[What remains today of neonatal conjunctivitis in prefecture of Kozah in Togo?]. / Que reste-t-il aujourd'hui des conjonctivites néonatales dans la préfecture de la Kozah au Togo ?

AIM: The purpose of this study is to screen the neonatal conjunctivitis in order to evaluate its incidence and especially to seek for the causative germs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We have realized cross-sectional study in three health centers of the prefecture of Kozah from March 24 to May 12, 2009. All the newborns followed in these centers are examined in the search of signs of conjunctivitis. A biological diagnosis of conjunctival secretions was carried out at the suspect newborns. RESULTS: During the study period, 348 newborns were examined including 185 boys and 163 girls corresponding to a sex-ratio (M/F) of 1.1. The middle age was 3.7 days. Twenty-eight newborns presented conjunctivitis, that is to say a rate of incidence of 8%. The cases of conjunctivitis were observed the first four days of life in 39.3% of cases. Eighteen of the newborns presenting conjunctivitis were vaginal deliveries (64.3%) against ten (35.7%) by caesarian. All the mothers of the ill newborns had a syndrome of sexually transmissible infection (STI) during the third quarters of pregnancy. After biological diagnosis, Staphylococcus aureus was found in 25% of the cases. CONCLUSION: Despite the common herd of neonatal conjunctivitis prophylaxis by Crede's method, its remains in the prefecture of Kozah. In hope for neonatal conjunctivitis eradication, treatment of STI on pregnant women associated to education and communication on the prevention of the infection in neonatal health care centers and at home by hygiene rule application are necessary.

[Evaluation of first void urine in the detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in patients less symptomatic in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire)]. / Evaluation du premier jet d'urine dans la détection de Neisseria gonorrhoeae chez des patients paucisymptomatiques à Abdidjan (Côte d'Ivoire).

Various diagnostic methods have been described to detect Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Collection of first void urine is advantageous because it is non-invasive, reproducible, and painless; and provides specimens that have already been used for detection of N. gonorrhoeae by molecular tools. The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of first void urine for detection of N. gonorrhoeae using conventional bacteriologic techniques in patients with low-grade symptoms. Investigation was focused on first void urine and urethral secretion specimens collected from 87 male patients who were undergoing diagnotic workup for suspicion of sexually transmitted infection. Direct microscopic examination of smears stained using the Gram technique and cultures on modified Thayer-Martin medium and on cooked blood agar were performed on each specimen. The prevalence of urethritis was 58.0%. Gonorrhoea was diagnosed in 7.5% of cases. The sensitivity and specificity of microscopic examination of first void urine for detection of Gram-negative diplococci were 85.7% and 97.5% respectively. First void urine was less productive than urethral secretion for detection of urethritis: sensitivity, 44.4% and specificity, 100%, and urethral flora: sensitivity, 59% and specificity of 96.9%. The good performance of first void urine specimens for detection of Gram-negative diplococci by microscopy may justify their use for identification of N. gonorrhoeae in level 1 laboratories. First void urine could also be useful for epidemiological studies and large-scale screening surveys.