Plague reappearance in Algeria after 50 years, 2003.

An outbreak of plague occurred in the region of Oran, Algeria, from June to July 2003. Algeria had not reported this disease for >50 years. Eighteen bubonic cases were identified, and Yersinia pestis was isolated from 6 patients. Except for the index case-patient, all patients recovered. Targeted chemoprophylaxis, sanitation, and vector control played a crucial role in controlling the outbreak. Epidemiologic and biomolecular findings strongly suggested the existence of a local animal reservoir during this period, but its origin (resurgence or re-importation) could not be determined. This sudden and unexpected reemergence of plague, close to an important commercial seaport, is a textbook illustration of a public health event of international importance. It also demonstrates that the danger of plague reoccurrence is not limited to the currently indexed natural foci.

Study of Serum Carcinoembryonic Antigen's Profile for Breast Cancer in Western Algeria: 100 cases.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Biology contributes to the early diagnosis and monitoring of breast cancer with several categories of markers such as prognostic markers (ER, PR, HER2), proliferative markers (Ki67), and tumor markers such as CEA and CA 15-3. CEA can be detected at a high concentration in serum of patients with malignant tumors. AIM: The aim of our study was to evaluate the concentrations of CEA in serum of women with breast cancer and to verify the existence of a possible link between the average rates of CEA and SBR grade. METHODS: Serum samples from 100 patients with breast cancer and 100 controls was recovered and examined with an AxSYM analyzer (Abbott Laboratories, USA) to measure CEA using Microparticle Enzyme Immunoassay (MEIA) technology. RESULTS: In our clinical study, the mean age of patients and controls were 52.7 and 50.3 years respectively. The results revealed an elevation in the CEA levels from patients with an average value of 16.61 ± 0.2 ng/ml. Positive correlation was found between CEA concentrations and SBR grade, it has found with 45,7 ± 1 ng/ml in grade III. CONCLUSION: CEA represents an excellent marker for breast cancer development. Changes in its concentration reflect the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of treatment.

Assessment of hypoxic stress in 44 women with breast cancer in the West Algeria.

AIM: The objective of this study was to evaluate the expression of hypoxia-inducible transcription factor 1α (HIF1α) protein profile among women with breast cancer in a population of western Algerian and to correlate the intensity of this expression with prognosis histological grade Scarff Bloom and Richardson (SBR) of the disease and the age of the patients. METHODS: We used a kit provided by Life Science Inc (UScnk) for a sandwich enzyme immunoassay for the quantitative measurement of in vitro HIF1α in plasma in 44 patients and 44 controls in a population of western Algerian. Then we looked for the correlation between the intensity of the expression of HIF1α and prognosis histological grade SBR and the age of the patients studied. RESULTS: The results indicate high levels of HIF1α at SBRIII grade with an average value of 12.26 ± 0.5 ng/ml. The average age of patients is around 50 ± 1year. In healthy subjects the mean concentration of 1.88 ± 0.1 ng/ml represents HIF1α with a mean age of 49 ± 1year. CONCLUSION: Clinical monitoring of patients treated for breast cancer by assaying the HIF1α marker seems to be very important in the prognosis.