Etiology and risk factors for meningitis during an outbreak in Batié Health District, Burkina Faso, January-March 2016

Introduction: On 16 March 2016, Batié Health District notified the Burkina Faso Ministry of Health Surveillance unit of 12 suspected cases of meningitis. During the same period, Batié´s neighboring districts in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana were experiencing a meningitis epidemic. We investigated to establish the etiology and risk factors for the disease and to recommend prevention and control measures. Methods: We conducted unmatched case control study. A case was any person living in Batié with fever (temp. ≥ 38.5°C) and any of the following: neck stiffness, neurological disorder, bulging fontanelle, convulsion during January to April 2016 with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) positive to PCR. Controls were non sick household members, neighbors or friends to the cases. We analyzed the investigation and laboratory records. We included all confirmed cases and two neighborhood controls per case. We used a standard questionnaire to collect data. We analyzed data by Epi info 7 and calculated odds ratio (ORs),adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence interval. We proceeded to univariate, bivariate, multivariate and logistic regression analysis. Results: We interviewed 93 participants including 31 meningitis cases and 62 controls. The median age of cases was 8 years old [2 months-55 years] and 6.5 years old [5 months-51 years] for controls. Streptococcus pneumoniae 16(51.61%), Neisseria meningitidis W 14(45.16%) and Haemophilus influenzae b 1(3.23%) were the identified germs. The independent risk factors identified were travel to meningitis affected areas (Adjusted odd ratio(AOR)=12[2.3-60],p=0.0029); >5 persons sharing bedroom (AOR=5.7[1.5-22],p=0.012) and rhinopharyngitis (AOR=26[1.8-380],p=0.017). Conclusion: Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis W caused the outbreak in Batié. The risk factors were overcrowding, travel to affected areas, and rhinopharyngitis. We recommended reactive vaccination against Neisseria meningitidis W, limited travel to affected areas and ventilation of rooms

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Residential location choice in a developing country: what matter? A choice experiment application in Burkina Faso

International audienceThis paper assesses the benefits derived from environmental amenities, and more specifically from an urban park, from data on residential location choices. Household decisions regarding their residential location have important implications for urban planning. This paper uses a choice experiment pivot design (CE) to empirically analyse the trade-off between location attributes such as distance to an urban park and distance to workplace in the context of a developing country in which environmental questions are generally considered of lower priority. The limitation of transportation and communication networks suggests that the “tyranny of distance” is even more significant in this particular context than in larger cities located in more developed countries. Results show that inhabitants are willing to pay more in order to live close to an urban park than to their workplace. Furthermore, I find that preferences are heterogeneous and that the attribute corresponding to the presence of relatives in the area is associated with the highest willingness to pay

Asian tiger mosquito far from home: Assessing the impact of invasive mosquitoes on the French Mediterranean littoral

Highlights• Invasive Asian tiger mosquito both cause nuisance and can transmit serious diseases.• We value these disservices with two stated preferences methods.• The most frequent attitude places the risk of contracting mosquito-borne diseases first.• We identify 3 groups: averse to disease risk, averse to the nuisance, and indifferent.• The main explanatory factors are insecticides and repellents expenditure, housing place and income

Infections bactériennes invasives chez l'enfant drépanocytaire à Bamako, Mali

Résumé Les infections sont responsables d'une part importante de la morbidité et de la mortalité chez l'enfant drépanocytaire. Notre objectif était d’étudier le profil clinique et bactériologique des infections bactériennes de l’enfant drépanocytaire dans le service de pédiatrie du CHU Gabriel Touré. Matériel et méthodes: Nous avons réalisé une étude rétrospective sur 25 dossiers d’hospitalisation d’enfants drépanocytaires fébriles ayant bénéficié d’une hémoculture sur une période de 5 ans (2005-2010). Nous avons analysé les caractéristiques cliniques et bactériologiques des enfants ayant une hémoculture positive. Résultats: Dix des 25 hémocultures réalisées étaient positives. La tranche d’âge de 0-5 ans était la plus touchée (60%). Le suivi était irrégulier pour 7 enfants et 6/10 n'avaient pas reçu le vaccin anti pneumococcique. Sur le plan clinique, 5 cas de sepsis, une infection pulmonaire et 4 cas infections ostéo articulaires ont été diagnostiquées. La goutte épaisse était positive pour 4 patients. Les germes retrouvés ont été : Salmonella enterica sérotype Typhi (4 fois), Streptococcus pneumoniae (4 fois), Staphylococcus aureus (1fois), Enterobacter cloacae (1fois) ont été isolés. Salmonella enterica sérotypeTyphia été isolé dans 3 cas d'infections ostéo-articulaires et un cas de sepsis, Streptococcus pneumoniae était en cause dans l'infection pulmonaire et dans un cas de sepsis. L'antibiothérapie probabiliste dans la majorité des cas était basée sur les céphalosporines de troisième génération. L’évolution a été favorable dans 80% des cas. Conclusion : Les complications infectieuses de la drépanocytose peuvent être graves. La disponibilité de l'hémoculture doit nous permettre de caractériser le profil bactériologique dans notre contexte