalitis) caused by B. diminuta, in a preterm and hypotrophic new-born and discuss the diagnosis of this bacterium and its role as responsible of nosocomial neonatal infections

Current status of resistance to antibiotics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A review

International audienceA review of literature was conducted to assess the prevalence and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance to date, mainly to beta-lactam antibiotics, cephalosporins, carbapenems, colistin, and tigecycline in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). English and French publications were listed and analysed using PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar, and African Journals database between 1 January 1990 and 31 December 2019. For the 30 published articles found: (1) bacterial resistance to antibiotics concerned both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria; (2) multidrug resistance prevalence was the same in half of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates; (3) a worrying prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was noted, which is associated with co-resistance to several other antibiotics; and (4) resistance to third-generation cephalosporins was very high in Enterobacteriaceae, mainly because of bla(CTX-M-1) group and bla(SHV) genes. Data on carbapenem and colistin resistance were not available in DRC until recently. Further work is required to set up a surveillance system for antibiotic resistance in DRC. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

Epidemiologic analysis of dental cellulitis in Kinshasa city (the Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Introduction: The study aimed to determine the prevalence, describe the sociodemographic profile of individuals with dental cellulitis, and identify its associated factors in a population of Kinshasa. Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional analytical study conducted in October 2017 in five hospital departments in Kinshasa. The sample population consisted of patients with dental cellulitis. Sociodemographic data and factors associated with dental cellulitis were evaluated. Results: Dental cellulitis was found in 12.5% of the subjects, with a slight female predominance (58.2%). A significant difference between patients with cellulitis and those without cellulitis was observed for the following variables: education level, unemployment, and low socioeconomic status (p < 0.05). Dental carious lesions (93.7%) were the most common causative factor, and self-medication (100%) and poor oral hygiene (83.5%) were risk or contributing factors. Univariate analysis showed that for people of ages 16–59 and ≥60 years, education level, unemployment, sugar consumption, and low socioeconomic status were significantly associated with dental cellulitis. A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that people of ages ≥60 years [odds ratio (OR) 3.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.169–4.14, p = 0.014], non-university status (OR 2.79, 95% CI 1.68–4.64, p < 0.001), unemployment (OR 2.27, 95% CI 1.73–4.20, p = 0.005), sugar consumption (OR 3.17, 95% CI 1.71–4.94, p = 0.036), and low socioeconomic status (OR 2.60, 95% CI 1.85–3.01, p = 0.014) were independently associated with dental cellulitis in the study population. Conclusion: Dental cellulitis is a public health problem in the city of Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo

First Genome Description of Providencia vermicola Isolate Bearing NDM-1 from Blood Culture

International audienceIn this paper, we describe the first complete genome sequence of Providencia vermicola species, a clinical multidrug-resistant strain harboring the New Delhi Metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) gene, isolated at the Kinshasa University Teaching Hospital, in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Whole genome sequencing of an imipenem-resistant clinical Gram-negative P. vermicola P8538 isolate was performed using MiSeq and Gridion, and then complete genome analysis, plasmid search, resistome analysis, and comparative genomics were performed. Genome assembly resulted in a circular chromosome sequence of 4,280,811-bp and 40.80% GC and a circular plasmid (pPV8538_NDM-1) of 151,684-bp and 51.93%GC, which was identified in an Escherichia coli P8540 strain isolated in the same hospital. Interestingly, comparative genomic analysis revealed multiple sequences acquisition within the P. vermicola P8538 chromosome, including three complete prophages, a siderophore biosynthesis NRPS cluster, a Type VI secretion system (T6SS), a urease gene cluster, and a complete Type-I-F CRISPR-Cas3 system. Β-lactamase genes, including blaCMY-6 and blaNDM-1, were found on the recombinant plasmid pPV8538_NDM-1, in addition to other antibiotic resistance genes such as rmtC, aac6’-Ib3, aacA4, catA1, sul1, aac6’-Ib-cr, tetA, and tetB. Genome comparison with Providencia species revealed 82.95% of average nucleotide identity (ANI), with P. stuartii species exhibiting 90.79% of proteome similarity. We report the first complete genome of P. vermicola species and for the first time the presence of the blaNDM-1 gene in this species. This work highlights the need to improve surveillance and clinical practices in DR Congo in order to reduce or prevent the spread of such resistance

Erratum to: High Prevalences and a Wide Genetic Diversity of Simian Retroviruses in Non-human Primate Bushmeat in Rural Areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo

International audienc