[Management of the yellow fever epidemic in 2010 in Séguéla (Côte d'Ivoire): value of multidisciplinary investigation]. / Gestion de l'épidémie de fièvre jaune en 2010 à Séguéla (Côte d'Ivoire): intérêt d'une investigation pluridisciplinaire.

INTRODUCTION: In August 2010, five positive cases of yellow fever were reported in the region of Séguéla, in the northwest of Côte d'Ivoire, affected by an armed conflict since 2002. In order to evaluate the extent of yellow fever virus circulation and the risk for local people, a multidisciplinary investigation was carried out by the Côte-d'Ivoire Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene. METHODS: Theses investigations were conducted in the villages of confirmed cases and the outpatient and hospitalization centers attended by infected patients, two weeks after the reactive immunization campaign performed in order to stop the spread of the epidemic. The search for suspects identified 16 cases, including 4 cases and 2 deaths in hospital registers and 12 cases during community interviews, including 6 deaths. RESULTS: Stegomyiens indices were relatively low. Aedes aegypti was present among adult mosquitoes. In addition, three wild vectors, varying in number from one locality to another, were detected: Ae. africanus, Ae. luteocephalus and Ae. vittatus with average biting rates of 0.3; 0.1 and 0.05 bite/man/twilight, respectively, at Soba, Ae. africanus and Ae. vittatus with average biting rates of 0.25 and 0.3 bite/man/twilight, respectively, at Yaokro and Ae. luteocephalus with one bite/man/twilight at Kaborékro. DISCUSSION: Unfortunately, the vaccine response conducted before investigations did not stop progression of the epidemic which broke out three months later in the Worofla health area, close to the Magrékros encampment.

Decreased motivation in the use of insecticide-treated nets in a malaria endemic area in Burkina Faso.

BACKGROUND: The use of insecticide-treated nets (ITN) is an important tool in the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) strategy. For ITNs to be effective they need to be used correctly. Previous studies have shown that many factors, such as wealth, access to health care, education, ethnicity and gender, determine the ownership and use of ITNs. Some studies showed that free distribution and public awareness campaigns increased the rate of use. However, there have been no evaluations of the short- and long-term impact of such motivation campaigns. A study carried out in a malaria endemic area in south-western Burkina Faso indicated that this increased use declined after several months. The reasons were a combination of the community representation of malaria, the perception of the effectiveness and usefulness of ITNs and also the manner in which households are organized by day and by night. METHODS: PermaNet 2.0 and Olyset were distributed in 455 compounds at the beginning of the rainy season. The community was educated on the effectiveness of nets in reducing malaria and on how to use them. To assess motivation, qualitative tools were used: one hundred people were interviewed, two hundred houses were observed directly and two houses were monitored monthly throughout one year. RESULTS: The motivation for the use of bednets decreased after less than a year. Inhabitants' conception of malaria and the inconvenience of using bednets in small houses were the major reasons. Acceptance that ITNs were useful in reducing malaria was moderated by the fact that mosquitoes were considered to be only one of several factors which caused malaria. The appropriate and routine use of ITNs was adversely affected by the functional organization of the houses, which changed as between day and night. Bednets were not used when the perceived benefits of reduction in mosquito nuisance and of malaria were considered not to be worth the inconvenience of daily use. CONCLUSION: In order to bridge the gap between possession and use of bednets, concerted efforts are required to change behaviour by providing accurate information, most particularly by convincing people that mosquitoes are the only source of malaria, whilst recognising that there are other diseases with similar symptoms, caused in other ways. The medical message must underline the seriousness of malaria and the presence of the malaria vector in the dry season as well as the wet, in order to encourage the use of bednets whenever transmission can occur. Communities would benefit from impregnated bednets and other vector control measures being better adapted to their homes, thus reducing the inconvenience of their use.

Species composition and population dynamics of Aedes mosquitoes, potential vectors of arboviruses, at the container terminal of the autonomous port of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

An entomological survey of Aedes mosquitoes was initiated at the container terminal of the Autonomous Port of Abidjan in 2009 following the occurrence of two outbreaks of yellow fever in less than 10 years and dengue cases reported in 2008 among expatriates returning from Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). It was based on regular monitoring of ovitraps from July 2009 to June 2010. A total of 4,739 adult mosquitoes represented by four species of Aedes (97% of total) and one unexpected species of Culex (3%) were obtained. Aedes aegypti was dominant with 98% of total Aedes (n = 4,594). Its density variation was closely related to the amount of rainfall. The other species of Aedes were collected in the second half of the major rainy season including Ae. albopictus (1.17% of Aedes) and Ae. angustus (0.13%) whose presence was discovered for the first time in Côte d'Ivoire.