Pregnancy rate and birth outcomes among women receiving antiretroviral therapy in Burkina Faso: a retrospective cohort study

Introduction: In Sub-Saharan Africa, few studies reported pregnancy incidence and outcomes in women taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). This survey aims to estimate the incidence and outcomes of pregnancy in a cohort of HIV positive women initiating ART in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Methods: We carried out a retrospective cohort study. We selected women in childbearing age initiating ART and followed up in Bobo-Dioulasso teaching hospital between January 2005 and June 2011. The incidence of pregnancies during follow-up was calculated. Childbirth was defined by the expulsion of a fetus after 22 weeks of amenorrhea. Before this term, it is an abortion. Childbirth is said premature if it occurs before 37 weeks of gestation, to term if it occurs between the 38th and the 42nd week. The annual age-standardized fertility rates were calculated using the baseline population from the 2010 demographic and health survey (DHS) in Burkina Faso. Results: A total of 1,763 women of childbearing age under ART were included in the study. They ranged between 18 and 48 years old with a median of 35 years old. A total of 222 pregnancies were observed during 4639 women-years of follow-up, corresponding to an incidence density of 5 pregnancies for 100 women-years (95% CI: 4.2-5.5). Among the 222 pregnancies recorded, 9(4.0%) ended with abortion, 205(92.4%) with childbirth (including 15 premature childbirths); the outcome of 8(3.6 %) pregnancies were unknown abortion. Live birth and stillborn rates were 94.0% (193/205) and 6.0% respectively. The standard fertility rate in our cohort was 45 live births for 1,000 women-years. The general decrease in fertility rates was 66.0% among women infected with HIV compared to the overall population Conclusion: This study shows a low pregnancy incidence among women initiating ART as compared to their peers from the general population. Pregnancies that occurred during ART generally end with live births. Care packages for HIV infected women of childbearing age must include reproductive health services to better address this issue.Pan African Medical Journal 2016; 2

De l’échec d’un projet à l’émergence d’un territoire

Il y a de cela bien longtemps, les anciens Grecs pensaient que les essaims d’abeilles se formaient dans la gueule des lions morts. La formulation moderne de ce mythe voudrait que d’un échec grandiose, surgisse une réalisation plus modeste mais à la fois concrète et positive. Tel est le cas de la vallée du Sourou, petite région dynamique, territoire né de l’échec d’un grand projet socialiste. Mais au-delà de ce cas particulier, se pose la question d’une possible transposition de ce qu’on peut ..

Impact of alternative treatment approach for cerebral toxoplasmosis among HIV/AIDS patients from a resourcepoor setting in Burkina Faso

Cerebral toxoplasmosis is caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii because of reactivation of latent tissue cysts in the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients with severe immunosuppression. The objective of this study was to evaluate the benefit of co-trimoxazole in presumptive and prevention of cerebral toxoplasmosis in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/AIDS patients at Bobo-Dioulasso Hospital in Burkina Faso from June 2012 to October 2014. ELISA and ELFA were performed on serum for the quantitative determination of IgG and IgM anti-T. gondii, respectively. The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis was 29.3%. No IgM antibodies for T. gondii were found. Six patients with Toxoplasma-specific antibodies presented cerebral toxoplasmosis. All patients were infected by HIV-1 with the median of CD4+ T lymphocytes at 141 cells/μl. No patient was under antiretroviral therapy. No case of cerebral toxoplasmosis was noted in patients receiving co-trimoxazole in prevention. Presumptive treatment of cerebral toxoplasmosis with co-trimoxazole was effective in all patients with a significant clinical improvement in 83.3%. These results attest the benefit of cotrimoxazole in cerebral toxoplasmosis treatment in countries where drug resources are limited when sulfadiazine is not available. Ours finding highlight the importance of establishing toxoplasmosis chemoprophylaxis to HIV with severe immunosuppression patients and positive Toxoplasma serology

Chronic kidney disease and HIV in the era of antiretroviral treatment : findings from a 10-year cohort study in a west African setting

International audienceBACKGROUND:It has been reported that people living with HIV in West Africa exhibited the highest risks for chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the world. Here, we aimed at determining the CKD frequency and changes in kidney function during antiretroviral treatment (ART) in a large cohort of HIV-patients followed in Burkina Faso.METHODS:We included ART-naive adults who initiated ART at the Day Care Unit of the Souro Sanou University Hospital between 01/01/2007 and 12/31/2016. We assessed the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by serum creatinine using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation. Following the K/DOQI recommendations, CKD was defined as eGFR < 60 ml/min/1.73m2 at two consecutive measurements at least 3 months apart. The factors associated with eGFR decline or CKD were identified by mixed linear regression and Cox regression, respectively.RESULTS:Three thousand, one hundred and thirty-eight patients (72% women) were followed for a median (IQR) of 4.5(2.2-6.9) years. At baseline, median eGFR (IQR) was 110.7(94.4-128.4) ml/min/1.73m2 and 93 (3%) patients exhibited eGFR < 60 ml/min/1.73m2. The lowest-performing progressions of eGFR during the first year of ART were observed in patients with 40-49 yr. age range (- 8.3[- 11.7;-5.0] ml/min/1.73m2, p < 0.001), age ≥ 50 yr. (- 6.2[- 10.7;-1.8] ml/min/1.73m2, p = 0.006) and high blood pressure (HBP) (- 28.4[- 46.9;-9.9] ml/min/1.73m2, p = 0.003) at ART initiation. Regarding the ART exposure in patients with normal baseline eGFR, zidovudine (AZT) with protease inhibitor (PI) (- 4.7[- 7.7;-1.6] ml/min/1.73m2, p = 0.002), tenofovir (TDF) + PI (- 13.1[- 17.4;-8.7] ml/min/1.73m2, p < 0.001), TDF without PI (- 3.2[- 5.0;-1.4] ml/min/1.73m2, p < 0.001), stavudine (d4T) + PI (- 8.5[- 14.6-2.4] ml/min/1.73m2, p = 0.006) and d4T without PI (- 5.0[- 7.6-2.4] ml/min/1.73m2, p < 0.001) were associated with poorer eGFR progression. The prevalence of CKD was 0.5% and the incidence was 1.9 [1.3; 2.7] cases/1000 person-years. The risk of CKD was higher in patients with HBP (4.3[1.8;9.9], p = 0.001), 40-49 yr. patients (4.2[1.6;11.2], p = 0.004), ≥50 yr. patients (4.5[1.5;14.1], p = 0.009) and patients exposed to abacavir (ABC) or didanosine (ddI) based ART (13.1[4.0;42.9], p < 0.001).CONCLUSIONS:Our findings do not confirm the high risk of CKD reported in previous studies of West Africans with HIV, but support the recommendations for early initiation of ART and close kidney function monitoring in patients with HBP or aged ≥40 yr

Reduction of mother-to-child transmission of HIV at Saint Camille Medical Centre in Burkina Faso

One thousand three hundred and twenty-eight pregnant women with less than 32 weeks of amenorrhea received voluntary counseling and testing at Saint Camille Medical Center from May 1, 2002 to December 30, 2004. Following informed consent and pre-test counseling, HIV screening was performed in 1,202 women. According to the prevention protocol, HIV-positive women received a single dose of Nevirapine (200 mg) during their labor, while their newborn received a single dose of Nevirapine (2 mg/kg) within 72 hr from birth. HIV seroprevalence (11.2%) was higher than in the overall population. One hundred and ninty-three children were born at the end of December 2004; 53 children (27.5%) followed a short breastfeeding protocol for 4 months, while 140 (72.5%) were fed artificially. All the children underwent RT-PCR test for HIV 5-6 months after their birth: 173 (89.6%) were HIV negative whilst 20 children (10.4%) were HIV positive. Out of the 20 positive children 5/53 (9.4%) had received breast milk for 4 months, while the remaining 15/140 (10.7%) had been fed artificially (P = 0.814). Artificially fed babies (3/140 (2.1%)) and 1/53 (1.9%) of those breast fed for 4 months deceased according to mortality rate of HIV-positive children. This shows that there is no statistically significant difference (P = 0.648) between the mortality of artificially fed (3/140 or 2.1%) and breast-fed (1/53 or 1.9%) children. Artificially fed children (20/140 (14.3%)) and 5/53 (9.4%) of breast-fed children died within 6-10 months. This figure indicates that there is no significant difference between the mortality rate of artificially and that of breast-fed children (P = 0.427). Although the HIV prevention program reduced significantly the vertical transmission of HIV at Saint Camille Medical Center, the mortality of artificially fed children was still high due to gastrointestinal diseases. The HIV diagnosis by RT-PCR technique was of great help in the early identification of HIV-infected children

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG and associated factors among people living with HIV over the first 12 months following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Burkina Faso, a sub-Saharan African country.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and factors associated with the infection among PLWHIV over the first 12 months following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Burkina Faso.DesignA retrospective cross-sectional study of plasma samples collected from March 9, 2020, and March 8, 2021, at the outpatient HIV referral center, before the introduction of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in Burkina Faso.MethodsAnti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG were detected in plasma using DS-ЕIA-ANTI-SARS-CoV-2-G (S) kit. Logistic regressions were used to compare SARS-CoV-2 specific immune responses between groups and within subgroups.Results and discussionA total of 419 plasma were subjected to serological diagnosis. None of the participants was vaccinated against COVID-19 during the period of sample collection, and 130 samples were positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, giving a prevalence of 31.0% (95% CI 26.6-35.7). The median CD4 cell count was 661 cells/μL (IQR,422-928). Retailers had half the risk of being infected compared to housemaids with an OR of 0.49 (p = 0.028, 95% CI 0.26-0.91). Likewise, the risk of infection was 1.69 times higher in patients on integrase inhibitors compared to that of patients on non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (p = 0.020, 95% CI 1.09-2.63).ConclusionOur study reveals a high seroprevalence among PLWHIV to SARS-CoV-2 during the first year of the pandemic. In addition, PLWHIV on integrase inhibitors are 1.69 times more likely to be infected than PLWHIV on non-nucleoside inhibitors, and this observation remains an intriguing topic that still needs to be clarified

Prevalence of human leukocyte antigen HLA-B*57:01 in individuals with HIV in West and Central Africa

International audienceBackground: The presence of the human leukocyte antigen HLA-B*57:01 is associated with the development of a hypersensitivity reaction to abacavir (ABC). Limited data exist on HLA-B*57:01 prevalence in individuals with HIV-1 in Africa. This study aimed to estimate HLA-B*57:01 prevalence in individuals with HIV-1 in West and Central Africa. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in four countries in West and central Africa (Burkina-Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, and Togo) from January 2016 to February 2020 to determine the status of HLA-B*57:01 in adults with HIV-1. The presence of HLA-B*57:01 was determined by using Single Specific Primer-Polymerase Chain Reaction (SSP-PCR) in blood samples. Prevalence rates were stratified based on country. Results: A total of 4016 (69.8% women) individuals with HIV were enrolled. Their median age was 45, and the interquartile range was 38-52. We included 500 (12.4%) patients in Burkina-Faso, 1453 (36.2%) in Côte d'Ivoire, 951 (23.7%) in Gabon, and 1112 (27.7%) in Togo. The overall HLA-B*57:01 prevalence was 0.1% [95% CI: 0.0-0.2%]. The prevalence of HLA-B*57:01 was similar according to the four countries. Only one case was reported in each country except Togo, with no cases. Conclusions: HLA-B*57:01 prevalence is low in individuals with HIV in West and central Africa, and there is no difference among countries. This study does not confirm the utility of HLA-B*57:01 allele testing for abacavir use in this region

Predictors of severe hypoxemia among COVID-19 patients in Burkina Faso (West Africa): Findings from hospital based cross-sectional study

Introduction: COVID-19 is one of the world’s major health crises. The objective of this study was to determine the predictive factors of severe hypoxemia in patients hospitalized in COVID-19 health facilities in Burkina Faso. Patients and method: This study was a hospital-based cross-sectional study. The data collected relate to the period of the first wave of the epidemic (March 9 to June 30, 2020). All patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in the requisitioned health facilities of Ouagadougou were included in this study. Predictors of severe hypoxemia were identified using a multivariate logistic regression model. Results: During the study period, 442 patients were included, representing 45.7% of the total number of positive patients in the entire country. The most common co-morbidities were diabetes (55; 12.4%) and arterial hypertension (97; 21.9%). Severe hypoxemia (SpO2 < 90%) was observed in 64 patients (14.5%). Age over 65 years (OR = 8.24; 95% CI: 2.83–24.01) and diabetes (OR = 2.43; 95% CI: 1.17–5.06) were the predictors for occurrence of severe hypoxemia in multivariate analysis. Conclusion: The predictive factors of COVID-19 are similar in African and Caucasian populations. The surveillance of COVID-19 in risk groups should be strengthened to reduce their morbidity and mortality

APOL1 Renal Risk Variants and Kidney Function in HIV-1–Infected People From Sub-Saharan Africa

International audienceAPOL1 G1 and G2 alleles have been associated with kidney-related outcomes in people living with HIV (PLHIV) of Black African origin. No APOL1-related kidney risk data have yet been reported in PLHIV in West Africa, where high APOL1 allele frequencies have been observed. Methods: We collected clinical data from PLHIV followed in Burkina Faso (N = 413) and in the ANRS-12169/2LADY trial (Cameroon, Senegal, Burkina Faso, N = 369). APOL1 G1 and G2 risk variants were genotyped using TaqMan assays, and APOL1 high-risk (HR) genotype was defined by the carriage of 2 risk alleles. Results: In West Africa (Burkina Faso and Senegal), the G1 and G2 allele frequencies were 13.3% and 10.7%, respectively. In Cameroon (Central Africa), G1 and G2 frequencies were 8.7% and 8.9%, respectively. APOL1 HR prevalence was 4.9% in West Africa and 3.4% in Cameroon. We found no direct association between APOL1 HR and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) change over time. Nevertheless, among the 2LADY cohort participants, those with both APOL1 HR and high baseline viral load had a faster eGFR progression (β = −3.9[−7.7 to −0.1] ml/min per 1.73 m2 per year, P < 0.05) than those with low-risk (LR) genotype and low viral load. Conclusion: Overall, the APOL1 risk allele frequencies in PLHIV were higher in the West African countries than in Cameroon, but much lower than previously reported in some Nigeria ethnic groups, which strongly advocates for further investigation in the African continent. This study suggested that the virological status could modulate the APOL1 impact on kidney function, hence reinforcing the need for early therapeutic interventions

Les mots de l’écologie

25 ans après la parution d’un numéro sur les discours de l’écologie politique, la revue Mots a invité les chercheurs à reprendre ce chantier. La communauté académique a amplement répondu à cet appel puisque la revue a reçu de nombreuses propositions d’articles selon une grande diversité de perspectives. Le présent volume constitue un aperçu de la vitalité de la recherche en matière d’analyse des discours écologistes et environnementalistes, recherche qui s’intéresse tant aux niveaux sémantique et lexical qu’aux niveaux discursif et conceptuel. Les controverses et l’acceptabilité lexicale occupent une place centrale dans les univers rhétoriques analysés par les différents articles proposés dans le dossier. Sont également interrogées les questions de mémoire, de percolation et de circulation des discours, des topiques et des mots dans l’espace, dans le temps mais aussi entre les groupes, partisans ou antagonistes. Mais c’est également la perception de l’avenir, point de fuite des questions environnementales qui est ici abordée. 25 years after an issue on political environmental discourses, Mots invited researchers to take up that question again. The academic community has answered that call with numerous article submissions along diverse lines. The present collection of articles sheds light on the vibrant research field of environmental and ecological discourse, which includes studies of semantics, lexicon, discourse and conceptualization. Controversies and lexical acceptability play a central part in the rhetorical universes which the articles of this dossier analyze. They discuss memory, the trickling down and circulation of discourse, topics and words in space and time as well as between groups, friends or foes. The perception of the future is also discussed as the focal point of environmental questions. 25 años trás la publicación de un número sobre los discursos de la ecología política, la revista Mots invitó los invesigadores a volver sobre ese terreno. La comunidad académica respondió plenamente a esta convocatoria y la revista recibió varias propuestas de publicaciones dentro del marco de múltiples perspectivas. El presente volumen propone una percepción de la vitalidad de la investigación en el domiño del análisis de los discursos ecologistas y ambientalistas, investigación que se interesa tanto a los niveles semánticos y lexicales como a los niveles discursivos y conceptuales. Las controversias como la acceptabilidad lexical ocupan un espacio central en los universos retóricos analizados por los diferentes artículos propuestos en la carpeta. Interroga también las cuestiones de la memoria, de la filtración y de la circulación de los discursos, de los tópicos y de las palabras tanto en el espacio, como en el tiempo, pero también entre los grupos, partisanos o antagonistas. Igualmente propone abordar una percepción del futuro, punto de fuga de las cuestiones ambientales