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.

OBJECTIVE: This 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. DESIGN: A 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. METHODS: Anti-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 DISCUSSION: A 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). CONCLUSION: Our 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.

Characterization of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase and carbapenemase genes in bacteria from environment in Burkina Faso.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to characterize extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) and carbapenemase genes in bacteria from the environment in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. METHODOLOGY: This study was conducted from January 18 to December 31, 2019. Environmental samples were collected from the effluents of Souro Sanou University Hospital Center and the wastewater treatment plant at Bobo-Dioulasso. MacConkey agar media supplemented with 4 µg/mL cefotaxime was used for bacterial growth, and identification of bacteria was performed using API 20E system (BioMerieux SA, Lyon, France). Antibiotic susceptibility testing, synergy test, carbapenem inactivation method and molecular characterization were performed. RESULTS: A total of 180 bacterial isolates were identified from the different sites with a predominance of Klebsiella oxytoca and Klebsiella pneumoniae (27.5%). All 180 bacterial isolates were ESBL producers and 18 (10.0%) of them produced carbapenemases. Out of the 180 bacterial isolates, DNAs of 98.9% (178/180) bacterial isolates were extracted and tested through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for characterization of resistant genes. The study showed that 89.8% (160/178) carried the bla-CTX-M genes including 54.4 (87/160) from hospital effluents and 45.6 (73/160) from the wastewater treatment plant. Regarding the carriage of carbapenemase genes, 7.9 (14/178) blaNDM-1 was found in all the sites including 71.4% (10/14) from hospital effluents and 28.6 (4/14) from the wastewater treatment plant. blaOXA-48-like was only found in bacteria from hospital effluents and represented 2.2% (4/178). CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the need to build hospital effluent treatment plants to reduce the load of resistant bacteria before discharging the effluents into the urban wastewater system.