Human Herpesvirus 8 seroprevalence among blood donors in Mali.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the Human Herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) is endemic but with disparities between regions and population studied. Although the virus remains mostly latent, there is some evidence that blood transfusion may represents one of the transmission way for this virus. Here, we evaluated HHV-8 seroprevalence among blood donors in Mali. This cross-sectional study recruited blood donors from the Blood Transfusion Center at Gabriel Touré Hospital, Bamako. Serum was used for the detection of latent HHV-8 immunoglobulin G directed against latent associated nuclear antigen 1 by an indirect immunofluorescence assay. Human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), HCV, and Treponema pallidum were also screened. HHV-8 seroprevalence was 10.4% in Malian blood donors. None of the sociodemographic characteristics were associated with HHV-8 infection, although there is a tendency of a higher HHV-8 seroprevalence among participants living in Bamako than those not living there. One individual had coinfection HHV-8/HBV, another HHV-8/HCV while another had HCV and T. pallidum. None has been tested positive for HIV infection. This intermediate seroprevalence in Malian blood donors suggests that the risk of HHV-8 transmission by transfusion should be considered. Further investigations are needed to assess impact of HHV-8 in polytransfused patients residing in an endemic area for this virus.

Prevalence of cervical HPV infection, sexually transmitted infections and associated antimicrobial resistance in women attending cervical cancer screening in Mali.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), antimicrobial resistance and cervical lesions among women from Sikasso, Mali. METHODS: Women infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (n=44) and HIV-negative women (n=96) attending cervical cancer screening were included. Screening for human papillomavirus (HPV), Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Mycoplasma genitalium (MG), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) was performed using polymerase chain reaction assays, and herpes simplex virus (HSV-1/2) serological status was assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Antibiotic resistance tests were performed for MG- and NG-positive cases. RESULTS: A high prevalence of high-risk HPV (hrHPV) infection (63%) was found. This was associated with cervical lesions in 7.5% of cases. An unusual distribution was found, with HPV31, HPV56 and HPV52 being the most prevalent. The hrHPV distribution differed by HIV status, with HIV-positive cases having HPV35/31/51-52-56 and HIV-negative cases having HPV31/56/52. The seroprevalence of HSV-2 was 49%, and the prevalence of other STIs was as follows: CT, 4%; MG, 9%; NG, 1%; and TV, 7%. Five of nine MG-positive specimens and the NG strains obtained were resistant to fluoroquinolone. CONCLUSIONS: These results showed high prevalence of hrHPV and fluoroquinolone resistance in several NG and MG strains. Further studies are required to confirm these data in Mali, and to improve prevention, screening and management of cervical cancer and other STIs in women.

Evaluation of Two HIV Rapid Diagnostic Tests in a Context of Strains' Genetic Diversity in Mali.

The rapid diagnostic tests used in most resource-limited countries offer little specificity in the differentiation of HIV-1, HIV-2, and HIV-1 + 2. World Health Organization (WHO) does periodically evaluate rapid tests in use in the South Countries. Despite the prequalification from WHO, it is necessary at local level to conduct comparative studies between the available tests. To do this in Mali, we conducted a cross-sectional study at the University Teaching Hospital Gabriel Touré and the Research and Training Center (SEREFO) of Bamako on 172 samples from retrospective and prospective studies. The goal of this project was to compare the following rapid tests: "HIV TRI-DOT" and OnSite HIV1/2 Ab Plus Combo Rapid Test for screening HIV-1 and HIV-2 to "ImmunoComb II BiSpot" (gold standard). The sensibility and specificity of "HIV TRI-DOT" for HIV-1 detection were 100% each [95% confidence interval (CI): 87.13-100 and 95.31-100]. Its performance for HIV-2 detection was 95.24% (95% CI: 84.21-98.68) (sensibility) and 100% (95% CI: 72.25-100) (specificity). The positive and negative predictive values were, respectively, 100% (95% CI: 91.24-100) and 83.33% (95% CI: 55.20-95.30). The sensibility and specificity of OnSite HIV1/2 Ab Plus Combo Rapid Test assay performance were 100% (95% CI: 87.13-100 and 95.31-100). Overall, OnSite HIV ½ Ab Combo Rapid Test proved to be a good test for warm countries and does not require refrigeration in these settings. Blood and its products can be used to perform the test, unlike "ImmunoComb II BiSpot" and "HIV TRI-DOT," which must be kept cold and cannot be done with whole blood.