Young women who sell sex in Bangui, Central African Republic: a neglected group highly vulnerable to HIV.

BACKGROUND: The objectives of this study were to determine the association between the vulnerability factors linked to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infection among the young women who sell sex (YWSS) group (15-24 years) and adult sex workers, engaged in consensual sex for money (AFSW). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among AFSW involved in commercial sex transactions. Prevalence ratios (PR) analysis was carried out using log-binomial regression model. RESULTS: The prevalence of HIV-1 was 29.4% among YWSS compared to 19.6% among female sex worker (PR = 1.43 [1.07-1.91]). Consistent condoms use last 3 months were very low at 22.3% and 41.2%, respectively (PR = 0.52 [0.37-0.74]), the low education level among YWSS versus AFSW (PR = 0.55 [0.40-0.76]); YWSS having been a victim of sexual violence in the last 12 months (PR = 2.00 [1.52-2.63]), were also more likely to be HIV positive. CONCLUSIONS: The YWSS had a high prevalence of HIV, experienced other socioeconomic vulnerabilities and remain a key population for comprehensive HIV programs. To reach all YWSS, programs need to consider many outreach programs and address the shared determinants of HIV risk.

[Factors associated with non-disclosure of HIV status among women attending prenatal clinics in Bangui]. / Facteurs associés à la divulgation du statut de séropositivité au VIH à Bangui.

INTRODUCTION: The failure of pregnant women to disclose their HIV serological status to the those around her, especially the father of the unborn child, can be a barrier to preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. In this context, the present study was designed to determine the proportion of women who failed to disclose their HIV status to their spouses and the factors associated with this non-disclosure. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study was conducted from 1 February to 30 May 2017. The study population consisted of all pregnant and non-pregnant HIV-positive women followed in the three main mother and child health services in Bangui. RESULTS: A total of 256 women were recruited, 76 (29.7%) of whom had not disclosed their HIV status to their spouse. The main factors associated with non-disclosure of HIV status were the spouse's young age, precarious employment status, and couples living separately. CONCLUSION: In the light of the results of this study, efforts should be made to ensure more active involvement of partners in sexual and reproductive health programmes in general and PMTCT in particular. The general public also needs to be made aware of the dangers of stigma and the law on the protection of people living with HIV should be enforced.

Identification of pathogens for differential diagnosis of fever with jaundice in the Central African Republic: a retrospective assessment, 2008-2010.

BACKGROUND: Febrile jaundice results clinically in generalized yellow coloration of the teguments and mucous membranes due to excess plasma bilirubin, accompanied by fever. Two types are found: conjugated and unconjugated bilirubin jaundice. Jaundice is a sign in several diseases due to viruses (viral hepatitis and arbovirus), parasites (malaria) and bacteria (leptospirosis). In the Central African Republic (CAR), only yellow fever is included on the list of diseases for surveillance. The aim of this study was to identify the other pathogens that can cause febrile jaundice, for better management of patients. METHODS: Between 2008 and 2010, 198 sera negative for yellow fever IgM were randomly selected from 2177 samples collected during yellow fever surveillance. Laboratory analyses targeted four groups of pathogens: hepatitis B, C, delta and E viruses; dengue, chikungunya, Zika, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, West Nile and Rift Valley arboviruses; malaria parasites; and bacteria (leptospirosis). RESULTS: Overall, 30.9% sera were positive for hepatitis B, 20.2% for hepatitis E, 12.3% for hepatitis C and 8.2% for malaria. The majority of positive sera (40.4%) were from people aged 16-30 years. Co-infection with at least two of these pathogens was also found. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that a systematic investigation should be undertaken of infectious agents that cause febrile jaundice in the CAR.

Performance of Paracheck™-Pf, SD Bioline malaria Ag-Pf and SD Bioline malaria Ag-Pf/pan for diagnosis of falciparum malaria in the Central African Republic.

BACKGROUND: Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are the current complement to microscopy for ensuring prompt malaria treatment. We determined the performance of three candidate RDTs (Paracheck™-Pf, SD Bioline malaria Ag-Pf and SD Bioline malaria Ag-Pf/pan) for rapid diagnosis of malaria in the Central African Republic. METHODS: Blood samples from consecutive febrile patients who attended for laboratory analysis of malaria at the three main health centres of Bangui were screened by microscopy and the RDTs. Two reference standards were used to assess the performance of the RDTs: microscopy and, a combination of microscopy plus nested PCR for slides reported as negative, on the assumption that negative results by microscopy were due to sub-patent parasitaemia. RESULTS: We analysed 436 samples. Using the combined reference standard of microscopy + PCR, the sensitivity of Paracheck™-Pf was 85.7% (95% CI, 80.8-89.8%), that of SD Bioline Ag-Pf was 85.4% (95% CI, 80.5-90.7%), and that of SD Bioline Ag-Pf/pan was 88.2% (95% CI, 83.2-92.0%). The tests performed less well in cases of low parasitaemia; however, the sensitivity was > 95% at > 500 parasites/µl. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, SD Bioline malaria Ag-Pf and SD Bioline malaria Ag-Pf/pan performed slightly better than Paracheck™-Pf. Use of RDTs with reinforced microscopy practice and laboratory quality assurance should improve malaria treatment in the Central African Republic.

Risk factors for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the Central African Republic: A case-control study.

BACKGROUND: The emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) presents a challenge to the "End TB by 2035" strategy. This study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with MDR-TB in patients admitted to the pneumo-physiology clinic of the National University Hospital of Bangui in Central African Republic. METHODS: This was a "retrospective" chart review study. Cases were represented by patients more than 18 years of age treated for MDR-TB and controls were patients with "at least rifampicin-susceptible" TB treated "with first-line anti-TB regimen" and who at the end of treatment were declared cured. The status of "cured" was exclusively applicable to non-MDR TB. Risk factors associated with MDR-TB were identified by multivariate analysis. RESULTS: We included 70 cases and 140 controls. The median age was 35 years, IQR (22;46 years). The main factors associated with the occurrence of MDR-TB in multivariate analysis were male gender (0 R = 3.02 [1.89-3.99], p = 0.001), residence in a peri-urban/urban area (0 R = 3.06 [2.21-4.01], p = 0.002), history of previous TB treatment (0 R= 3.99 [2.77-4.25], p < 0.001) and the presence of multidrug-resistant TB in the family (0 R=1.86 [1.27-2.45], p = 0.021). CONCLUSION: The emergence of MDR-TB can be reduced by implementing appropriate strategies, such as preventive therapy in contacts of MDR-TB patients and detecting and appropriately treating MDR-TB patients to prevent further spread of infection.

Incidence and risk factors for tuberculosis among people living with HIV in Bangui: A cohort study.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the incidence and risk factors of tuberculosis (TB) among people living with HIV (PLHIV). Methods: A cohort study was carried out in an HIV infection management centre in Bangui. PLHIV aged 18 or older, with no history of TB, enrolled between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018 were included in the study. The chi-square test was used only to compare the proportions at the 5% significance level. To determine the risk factors, we used the Cox regression adjusted hazard ratio, using Epi Info 7 software. Results: A total of 677 patients including 618 (91.28%) on antiretroviral therapy were included in the study. The median age was 34 with extremes ranging from 18 to 57. Of the patients followed, 104 developed TB. The overall incidence of TB was 15.37 (104/677) cases per 100 PLHIV-years. This incidence was 13.10 (81/618) cases per 100 in patients on ART-years and 38.99 (23/59) cases per 100 patients on pre-ART-years. In pre-ART patients the incidence of TB was therefore almost 3 times higher than that of PLHIV on ART (p = 0.03). WHO clinical stages III and IV (p = 0.02), absence of ART (p = 0.03), poor adherence (p = 0.004) and low functional capacity (p = 0.04) were the risk factors associated with the occurrence of TB among PLHIV in Bangui. Conclusions: The high incidence of TB in our context is essentially linked to delay in diagnosis and the quality of care. Early initiation of antiretroviral therapy, systematic screening for TB in PLHIV upon entry into the active queue and better monitoring of patients on ART are strongly recommended.

Continuous Circulation of Yellow Fever among Rural Populations in the Central African Republic.

Yellow fever remains a public-health threat in remote regions of Africa. Here, we report the identification and genetic characterisation of one yellow-fever case observed during the investigation of a cluster of nine suspected haemorrhagic fever cases in a village in the Central African Republic. Samples were tested using real-time RT-PCR targeting the main African haemorrhagic fever viruses. Following negative results, we attempted virus isolation on VERO E6 cells and new-born mice and rescreened the samples using rRT-PCR. The whole viral genome was sequenced using an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 sequencer. Yellow-fever virus (YFV) was isolated from one woman who reported farming activities in a forest setting several days before disease onset. Phylogenetic analysis shows that this strain belongs to the East-Central African YFV genotype, with an estimated emergence some 63 years ago. Finally, five unique amino-acid changes are present in the capsid, envelop, NS1A, NS3, and NS4B proteins. More efforts are required to control yellow-fever re-emergence in resource-limited settings.

[Epidemiological and clinical features of tuberculosis at the Hôpital de l'Amitié in Bangui]. / Aspects épidémiologiques et cliniques de la tuberculose en milieu hospitalier à Bangui.

Tuberculosis (TB) is endemic in the Central African Republic (CAR) with an incidence rate of 391 per 100,000 population in 2015. This study aims to analyze current epidemiological and clinical features of TB at the Hôpital de l'Amitié in the Central African Republic. We conducted an analytic retrospective study of patients hospitalized in the Department of Medicine at the Hôpital de l'Amitié from 15 April 2010 to 14 October 2011. Data were collected using a questionnaire and then analyzed with Epi info software 3.5.3. Chi-square test was used to compare proportions, using a threshold significance level of 5%. The study included 220 patients, of whom 128 were women (58.18%). The average age of patients was 35.69± 10.65 years. In 42.70% of cases, patients had no professional activity. Prevalence of tuberculosis in hospital was 10.99%. On average, 12 cases of TB were recorded each month. Most common clinical signs included: chronic cough (71.81%), fever (96.82%), alteration of the general state (91.36%) and pulmonary condensation syndrome (63.64%). The diseases most commonly associated with tuberculosis were HIV/AIDS (73.36%), malaria (48.63%) and anemia (31.81%). The mean time between symptom onset and diagnosis was 37.65 days. Mortality rate was 18.63%. TB/HIV co-infection and neuromeningeal TB were associated with a high mortality rate (p < 0.05). Tuberculosis is a common disease in Bangui and it is often associated with HIV infection. Prognosis is poor in the case of neuromeningeal involvement. Prevention and routine monitoring in HIV infected patients may contribute to reduce the extent and severity of TB.

Incidence et facteurs de risque du tétanos néonatal en milieu rural centrafricain

Objectif : Décrire le profil épidémiologique et clinique du tétanos néonatal et identifier les facteurs de risque.Méthodologie : Il s'agissait d'une étude cas-témoins portant sur les nouveau-nés atteints du tétanos ou non (témoins), réalisée entre 2012 et 2017 à l'hôpital de district de Carnot. Un questionnaire a permis de collecter les données sociodémographiques et cliniques qui ont été saisies et analysées sur Epi info. Le test de chi-carré a servi à comparer les proportions au seuil de significativité 5%.Résultats : Au total,332 nouveau-nés ont été inclus dont 166 cas de TN et 166 témoins. L'âge moyen était de 7,8 ±3,6jours. L'incidence du TN était de 2,7 à 5,2 cas pour 1000 naissances vivantes. La fréquence hospitalière était de 7,5% et celle du tétanos de classe 3 selon le score de Dakar a été de 62,4%, le taux de létalité de 54%. Les facteurs de risque de TN étaient: le sexe masculin (p=0,00), le bas niveau d'instruction des mères (p=0,001),l'éloignement de l'hôpital (p=0,000), la primiparité (p=0,000), un faible nombre de consultations prénatales (p=0,000)et de doses de vaccin antitétanique (p=0,000), l'accouchement à domicile (p=0,000), l'accouchement par un personnel non qualifié (p=0,000),la section septique du cordon ombilical (p=0,000), l'absence de pansement du cordon (p=0,000) et un pansement septique (p=0,024).Conclusion : En Centrafrique, l'incidence du tétanos néonatal reste élevée et les facteurs de risque multiples. Des mesures efficaces de promotion de la santé peuvent contribuer à l'élimination de cette maladie