Seroepidemiology of syphilis among men who have sex with men in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) have a disproportionate risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as syphilis. However, prevalence and determinants of syphilis among this population are less known in West Africa. This study aims to estimate syphilis prevalence among MSM in Burkina Faso. We conducted a cross-sectional biological and behavior survey in the two main cities of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso. MSM were recruited using Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) methods. Data were collected from January to April 2013 in Ouagadougou and from May to August 2013 in Bobo-Dioulasso. Out of the 657 MSM screened for syphilis, 6.1% (40/657) tested positive for Treponema pallidum antibodies and 1.1% (7/657) for active syphilis. Population-weighted prevalence of active syphilis was 2.1% (95% CI, 01.1-04.4) in Ouagadougou and 0.0% in Bobo-Dioulasso. Serologic markers of syphilis (anti-Treponema antibodies) were found among 7.4% (95% CI 5.0-10.8) of MSM in Ouagadougou and 5.0% (95% CI 3.1-8.0) in Bobo-Dioulasso. No significant differences were found in syphilis serological markers prevalence by participants' sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics. The prevalence of syphilis among MSM is low and comparable to that of other individuals of reproductive age in Burkina Faso. This low prevalence is very encouraging and suggests implementation of effective public health intervention programs which direct resources and services toward MSM to prevent further spread of syphilis infection and to limit HIV transmission in this group.

Association of TNF-α-308G/A and IL-18 Polymorphisms with risk of HPV infection among sexually active women in Burkina Faso.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide. Persistence infection can lead to the development of cervical cancer potentially due to some genetic factors such as polymorphisms in regulatory and coding regions of cytokine genes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between TNF-308 G/A or IL18 polymorphisms and high-risk HPV infection among sexually active women from Burkina Faso. Ninety-one HPV infected and two hundred and nine HPV negative women (the latter used as healthy controls) were screened. TNFA-308 G/A and IL18-607 C/A polymorphisms were detected using the TaqMan allelic discrimination. HPV 52 (21.19%), HPV 39 (11.86%) and HPV 33 (11.02%) were the most common HPV genotypes. The TNFA-308A and IL18-607 C alleles were predominant in all women in the study. None of the TNFA and IL18 alleles were associated with HPV infection. The results suggest that there is no relationship between TNF-308 G/A or IL18-607C/A polymorphisms and HPV infection among women in the study.

Dengue virus infection and pregnancy outcomes during the 2017 outbreak in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: A retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Dengue fever is a re-emerging pathology in Burkina Faso. It affects everyone and pregnant women are not left out. The objective of this study was to estimate the burden of dengue fever and to assess its effects on pregnancy outcomes in hospitalized pregnant women during the 2017 outbreak in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. METHOD: This was a retrospective cohort study including febrile pregnant women from five health facilities in Ouagadougou. The study was carried out from July 1st to December 31st, 2017. A logistic stepwise regression was performed to identify the pregnancy adverse outcomes risk factors. RESULTS: Our study included 424 pregnant women at a mean age of 27.1 years old (Standard deviation: 6.23 years). Overall 28.54% (121/424) were infected with dengue virus. During follow-up, 29.01% (123/424) presented an adverse pregnancy outcome. Adjusted for gestational age and clinical symptoms, the risk of adverse pregnancy outcome was twice as high among dengue infected women as compared to uninfected women with an adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) = 2.09 (1.08-4.05). The risk of the adverse pregnancy outcome was higher in the third trimester of pregnancy with aOR = 1.66 (1.02-2.72) in dengue fever infected women. CONCLUSION: Dengue fever is a risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes, especially in the third trimester in Burkina Faso. The implementation of effective anti-vectorial control interventions and better management of dengue fever during pregnancy are needed to improve pregnancy outcomes.