Molecular diagnosis of COVID-19 in Burkina Faso: successful challenge

COVID-19 has worsened the health situation in Burkina Faso. In fact, the country has known a peak of the second wave, which began in November, and ended around January 2021. Biological diagnosis has played a key role in the management of COVID-19. The aim of this review paper is to address the practical aspects that laboratories have faced in order to meet the challenge of SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis in Burkina Faso. According to international requirements, Burkina Faso has used real-time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR) as the “gold standard” for the diagnosis of COVID-19. From March 9, 2020 to July 31, 2021, in Burkina Faso, laboratories involved in COVID-19 diagnosis analyzed 226,189 samples by molecular tests and 2, 352 samples by rapid antigenic tests, whose peak was in January 2021 with 35,984 samples analyzed. The daily average rate of samples analysis was 456.02 tests. The majority of the individuals requesting COVID-19 tests were travelers (62.00%), followed by contact cases (18.42%), suspected cases (7.95%), voluntary screening (7.57%), and 4.06% of other applicants consisting of health care personnel and at-risk patients. In terms of prevention, vaccines are being administered to the general population. However, some efforts must be made to provide automated sample analysis equipment and complete sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 remains among the challenges

INSIGHTS INTO THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN KIR GENE FREQUENCIES AND CHRONIC HBV INFECTION IN BURKINA FASO

Background/Objective: The receptors of natural killer cells "Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor" (KIR) regulate the activity of Natural killer cells in the innate response against viral infections. To date there is no accurate method to identify high risk groups for cirrhosis and HCC in Sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, this investigation was undertaken to assess the association between KIR genes frequencies and chronic infection HBV infection in Burkina Faso’s population. Methods: Chronic HBV carriers and healthy patients were selected for this study. The viral load for HBV were performed to confirm the serological status for HBV of the studied cohort. In addition, SSP-PCR was used to characterize the frequencies of KIR genes. Results: The study suggested that inhibitory genes KIR2DL2, KIR2DL3 and activator gene KIR2DS2 (p˂0.001 for all and OR = 2.82; 2.48 and 3.84 respectively) might be associated with chronic stages of HBV infection.  While inhibitory genes KIR3DL1 (p = 0.0018 OR = 0.49), KIR3DL2 (p = 0.005 OR = 0.40), the activator gene KIR2DS1 (p = 0.014 OR = 0.47) and the pseudo gene KIR2DP1 (p = 0.011 OR = 0.49) could be associated with immunity against HBV infection. Patients who carried the KIR3DL2 gene had a high HBV viral load compared to the rest of the study population. Conclusion: Our data showed an evidence of correlation between the propensity of developing chronic HBV infection and certain KIR gene frequencies and that KIR3DL1, KIR3DL2, KIR2DS1 and KIR2DP1 might confer a protective status against chronic HBV infection in Burkina Faso’s patients

Prevalence, genetic variants and clinical implications of G-6-PD deficiency in Burkina Faso: a systematic review

Résumé Contexte Il est. actuellement bien connu que certains antipaludiques comme la primaquine, peuvent induire des crises d’anémie hémolytique graves chez les personnes présentant un déficit en G-6-PD. Les prescriptions de médicaments antipaludiques doivent donc tenir compte du statut G-6-PD du patient dans les zones d’endémie du paludisme comme le Burkina Faso où la prévalence de cette anomalie génétique est. relativement élevée. En dépit d’une grande hétérogénéité clinique observée selon la nature moléculaire du déficit et l’activité résiduelle de l’enzyme dans le globule rouge, il existe très peu de données sur la prévalence du déficit en G-6-PD et la distribution des variants génétiques en cause au Burkina Faso. Dans cette revue de la littérature nous présenterons la synthèse des différents travaux réalisés sur le déficit en G-6-PD au Burkina Faso afin de déterminer sa prévalence, la distribution probable des variants génétiques en cause et leurs implications cliniques en vue d’une politique nationale de dépistage systématique au sein des groupes les plus vulnérables au paludisme. Méthodes Une revue systématique a été réalisée pour analyser les données publiées disponibles sur la prévalence, les phénotypes et les mutations du déficit en G-6-PD au Burkina Faso Les mots clés utilisés étaient « G6PD deficiency AND Burkina Faso » en anglais ou « Déficit en G6PD AND Burkina Faso en français ». Pour identifier les articles pertinents, deux examinateurs indépendants ont examiné les titres, les résumés et le texte intégral des articles retenus. Résultats Une prévalence moyenne de 16,6% (183/1100; IC 95%: 0,145–0,190) et 6,5% (69/1066; IC 95%: 0,051–0,081) du déficit en G-6-PD a été observée respectivement chez les hommes et les femmes dans cette revue systématique. Malgré la prédominance (99,8% des cas de déficients en G-6-PD) du variant G-6-PD A- 202A/376G, les variants Santamaria et Betica Selma ont été identifiées au Burkina Faso. Indépendamment de la méthode utilisée, la prévalence du déficit enzymatique était significativement plus élevée chez les hommes (2,5–20,5%) comparativement aux femmes (3,3–12,3%). Conclusion Cette revue systématique suggère qu’en dépit de l’ubiquité du variant G-6-PD A- 202A/376G au Burkina Faso, il est. nécessaire de prendre en compte les variants Santamaria et Betica Selma, bien que leurs fréquences restent à préciser. Un dépistage systématique de la déficience en G-6-PD est. également nécessaire pour prévenir la survenue d’accidents hémolytiques iatrogènes notamment chez les populations les plus vulnérables au paludisme

Diagnostic biologique différentiel entre le paludisme et la dengue chez des patients fébriles à Ouagadougou au Burkina Faso dans un contexte d’endémie des deux maladies

La dengue constitue un problème de santé publique au Burkina Faso. Notre objectif était de faire le diagnostic biologique de la dengue chez des patients fébriles. Cette étude a porté sur 204 patients. Les kits « Dengue Duo de SD Bioline » ont été utilisés pour le dépistage. Une recherche de Plasmodium par la méthode de goutte épaisse a été réalisée chez les patients ainsi que le dosage du taux de CRP. La RT- PCR en temps réel a été utilisée pour confirmer les résultats positifs au test rapide. Environ 25,98 % des patients étaient TDR positif. L'étude a confirmé la présence de DENV chez 3,77 % des patients avec une association statistiquement significative entre le taux de plaquettes et la positivité à l’Ag NS1. Environ 87,87 % des patients qui avaient des gouttes épaisses positives présentaient également des taux de CRP élevés comparativement aux patients qui avaient des taux de CRP normaux et des gouttes épaisses positives (7,01 %) avec une différence statistiquement significative. Dans cette étude, nous proposons des pistes de diagnostic différentiel entre la dengue et le paludisme, dans un contexte d’endémie des deux maladies, à partir de paramètres biologiques tels que les taux de plaquettes et de CRP.Mots-clés: Dengue, Diagnostic, RT-PCR, Burkina FasoEnglish Title: Differential biological diagnosis between malaria and dengue in febrile patients in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in a context of endemic diseaseEnglish AbstractDengue fever is a public health problem in Burkina Faso. The goal of this study was to make the biological diagnosis of dengue in clinically suspect patients. This study involved 204 clinically suspected dengue patients. Dengue Duo kits from SD Bioline were used for screening. Plasmodium was investigated by the thick-film method in all patients included as well as the dosage of CRP. Complementary biological analyzes were carried out. Real-time RT-PCR was used to confirm positive results in the rapid test. Rapid tests revealed a 25.98% positive Dengue rate. The study confirmed by RT-PCR the effective presence of DENV in 3.77% of patients. Our study revealed a statistically significant association (p = 0.046) between platelet count and NS1 Ag positivity. In contrast, 87.87% (29/33) of patients who had malaria also had high CRP levels compared to patients with normal CRP and thick positive seizures (7.02%) with a statistically significant difference (p = 0.018). In this study, we confirm the responsibility of dengue arboviruses in cases of disease in our country, but also we propose ways of differential diagnosis between dengue and malaria, in an endemic context of both diseases, based on biological parameters such as platelet and CRP levels.Keywords: DENV, Diagnostic, RT-PCR, Burkina Fas

MOLECULAR HETEROGENEITY OF GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATE DEHYDROGENASE DEFICIENCY IN BURKINA FASO: G-6-PD BETICA SELMA AND SANTAMARIA IN PEOPLE WITH SYMPTOMATIC MALARIA IN OUAGADOUGOU

The G-6-PD deficiency has an important polymorphism with genotypic variants such as 202A/376G, 376G/542T and 376G/968T known in West African populations. It would confer protection against severe forms of malaria although there are differences between the various associations in different studies. In this study we genotyped six (06) variants of the G-6-PD gene in people with symptomatic malaria in urban areas in Burkina Faso. One hundred and eighty-two (182) patients who tested positive using rapid detection test and microscopy were included in this study. A regular PCR with the GENESPARK G6PD African kit was run followed by electrophoresis, allowing initially to genotype six SNPs (G202A, A376G, A542T, G680T, C563T and T968C). Women carrying the mutations 202A and/or 376G were further typed by real-time PCR using TaqMan probes rs1050828 and rs1050829. In the study population the G-6-PD deficiency prevalence was 9.9%. In addition of G-6-PD A- (202A/376G) variants, 376G/542Tand 376G/968T were detected. Hemoglobin electrophoresis revealed that 22.5% (41/182) of the individuals had HbAC compared with 2.2% with HbAS and one individual had double heterozygous HbSC. There was no correlation between the G-6-PD deficiency or haemoglobinopathies and symptomatic malaria in this study. As opposed to previous genotyping studies carried out in Burkina Faso, this study shows for the first time the presence of the variant A- (376G/968C) and warrants further investigation at the national level and in specific ethnic groups

Role of Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) genes in stages of HIV-1 infection among patients from Burkina Faso

A cluster of specialized KIR genes of specialized KIR genes has been shown to be associated with susceptibility or resistance to viral infections in humans. Therefore, this pilot study, this pilot investigation sought to determine the frequencies of KIR genes human immunodeficiency virus type 1( HIV-1) patients and establish their potential clinical involvement in disease progression and staging