TRADITIONAL MEDICINE: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS AND INTEGRATION IN THE NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM OF CAMEROON.

Traditional medicine refers to health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being. In the last decade traditional medicine has become very popular in Cameroon, partly due to the long unsustainable economic situation in the country. The high cost of drugs and increase in drug resistance to common diseases like malaria, bacteria infections and other sexually transmitted diseases has caused the therapeutic approach to alternative traditional medicine as an option for concerted search for new chemical entities (NCE). The World Health Organisation (WHO) in collaboration with the Cameroon Government has put in place a strategic platform for the practice and development of TM in Cameroon. This platform aims at harmonizing the traditional medicine practice in the country, create a synergy between TM and modern medicine and to institutionalize a more harmonized integrated TM practices by the year 2012 in Cameroon. An overview of the practice of TM past, present and future perspectives that underpins the role in sustainable poverty alleviation has been discussed. This study gives an insight into the strategic plan and road map set up by the Government of Cameroon for the organisational framework and research platform for the practice and development of TM, and the global partnership involving the management of TM in the country

Field reaction of cassava genotypes to anthracnose, bacterial blight, cassava mosaic disease and their effects on yield

Barley yellow dwarf luteovirus (BYDV) serotypes PAV and RPV were identified from irrigated wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) samples from three provinces of Zambia by double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using polyclonal and monoclonal antisera. Nine wheat cultivars were surveyed in 11 wheat fields. The virus caused stunting of the infected plants and leaf yellowing. The BYDV-PAV and BYDV-RPV serotypes were identified from 9 and 10 of the 11 surveyed fields, respectively, with the two serotypes co-infecting some plants. Of the nine wheat cultivars surveyed, four were infected with PAV, one with RPV and four with both serotypes. Disease incidence caused by BYDV in the surveyed fields ranged from 5 to 25%. This is the first report on the occurrence of BYDV in wheat in Zambia. Key Words: Barley yellow dwarf Luteovirus, detection, serology, serotypes, symptoms (African Crop Science Journal: 2000 8(2): 179-186

Pre-treatment drug resistance and HIV-1 genetic diversity in the rural and urban settings of Northwest-Cameroon

Background With the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART), pre-treatment drug resistance (PDR) appears >= 10% amongst ART-initiators in many developing countries, including Cameroon. Northwest region-Cameroon having the second epidemiological burden of HIV infection, generating data on PDR in these geographical settings, will enhance evidence-based decision-making. Objectives We sought to ascertain levels of PDR and HIV-1 clade dispersal in rural and urban settings, and their potential association with subtype distribution and CD4-staging. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from February to May 2017 among patients recently diagnosed with HIV-infection and initiating ART at the Bamenda regional Hospital (urban setting) and the Mbingo Baptist hospital (rural setting). Protease and reverse transcriptase sequencing was performed using an in-house protocol and pre-treatment drug resistance mutations were interpreted using StanfordHIVdb.v8.3. Phylogeny was performed for subtype assignation. Results A total of 61 patient sequences were generated from ART initiators (median age: 37 years old; 57.4% female; median CD4 cell count: 184 [IQR: 35-387] in urban vs. 161 [IQR: 96-322] cells/mm(3)in rural). Overall, the level of PDR was 9.8% (6/61). Of note, burden of PDR was almost doubled in urban (12.9% [4/31]) compared to rural setting 6.7% (2/30),p= 0.352). Fifteen (15) PDR mutations were found among four patients the urban settings [6 resistance mutations to NRTIs:[M41L (2), E44D (1), K65R (1), K70E (1), M184V/I (2), K219R (1)] and 6 resistance mutations to NNRTIs: K103N (1), E138A/G (2), V179E (1), M230L (1), K238T (1), P225H (1)] against two (02) mutations found in two patients in the rural setting[2 resistant mutations to NNRTIs: E138A (1) and Y188H (1)]. The rural setting showed more genetic diversity (8 subtypes) than the urban setting (5 subtypes), with CRF02_AG being the most prevalent clade (72.1% [44/61]). Of note, level of PDR was similar between patients infected with CRF02_AG and non-CRF02_AG infected (9.1% [4/44]) vs. 11.8% [2/17]),p= 1.000). Moreover, PDR appeared higher in patients with CD4 cell count <200 cells/mm(3)compared to those with CD4 cell count >= 200 cells/mm(3)(14.7% [5/34]) vs. 3.7% [1/27]),p= 0.214). Conclusions PDR is at a moderate rate in the Northwest region of Cameroon, with higher burden within urban populations. CRF02_AG is the most predominant clade in both urban and rural settings. No effect of HIV molecular epidemiology and CD4-staging on the presence of PDR in patients living in these settings was found. Our findings suggest close monitoring, NNRTI-sparing regimens or sequencing for patients initiating ART, especially in urban settings