Seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis and rubella in pregnant women attending antenatal private clinic at Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of toxoplasmosis and rubella among pregnant women at Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. METHODS: All patient sera were tested for rubella and toxoplasmosis anti-IgG using commercial ELISA kits (Platelia™ Rubella IgG and Platelia™ Toxo IgG). The presence of anti-rubella and anti-toxoplasmosis IgM in serum samples was tested using commercial ELISA kits Platelia Rubella IgM and Platelia Toxo IgM. RESULTS: Among all the pregnant women tested for toxoplasmosis and rubella, their prevalence were 20.3% and 77.0%, respectively. Pregnant women in the age group of 18-25 years showed the highest frequency of anti-toxoplasmosis (34.5%) and anti-rubella IgG (84.6%). The prevalence of anti-toxoplasma and anti-rubella IgG decreased between 2006 and 2008 from 32.7% to 12.1% and 84.6% to 65.0%, respectively. There was no significant association between age and the mean titer of anti-toxoplasmosis IgG among pregnant women. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of toxoplasmosis and rubella is necessary in pregnant women in Burkina Faso because of the low immunization coverage rate of rubella and the high level of exposure to these two infections which can be harmful to the newborn if contracted by women before the third trimester of pregnancy.

Therapeutic efficacy of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine and chloroquine for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in pregnancy in Burkina Faso.

BACKGROUND: A reduction in the therapeutic efficacy of chloroquine (CQ) and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) has recently been observed in Burkina Faso. As these two drugs are used in pregnancy, their efficacy in pregnant women was studied to directly assess the level of drug resistance in this specific population, rather than to extrapolate results of studies conducted in children < 5 years of age. METHODS: During the malaria transmission season of 2003 in Ouagadougou, the clinical efficacy of SP and CQ, using the WHO 28-day protocol, was assessed in primigravidae and secundigravidae presenting with uncomplicated malaria. RESULTS: PCR-corrected results by day 28 showed that among 62 women treated with SP, eight (12.9%) experienced late parasitological failure, but no clinical failures. Among 60 women treated with CQ, the overall failure rate was 46.7% including 1.7% early treatment failures, 5% late clinical failures and 40% late parasitological failures. SP induced a haemoglobin gain of 0.3 g/dL by day 14 and 0.9 g/dL by day 28. Treatment responses were independent of gravidity, gestational age and prior antenatal care visits. CONCLUSION: While CQ should no longer be used, the efficacy of SP is still compatible with use for intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) in pregnancy. However, given the possible spread of resistance, the drug should be restricted in its use.