Ex vivo anti-malarial drug susceptibility of Plasmodium falciparum isolates from pregnant women in an area of highly seasonal transmission in Burkina Faso.

BACKGROUND: Ex vivo assays are usually carried out on parasite isolates collected from patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria, from which pregnant women are usually excluded as they are often asymptomatic and with relatively low parasite densities. Nevertheless, P. falciparum parasites infecting pregnant women selectively sequester in the placenta and may have a different drug sensitivity profile compared to those infecting other patients. The drug sensitivity profile of P. falciparum isolates from infected pregnant women recruited in a treatment efficacy trial conducted in Burkina Faso was determined in an ex vivo study. METHODS: The study was conducted between October 2010 and December 2012. Plasmodium falciparum isolates were collected before treatment and at the time of any recurrent infection whose parasite density was at least 100/µl. A histidine-rich protein-2 assay was used to assess their susceptibility to a panel of seven anti-malarial drugs. The concentration of anti-malarial drug inhibiting 50% of the parasite maturation to schizonts (IC(50)) for each drug was determined with the IC Estimator version 1.2. RESULTS: The prevalence of resistant isolates was 23.5% for chloroquine, 9.2% for mefloquine, 8.0% for monodesethylamodiaquine, and 4.4% for quinine. Dihydroartemisinin, mefloquine, lumefantrine, and monodesethylamodiaquine had the lowest mean IC(50) ranging between 1.1 and 1.5 nM respectively. The geometric mean IC(50) of the tested drugs did not differ between chloroquine-sensitive and resistant parasites, with the exception of quinine, for which the IC(50) was higher for chloroquine-resistant isolates. The pairwise comparison between the IC(50) of the tested drugs showed a positive and significant correlation between dihydroartemisinin and both mefloquine and chloroquine, between chloroquine and lumefantrine and between monodesethylamodiaquine and mefloquine. CONCLUSION: These ex vivo results suggest that treatment with the currently available artemisinin-based combinations is efficacious for the treatment of malaria in pregnancy in Burkina Faso. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT00852423

Chapitre 6. Les systèmes d’information environnementaux

Introduction Un système d’information est un ensemble structuré : de données, de traitements et de leur communication avec leur description à l’aide, respectivement, de structures, de procédures et de protocoles ; de moyens techniques (le système informatique) mais aussi de documents, matériels de reprographie, communication,… ayant pour fonction de générer, mémoriser, traiter, transférer et exploiter des informations dans le cadre d’objectifs définis. Un système d’information repose sur une ..

Avenir du fleuve Niger

Le fleuve Niger constitue un véritable poumon humide pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest et plus spécialement pour la république du Mali. Dans ce pays, la gestion du fleuve constitue un enjeu majeur car on y trouve à la fois de remarquables systèmes de production traditionnels associés au phénomène naturel de crue – sources de moyens d’existence pour des centaines de milliers de personnes – mais aussi de grandes réalisations et promesses en matière d’aménagements modernes, hydroélectriques et hydroagricoles. À l’heure où de nouveaux projets d’équipement arrivent à concrétisation et où d’autres sont annoncés, il est important de faire le point sur l’état de santé de ce fleuve et de peser ce qu’il représente pour ses multiples usagers. Cette expertise collégiale, conduite par l’IRD et l’IER et réalisée avec le soutien de plusieurs institutions d’aide au développement et de défense de l’environnement, traite de ces différents aspects avec pour objectif, d’une part, la clarification des cadres institutionnels et des options de politiques publiques et, d’autre part, le renforcement des outils de suivi et d’aide à la décision.The Niger river is truly the main source of life for Western Africa, more specifically for the Republic of Mali. In the country, management of the river is a key topic, as one can find at the same time remarkable traditional production systems associated with the floods which supply hundreds thousands of people – but also great projects which promise modern installations, hydroelectrical and hydroagricultural systems. As new projects come to their end and others begin, it seems important to make a point regarding the health of the river and to evaluate what it represents for its diverse users, civil society or for the economy of Mali. This is the aim of this expert group review, led by the IRD and the IER, with the support of different development and nature protection institutes. Complementarities as well as oppositions that appear from the interactions between the river’s users are described. For the decision-makers in charge of those problems, different recommendations are made, aiming on one hand to clarify institutional frameworks and policy options, and on the other hand to reinforce management and decision-making tools

Additional file 1: of Ex vivo anti-malarial drug susceptibility of Plasmodium falciparum isolates from pregnant women in an area of highly seasonal transmission in Burkina Faso

Figure S1. Scatter of the IC50 values with geometric mean and the resistance cutoff (where available) of each drug. In order to better visualize and understand the data, a figure showing the scatter of the IC50 values with geometric mean and the resistance cutoff (where available) of each drug is proposed