[Trends in incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis from 1999 to 2005 in Ouagadougou, Burkina]. / Etude de l'évolution de la leishmaniose cutanée de 1999 à 2005 à Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The purpose of this study is to describe trends in the annual incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Ouagadougou, Burkina from 1999 to 2005. Data recorded at city health care centers were reviewed. A total of 7,444 cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis were observed, with an annual mean incidence of 1,063.3 +/- 270.8 cases. The M/F sex ratio was 0.9. Mean patient age was 22.8 +/- 13.5 years. Patients older than 15 years accounted for 72.5% of the population. The predominant age bracket was 16-30 years (51.80%).A decrease in incidence was observed from March to June and in December. Peak incidence occurred in September and October. Over the 7-year study period, the average incidence rate was 0.1% +/- 0.04. Since this rate does not reflect the real prevalence of the disease, a prospective study is needed.

[Main characteristics of the street food sector in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso]. / Caractéistiques de l'alimentation de rue dans la ville de Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

To investigate the sector of food sold in the streets of Bobo-Dioulasso and identify relevant information for action, a survey on knowledge and practices of street food vendors and consumers was conducted in June 2005. Data have been collected in 928 street food selling posts. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from 874 street vendors and 2474 consumers. Street food sites are concentrated in places where administration and trade activities are usually running. The street food seller is a married and illiterate woman of 32 years old. Cereals (48.5%), meat (33.9%), milk (9.6%) and fruits (4.4%) are the basic consumables. The street food consumer is a non married man, 27 years old working in profit-making activity. Consumers use many criteria to choose the place to eat, at times or permanently. The street food sector represents a source of income and induces change in household eating habits. Street food in Bobo-Dioulasso needs to be better organised, by using an holistic approach that involves all the actors.

Decentralising tuberculosis case management in two districts of Burkina Faso.

SETTING: In West Africa, national tuberculosis programmes (NTPs) face many problems due to the low performance of health care delivery systems and patients' social and cultural environment. OBJECTIVE: To improve the case management of TB in Burkina Faso. DESIGN: Using the operational research process as a tool, TB case management was decentralised from the district hospital to eight primary health care centres in 2003. RESULTS: Twelve months after decentralisation, the quality of case detection remained satisfactory. The delay between the identification of TB suspects with chronic cough and the confirmation of TB was reduced from 13 to 6 days. The detection rate of TB suspects during the study (30%) was twice as high as for 2001 and 2002 (15%). However, the detection rate for smear-positive TB cases decreased from 32.3% in 2001 and 2002 to 6.5% during the year of the study. CONCLUSION: Sufficient time and commitment are essential to obtain a case management system that is decentralised and effective. Efforts therefore need to continue to obtain more information and better results.