Mental health, stigma and the quality of life of people affected by neglected tropical diseases of the skin in Kasai Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a sex-disaggregated analysis.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, persons affected by skin Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) may experience stigma and discrimination, which could lead to impaired societal functioning and poor mental wellbeing. Evidence of comorbidity of NTDs and mental health conditions is dominated by Leprosy, largely lacking in post-conflict areas, and rarely disaggregated by sex. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey is the first to explore depression, anxiety, stigma, and quality of life amongst people affected by Lymphatic Filariasis, Buruli Ulcer, Onchocerciasis or Leprosy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After a census through active case identification, the survey was completed by 118 persons (response rate 94.4%). RESULTS: In total, 58.3% of men and 80.0% of women screened positive for major depressive disorder (PHQ-9). Symptoms indicative of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD-7) were displayed by 54.8% of men and 62.2% of women. Being female, having a disability, experiencing stigma and lower physical quality of life were predictors of depression. Anxiety was predicted by age, physical quality of life, disability (for men only) and environmental quality of life (for women only). CONCLUSIONS: Integrated, intersectoral and gender-sensitive initiatives are needed to respond to the many biopsychosocial challenges that persons affected face. CONTEXTE: Dans le monde entier, les personnes atteintes de maladies tropicales négligées (MTN) peuvent faire l'objet d'une stigmatisation et d'une discrimination, ce qui peut entraîner une altération du fonctionnement de la société et un mauvais bien-être mental. Les preuves de la comorbidité des MTN et des troubles de la santé mentale sont dominées par la lèpre, manquent largement dans les zones post-conflit et sont rarement ventilées par sexe. MÉTHODES UTILISÉES: Cette enquête transversale est la première à explorer la dépression, l'anxiété, la stigmatisation et la qualité de vie chez les personnes atteintes de filariose lymphatique, d'ulcère de Buruli, d'onchocercose ou de lèpre en République démocratique du Congo. Après un recensement par identification active des cas, 118 personnes ont répondu à l'enquête (taux de réponse 94,4%). RÉSULTATS: Au total, 58,3% des hommes et 80,0% des femmes ont été dépistés positifs pour un trouble dépressif majeur (PHQ-9). Des symptômes indiquant un trouble anxieux généralisé (GAD-7) ont été observés chez 54,8 % des hommes et 62,2 % des femmes. Le fait d'être une femme, d'avoir un handicap, d'être stigmatisé et d'avoir une qualité de vie physique inférieure était un facteur prédictif de la dépression. L'anxiété était prédite par l'âge, la qualité de vie physique, le handicap (pour les hommes uniquement) et la qualité de vie environnementale (pour les femmes uniquement). CONCLUSIONS: Des initiatives intégrées, intersectorielles et sensibles au genre sont nécessaires pour répondre aux nombreux défis biopsychosociaux auxquels sont confrontées les personnes touchées. ANTECEDENTES: En todo el mundo, las personas afectadas por Enfermedades Tropicales Desatendidas (ETD) cutáneas pueden sufrir estigmatización y discriminación, lo que podría conducir a un deterioro del funcionamiento social y a un bienestar mental deficiente. La evidencia científica sobre la comorbilidad de las ETD y las afecciones mentales está dominada por la lepra, en general insuficiente en zonas post-conflicto y rara vez se desglosan por sexo. MÉTODOS: Esta encuesta transversal es la primera que explora la depresión, la ansiedad, el estigma y la calidad de vida entre las personas afectadas por la filariasis linfática, la úlcera de Buruli, la oncocercosis o la lepra en la República Democrática del Congo. Tras un censo mediante identificación activa de casos, la encuesta fue completada por 118 personas (tasa de respuesta del 94,4%). RESULTADOS: En total, el 58,3% de los hombres y el 80,0% de las mujeres arrojaron resultados positivos para el trastorno depresivo mayor (PHQ-9). El 54,8% de los hombres y el 62,2% de las mujeres presentaban síntomas indicativos de trastorno de ansiedad generalizada (TAG-7). Ser mujer, tener una discapacidad, sufrir estigmatización y una menor calidad de vida física fueron factores predictivos de la depresión. La edad, la calidad de vida física, la discapacidad (sólo en el caso de los hombres) y la calidad de vida ambiental (sólo en el caso de las mujeres) fueron factores predictivos de la ansiedad. CONCLUSIONES: Se necesitan iniciativas integradas, intersectoriales y con perspectiva de género para responder a los numerosos retos biopsicosociales a los que se enfrentan las personas afectadas.

Effectiveness of routine BCG vaccination on buruli ulcer disease: a case-control study in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Togo.

BACKGROUND: The only available vaccine that could be potentially beneficial against mycobacterial diseases contains live attenuated bovine tuberculosis bacillus (Mycobacterium bovis) also called Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Even though the BCG vaccine is still widely used, results on its effectiveness in preventing mycobacterial diseases are partially contradictory, especially regarding Buruli Ulcer Disease (BUD). The aim of this case-control study is to evaluate the possible protective effect of BCG vaccination on BUD. METHODOLOGY: The present study was performed in three different countries and sites where BUD is endemic: in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, and Togo from 2010 through 2013. The large study population was comprised of 401 cases with laboratory confirmed BUD and 826 controls, mostly family members or neighbors. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: After stratification by the three countries, two sexes and four age groups, no significant correlation was found between the presence of BCG scar and BUD status of individuals. Multivariate analysis has shown that the independent variables country (p = 0.31), sex (p = 0.24), age (p = 0.96), and presence of a BCG scar (p = 0.07) did not significantly influence the development of BUD category I or category II/III. Furthermore, the status of BCG vaccination was also not significantly related to duration of BUD or time to healing of lesions. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, we did not observe significant evidence of a protective effect of routine BCG vaccination on the risk of developing either BUD or severe forms of BUD. Since accurate data on BCG strains used in these three countries were not available, no final conclusion can be drawn on the effectiveness of BCG strain in protecting against BUD. As has been suggested for tuberculosis and leprosy, well-designed prospective studies on different existing BCG vaccine strains are needed also for BUD.

Burden of Mycobacterium ulcerans disease (Buruli ulcer) and the underreporting ratio in the territory of Songololo, Democratic Republic of Congo.

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous infection by Mycobacterium ulcerans, also known as Buruli ulcer (BU), represents the third most common mycobacterial disease in the world after tuberculosis and leprosy. Data on the burden of BU disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo are scanty. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence rate and the distribution of BU in the Songololo Territory, and to assess the coverage of the existing hospital-based reporting system. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey (July-August 2008) using the door-to-door method simultaneously in the two rural health zones (RHZ) of the Songololo Territory (RHZ of Kimpese and Nsona-Mpangu), each containing twenty health areas. Cases were defined clinically as active BU and inactive BU in accordance with WHO-case definitions. RESULTS: We detected 775 BU patients (259 active and 516 inactive) in a total population of 237,418 inhabitants. The overall prevalence of BU in Songololo Territory was 3.3/1000 inhabitants, varying from 0 to 27.5/1000 between health areas. Of the 259 patients with active BU, 18 (7%) had been reported in the hospital-based reporting system at Kimpese in the 6-8 months prior to the survey. CONCLUSION: The survey demonstrated a huge variation of prevalence between health areas in Songololo Territory and gross underreporting of BU cases in the hospital-based reporting system. Data obtained may contribute to better targeted and improved BU control interventions, and serve as a baseline for future assessments of the control program.

[Medicine and health in the Democratic Republic of Congo: from Independence to the Third Republic]. / Médecine et santé en République Démocratique du Congo: de l'Indépendance à la 3e République.

The birth and mortality rates in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a former Belgian colony, are high, i.e., 48.9/1000 and 17/1000 respectively. The DRC also has one of the highest maternal death rates in the world, i.e., 1289/100,000 live births. Health conditions have not improved since independence. Access to drinking water is limited, living conditions are poor, and food availability in households is low. The mean health services utilization rate in the DRC is estimated to be 0.15 visits/inhabitant/year. The incidence of transmissible diseases is rising. This increase is observed even for illnesses that were under control before independence such as sleeping sickness, onchocerciasis, leprosy, and tuberculosis. One the main causes of mortality and morbidity in the population is malaria that is responsible for the deaths of 150,000 to 250,000 children under the age of 5 every year. The HIV prevalence rate is 4.5% with 1.19 million persons with AIDS and 930,000 orphans whose parents died of AIDS. Other potentially epidemic diseases including bubonic plaque and Ebola hemorrhagic fever are serious threats. Non-transmissible diseases are also on the rise including diabetes, systemic arterial hypertension, cancer and neglected diseases such as sickle cell anemia. To meet these challenges, the country's health authorities have established a program called the Strategy for Reinforcement of the Health System (SRHS). One goal of the SRHS is to develop health zones in order to improve access to quality health care for the whole population.

Integrating leprosy control into general health service in a war situation: the level after 5 years in eastern Congo.

South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, plagued by a turbulent civil war, started a process of integrating leprosy into general health services in 1995. A questionnaire survey was carried out in September 2000 to assess the level of structural and functional integration, after 5 years of the integration process, in nine of its 14 health districts. The survey revealed that a total of 76 clinic nurses remained of those trained in leprosy since 1993. In all, 33-6% of the total 226 health facilities had a trained nurse, but according to the district supervisors who filled the questionnaires, nurses in only 28.3% of health facilities could diagnose leprosy. Less than 40% of the total 226 health facilities were structurally integrated with MDT and other leprosy services. Functionally, the clinic nurses were involved in dispensing MDT drugs and keeping leprosy records in 90.8 and 81.6%, respectively, of the integrated facilities, and diagnostic activities in 43.7%. The degree of involvement put health facilities into four grades of functional integration: 1) fully-functional integrated, 2) semi-functional integrated, 3) semi-integrated (structural but not functional), 4) not integrated (vertical). On this scale, 80% of 107 health facilities reported by the supervisors had some form of integration and 20% were not integrated. Treatment activities were significantly more functionally integrated than the diagnostic and POD activities, which require more skills. The presence of a trained nurse in a health facility made no significant difference to the involvement of clinic nurses in dispensing MDT drugs and performing POD activities, but significantly affected their performance of diagnostic activities and records keeping. The endemic districts had higher levels of structural integration, were not more likely to be functionally integrated. The levels of structural integration after 5 years are considered low in South Kivu Province, and reflect the significant negative effect of civil conflicts on integration of leprosy programmes in Africa.

Brief survey of leprosy situation in Congo: sero-epidemiologic profile in correlation with some emerging viral infections.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, former Zaire) in central Africa remains the foremost country for leprosy in Africa, with a total of 4877 registered cases, of which 4573 are new cases since 1997. These numbers are well above the regional average. About 94% of these patients are under multidrug therapy (MDT) coverage in the Congo, which ranks 8th in coverage rate among the surrounding nine nations. Available data on anatomo-clinical profile and bacillarity are provided, with reservations on the use of these data drwn due to relatively small sample sizes. The seroprofile of the disease was reviewed with regard to the association of other immunity impairing infections like HBV infection and the recently highly incident retroviral epidemics (HIV-1, HTLV-1, and HTLV-2). The leading role of non-governmental organizations is cited for improving leprosy patient conditions and also for future prospects, where the necessity of coordinated strategies with the government is emphasized. Recommendations for new trends and steps relevant to improving existing and future leprosy control strategies are put into perspective.

Decreased survival of HTLV-I carriers in leprosy patients from the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a historical prospective study.

In this historical prospective study using sera stored for 22 years, we investigated the effect of HTLV-I infection on survival in a population of leprosy patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). We also determined the distribution of HTLV-I by subpopulation, age, and gender. Stored sera taken from a population of leprosy patients and controls in 1969 were tested for HTLV-I. Follow-up survival data on these patients were obtained in 1991. The sera collected in 1969 from 520 individuals was used to determine the prevalence of HTLV-I. Included in this number were 328 patients resident in the sanatorium. Survival and other data were available for 327 of these. A multivariate survival analysis using a logistic regression model was performed to evaluate the influence of HTLV-I status, age, type of leprosy, gender, duration of hospitalization, and ethnic group on survival. The overall prevalence of HTLV-I among the 520 individuals in the prevalence study was 34%, with 37.4% in the leprosy group and 25.2% in the control group (p < 0.01). Multivariate analysis using logistic regression showed that females of the Mongo and Ngombe ethnic group taken together were significantly more likely to be infected than the other groups (OR = 3.67, 95% CI: 2.14 to 6.30). A comparison of the death rates directly standardized for age and sex showed that the rate was significantly higher for HTLV-I positive (5.5/100 person-years of observation) compared with HTLV-I negative (3.6/100 person-years of observation). A survival analysis using the Cox model showed a risk ratio of 1.4 (CI: 1.04 to 1.89) for those infected with HTLV-I. An increase in the death rate was associated with HTLV-I infection in leprosy inpatients. The decreased survival associated with HTLV-I infection may result from an increased susceptibility to a variety of diseases.

PIP: Preservation of stored sera collected in 1969 from leprosy patients at a sanatorium in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Equator Province enabled an analysis of the survival of carriers of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1). The HTLV-1 prevalence in the sera collected from 377 leprosy patients and 143 controls in 1969 was 34% (37.4% and 25.2%, respectively). Multivariate survival analysis was performed to evaluate the impact of HTLV-1 status, age, type of leprosy, gender, duration of hospitalization, and ethnic group on the survival of leprosy patients. Members of the Mongo ethnic group were more likely than those of the Ngombe ethnic group to be infected. After adjustment for age and sex, mortality was significantly higher among HTLV-1-positive cases (5.5 per 100 person-years of observation) than HTLV-1-negative persons (3.6 per 100 person-years of observation). A survival analysis using the Cox model revealed a mortality risk ratio of 1.4 (95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.89) for HTLV-1-positive individuals. The reduced survival observed in HTLV-1-infected leprosy patients presumably resulted from concomitant increased susceptibility to other diseases.

The reduction of the leprosy endemicity in northeastern Zaire 1975/1989.

The leprosy endemy in Uele, North Eastern region of Zaire has declined considerably since the 1950's, particularly since 1975. The hypothesis is advanced that the most important causal factor has been the distribution of dapsone for many years, through a vertical programme. The gradual increase of dapsone resistance has been taken care of by the introduction of combined, multidrug therapy in the 1980's. The cost per patient detected and treated rises in inverse proportion to the decline in endemy; therefore, the time has come for the integration of a leprosy control in the primary health care strategy. However, central specialized teams financed by voluntary organisations should be maintained to assure training of personnel, to give advice in diagnosis, prevention and treatment of complications, to provide drugs and to assist in rehabilitation.

A longitudinal study of the incidence of leprosy in a hyperendemic area in Zaire, with special reference to PGL-antibody results. The Yalisombo Study Group.

Between 1984 and 1988, yearly surveys for leprosy were done among the 1500 people living in a previous leprosy segregation village in Zaire. In 1984 lepromin tests and phenolic glycolipid (PGL) antibody tests were done in a significant part of the population. The prevalence of the disease at that time was 16.1%, the proportion of multibacillary cases was 11.3% overall and 22% among active cases. Prior to 1984, 23% of paucibacillary cases and 56% of multibacillary cases had presented themselves spontaneously to the Leprosy Service. The exposure to the infection is uniform, but there is a suggestion of family clustering of cases. In spite of a rapidly bactericidal treatment of all known cases in 1984 and thereafter, the annual incidence of 0.34% did not decrease during the 4 years of the study. The PGL antibody test did not contribute to the diagnosis, classification or prognosis of the disease.

[The evaluation of an anti-leprosy program in Uélés (1975-1989)]. / Evaluation du programme de lutte contre la lèpre dans les Uélés (1975-1989).

Foperda, who took over and continued the work initiated in 1924 by the Congo Red Cross, is responsible for the programme of fight against leprosy in the Ueles region (Zaire). Important results have been obtained since 1975 in the framework of a specialised medical service. These results are exposed and discussed herebelow. The evolution of the endemic leprosy in the region under survey allows to contemplate new trends for the pursuit of the programme in the coming years (controlled integration within polyvalent health services).