Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG and associated factors among people living with HIV over the first 12 months following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Burkina Faso, a sub-Saharan African country.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and factors associated with the infection among PLWHIV over the first 12 months following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Burkina Faso. DESIGN: A retrospective cross-sectional study of plasma samples collected from March 9, 2020, and March 8, 2021, at the outpatient HIV referral center, before the introduction of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in Burkina Faso. METHODS: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG were detected in plasma using DS-ЕIA-ANTI-SARS-CoV-2-G (S) kit. Logistic regressions were used to compare SARS-CoV-2 specific immune responses between groups and within subgroups. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A total of 419 plasma were subjected to serological diagnosis. None of the participants was vaccinated against COVID-19 during the period of sample collection, and 130 samples were positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, giving a prevalence of 31.0% (95% CI 26.6-35.7). The median CD4 cell count was 661 cells/µL (IQR,422-928). Retailers had half the risk of being infected compared to housemaids with an OR of 0.49 (p = 0.028, 95% CI 0.26-0.91). Likewise, the risk of infection was 1.69 times higher in patients on integrase inhibitors compared to that of patients on non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (p = 0.020, 95% CI 1.09-2.63). CONCLUSION: Our study reveals a high seroprevalence among PLWHIV to SARS-CoV-2 during the first year of the pandemic. In addition, PLWHIV on integrase inhibitors are 1.69 times more likely to be infected than PLWHIV on non-nucleoside inhibitors, and this observation remains an intriguing topic that still needs to be clarified.

Effect of personalized home-based support for pregnant women on pregnancy outcomes: a cluster randomized trial.

Background: Anemia during pregnancy has been linked to higher maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of individualized home-based care for pregnant women on pregnancy outcomes. Methods: This was a cluster-randomized experiment done in Burkina Faso's Sindou health area between 2015 and 2016. The intervention included a monthly home-based visit focused on nutritional counseling and pregnancy monitoring for pregnant women, and a training on nutrition for pregnant women, prevention of anemia in pregnancy, and management of anemia in pregnancy for health facility teams. In the control group, prenatal care was administered in accordance with national program guidelines. The primary outcome was the reported prevalence of anemia in pregnancy. The secondary outcomes of stillbirth, preterm birth, low birth weight, and abortion were evaluated using a difference in differences analysis and mixed models across the two groups. The sample consisted of 617 pregnant women, with 440 women assigned to the intervention group and 177 assigned to the control group. No maternal fatalities occurred in either group. The intervention decreased stillbirths by -1.6% (95% confidence interval: -3.1% to - 0.1%). It had no impact on the rates of low birth weight, premature birth, and abortion. Conclusion: In rural Burkina Faso, personalized support of pregnant women at home, in conjunction with appropriate prenatal care, reduced stillbirths, but not the rates of low birth weight, preterm birth, or abortion.

Climate factors and dengue fever in Burkina Faso from 2017 to 2019.

Dengue is now a major health concern in sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding the influence of local meteorological factors on the incidence of dengue is an important element for better prediction and control of this disease. This study aims to assess the impact of meteorological factors on dengue transmission in the central region of Burkina Faso. We analyzed the lagged effects of meteorological factors on the weekly incidence of dengue from 2017 to 2019 in the central region of Burkina Faso using a General Additive Model. The results show that maximum and minimum temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed have a significant non-linear effect on dengue cases in the region with 83% of case variance explained. The optimal temperature that increases dengue cases was 27°C to 32°C for the maximum temperature and 18°C to 20°C for the minimum temperature with a decrease beyond that. The maximum temperature shifted by six weeks had the best correlation with dengue incidence. The estimated number of dengue cases increases as the maximum relative humidity increases from 15 to 45% and then from 60 to 70%. In general, an increase in daily wind speed is estimated to decrease the number of daily dengue cases. The relationship between rainfall and dengue cases was not significant. This study provides local information about the effect of meteorological factors on dengue that should help improve predictive models of dengue cases in Burkina Faso and contribute to the control of this disease.

Evaluation of the quality of maternal death review cycles in Burkina Faso.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of the maternal death review (MDR) cycle in selected health facilities in Burkina Faso in accordance with national standards. METHODS: A multiple case study using a qualitative approach performed in five health districts and two regional hospital centers in Burkina Faso. The facilities were chosen by contrasted purposive sampling based on hospital maternal mortality rate and urban or rural location. Structured and semistructured interviews were conducted and data analyzed thematically, horizontally, and vertically. RESULTS: Of the seven facilities included, six performed MDR. The MDR cycle was incomplete in five facilities because the implementation of recommendations had not been assessed. All cases of maternal death lacked vital information. Case analysis was not conducted in accordance with the national standards in most of the facilities. The action plans for implementing recommendations were not commonly used. CONCLUSION: The MDR process and its various stages did not meet quality standards. Identifying the determinants leading to lack of adherence to MDR standards will contribute to optimal choice of interventions and improving good practices in health facilities.

Effect of Personalized Support at Home on the Prevalence of Anemia in Pregnancy in Burkina Faso: A Cluster Randomized Trial.

Burkina Faso has high prevalence of anemia in pregnancy (hemoglobin < 11 g/dL), despite the implementation of the WHO recommended guidelines. This study aimed to test the effects of personalized support for pregnant women at home on the trend of anemia prevalence in pregnancy. A cluster randomized trial was conducted from January 2015 to August 2016 at Sindou health district in Burkina Faso. Data were collected from 617 women in their first or second trimester of pregnancy, including 440 and 177 women in the intervention and control groups, respectively. The intervention consisted of a monthly home-based visit to the pregnant woman, focusing on nutritional counseling and pregnancy management, alongside an improvement antenatal visit quality. Compared with the prevalence of anemia in pregnancy in the control group [64.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 52.1-74.4%)], that of the intervention group was significantly lower from the fifth home visit onward [36.8% (95% CI: 32.1-41.8%)] (P < 0.001). The adjusted difference-in-differences in anemia prevalence between the two groups was -19.8% (95% CI: -30.2% to -9.4%) for women who received more than four home visits (P < 0.001). The corresponding difference in hemoglobin levels was 0.644 g/dL (95% CI: 0.309-0.167; P < 0.001). Personalized support for pregnant women at home, combined with appropriate antenatal care, can significantly reduce anemia prevalence during pregnancy in rural Burkina Faso.

Quality and reliability of vaccination documentation in the routine childhood immunization program in Burkina Faso: Results from a cross-sectional survey.

INTRODUCTION: Accurate and timely vaccination data are important to the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) to assess individual vaccination status and to monitor performance and vaccine coverage (VC). Since 2013, Burkina Faso introduced several new vaccines into the routine childhood immunization schedule. However, sustained efforts for a timely update and alignment of immunization home-based (HBRs) and health facility-based records (FBRs) with the evolving schedule were not implemented. METHODS: In 2016-17, we conducted a 6-week cross-sectional survey in 30 health facilities (HFs) across 10 health districts (HDs), targeting children aged < 24 months and their caregivers. Data collected included sociodemographics, availability of vaccination recording fields in HBRs, and vaccination dates. We evaluated the characteristics, completion patterns, and concordance of HBRs and FBRs to determine their reliability as data sources in estimating VC. A standard HBR was defined as one that had recording fields for all recommended 17 vaccine doses of the schedule, and discordance between HBR and FBR as having different vaccination dates recorded, or vaccination information missing in one of the records. We computed proportions and concordance statistics, and used logistic regression to explore predictors of discordance. RESULTS: We recruited 619 children, including 74% (n = 458) aged 0-11 months. Half (50.6%) of HBRs were non-standard. About two-thirds (64.6%) of children were concerned with discordant information. Compared to HBRs, FBRs were generally associated with low negative predictive values (median: 0.41; IQR: 0.16-0.70). Multivariate logistic regression model showed that standard HBR was protectively associated with discordant information (OR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.26-0.81, p = 0.010). CONCLUSION: We documented a lack of standardization of HBRs and frequent information discordance with FBRs. There is a pressing need to update and standardize vaccination recording tools and ensure their continuous availability in HFs to improve data quality in Burkina Faso.