Rapidly rising cases with Omicron in Senegal.

•Omicron variant continues to progress in Senegal with the appearance of new contaminations.•IRESSEF detected the first positive case of the Omicron variant on Friday, December 3, 2021.•Since this date, the number of Omicron variant infections has increased over the weeks.•Molecular surveillance of the Omicron variant is carried out in real time to inform the medical authorities.

[Portal cavernoma at child about two observations]. / Cavernome portal chez l'enfant a propos de deux observations.

We report two observations of portal cavernoma diagnosed successively in Bamako and Dakar. The first is a 6-year-old male admitted to the service for ascites and abdominal pain. At admission the clinical parameters (weight, height, temperature, cranial perimeter and temperature) were within the norms for age. The clinical examination noted a moderate skin-mucosal pallor, asthenia. The biological assessment returned to moderate normochrome anemia with impaired pancreatic function while renal and hepatic functions were maintained. The abdominal scan performed after two low-contribution abdominal ultrasounds, objected signs in favor of a portal cavernoma with perisplenic and gastric varicose veins. The second is an 8-year-old male child born from an unborn marriage and from a followed pregnancy with premature delivery. His pathological history includes a notion of prematurity that required a stay in neonatology with umbilical catheterization and repeated abdominal pain. He had an acute abdominal episode in March 2015 justifying a surgical hospitalization for suspicion of appendicitis. At admission the clinical parameters (weight, height, temperature, cranial perimeter and temperature) were within the norms for age. The abdominal ultrasound prescribed for this was suggestive of portal cavernoma, later confirmed by abdominal computed tomography.

Nous rapportons deux observations de cavernome portal diagnostiqué successivement à Bamako et à Dakar. Le premier est un enfant de 6 ans de sexe masculin admis dans le service pour ascite et douleurs abdominales. L'examen clinique notait une pâleur cutanéo-muqueuse modérée, une asthénie. Le bilan biologique retrouvait une anémie modérée normochrome normocytaire avec une fonction pancréatique perturbée tandis que les fonctions rénales et hépatiques étaient conservées. Le scanner abdominal réalisé après deux échographies abdominales peu contributives, objectivait des signes en faveur d'un cavernome portal avec varice péri-splénique et gastrique. Le second est un enfant de 8 ans de sexe masculin né d'un mariage non consanguin et issu d'une grossesse suivie avec accouchement prématuré. Il est le 3e enfant de sa fratrie et scolarisé. On retrouve dans ses antécédents pathologiques une notion de prématurité ayant nécessitée un séjour en néonatologie avec cathétérisme ombilical et des douleurs abdominales à répétition. L'enfant a commencé à se plaindre de douleurs abdominales récurrentes vers l'âge de 6 ans. Douleurs de siège péri ombilical sans réveil nocturne dans un contexte de constipation chronique d'allure fonctionnelle. Il a fait un épisode abdominal aigu justifiant une hospitalisation en chirurgie pour suspicion d'appendicite. A l'admission les paramètres cliniques (poids, taille, température, périmètre crânien et température) étaient dans les normes pour l'âge. L'échographie abdominale prescrite à cet effet était évocatrice de cavernome porte, confirmé par la suite par la tomodensitométrie abdominale.

Taxonogenomics description of Bacillus marasmi sp. nov., a new species isolated from the stool sample.

Using the culturomics method, two strains were isolated, identified, and characterised following the taxonogenomics concept. Bacillus marasmi sp. nov. strain Marseille-P3556 (= CSURP3556) is isolated from a 13-month-old girl living in Niger. The phylogenetic tree, phenotypic criteria, and genomic analysis described here clearly show that this bacterium is different from previously known bacterial species withstanding in nomenclature and new members of Bacillus genus.

Cerebral venous thrombosis in a sub-saharan African country: A preliminary monocentric study of a 70 case series at the neurology department of Fann teaching hospital in Dakar - Senegal.

INTRODUCTION: Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) are underdiagnosed in sub-saharan Africa where publications are uncommon. Our study aim was to describe the CVT diagnostic and therapeutic features through a senegalese case series. PATIENTS AND METHOD: A monocentric retrospective and prospective study was conducted at the adult Neurology department of Fann Teaching Hospital in Dakar (Senegal), between January 01, 2013 and April 30, 2020. It had included all CVT cases diagnosed by neurovascular imaging. RESULTS: Seventy CVT cases were collected including 48 women (68.6%). The average age of the patients was 35.2±14 years. The main neurological signs were headache (92.8%) and motor deficit (41.4%), with subacute onset in 67.2% of cases. The superior sagittal sinus (54.3%) and the transverse sinus (38.6%) were the most affected with multiple involvements in 27 patients (38.6%). Thirty patients (42.8%) had indirect parenchymal signs such as venous infarction (15.7%), cerebral edema (11.4%) or intracerebral hemorrhage (12.8%). The etiological factors were mostly infectious (41.4%) with meningoencephalitis (12.8%) and otorhinolaryngological infection (10%). Gyneco-obstetric factors (27%) and Behçet's disease (7%) were the main aseptic factors. In the short-term clinical course, curative anticoagulation (98.6%) had enabled a favourable outcome (mRS 0-1) in half of the patients. CONCLUSION: Our study, the largest series in sub-saharan Africa to this date, confirms that CVT is a young women disease. Infectious etiology is the most frequent at the Fann national teaching hospital (41.4% in Dakar against 6.5% in Germaine Bousser's series) even if the etiological assessment is limited by financial constraints (no coagulopathy/thrombophilia check-up).

Virgibacillus ihumii sp. nov., a new bacterium isolated from the stool of healthy African children.

During a case-control study on severe acute malnutrition, strain Marseille-Q1233 was isolated. It is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped and halophilic bacillus isolated from a stool sample of Malian child under the age of 5. The fatty acid profile of the strain consisted of C15:0-anteiso and C14:0-iso as major components. Digital DNA-DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity calculation showed 23.10% and 80.81% similarity respectively between strain Marseille-Q1233 and Virgibacillus siamensis strain Marseille-P2607, the phylogenetically closely related species with standing in nomenclature. On the basis of these results, we report the description of Virgibacillus ihumii sp. nov. strain Marseille-Q1233 as a new bacterial species.

Taxonogenomics description of Bacillus dakarensis sp. nov., Bacillus sinesaloumensis sp. nov. and Bacillus massiliogabonensis sp. nov., three new species isolated from human stools.

Using microbial culturomics, three Bacillus strains were isolated, identified and characterized following the taxonogenomics strategy. Bacillus dakarensis strain Marseille-P3515T (=CSURP3515), Bacillus sinesaloumensis strain Marseille-P3516T (=CSURP3516), and Bacillus massiliogabonensis strain Marseille-P2639T (=CSURP2639) were isolated from human stool samples. The phylogenetic analysis, phenotypic characteristics and genotypic data presented here prove that these three bacteria are different from previously known bacterial species with standing in nomenclature and represent new Bacillus species.

Halobacillus ihumii sp. nov., a new bacterium isolated from stool of healthy children living in Mali.

Strain Marseille-Q1234T is a new species from the genus Halobacillus that was isolated in 2019 from a stool sample in a healthy Malian child <5 years old. Cells are Gram-positive and strictly halophilic bacilli. Strain Marseille-Q1234T exhibits 98.46% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Halobacillus naozhouensis strain JSM 071068T (NR_116505.1), the phylogenetically closely related species with standing in nomenclature. Based on the phenotypic and phylogenetic evidence, OrthoANI values and results of the biochemical tests, the new species is named Halobacillus ihumii sp. nov., for which strain Marseille-Q1234T (= CSURQ1234) is proposed as the type strain.

The potential for quality assurance systems to save costs and lives: the case of early infant diagnosis of HIV.

OBJECTIVES: Scaling up of point-of-care testing (POCT) for early infant diagnosis of HIV (EID) could reduce the large gap in infant testing. However, suboptimal POCT EID could have limited impact and potentially high avoidable costs. This study models the cost-effectiveness of a quality assurance system to address testing performance and screening interruptions, due to, for example, supply stockouts, in Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe, with varying HIV epidemics and different health systems. METHODS: We modelled a quality assurance system-raised EID quality from suboptimal levels: that is, from misdiagnosis rates of 5%, 10% and 20% and EID testing interruptions in months, to uninterrupted optimal performance (98.5% sensitivity, 99.9% specificity). For each country, we estimated the 1-year impact and cost-effectiveness (US$/DALY averted) of improved scenarios in averting missed HIV infections and unneeded HIV treatment costs for false-positive diagnoses. RESULTS: The modelled 1-year costs of a national POCT quality assurance system range from US$ 69 359 in South Africa to US$ 334 341 in Zimbabwe. At the country level, quality assurance systems could potentially avert between 36 and 711 missed infections (i.e. false negatives) per year and unneeded treatment costs between US$ 5808 and US$ 739 030. CONCLUSIONS: The model estimates adding effective quality assurance systems are cost-saving in four of the five countries within the first year. Starting EQA requires an initial investment but will provide a positive return on investment within five years by averting the costs of misdiagnoses and would be even more efficient if implemented across multiple applications of POCT.

OBJECTIFS: L'intensification du dépistage au point des soins (DPS) pour le diagnostic précoce du VIH chez le nourrisson (DPVN) pourrait réduire le grand écart dans le dépistage des nourrissons. Cependant, un DPVN DPS sous-optimal pourrait avoir un impact limité et des coûts évitables potentiellement élevés. Cette étude modélise la rentabilité d'un système d'assurance qualité pour traiter les performances des tests et les interruptions de dépistage, dues par exemple à des ruptures de stock, au Kenya, au Sénégal, en Afrique du Sud, en Ouganda et au Zimbabwe, avec des épidémies variables du VIH et des systèmes de santé différents. MÉTHODES: Nous avons modélisé une qualité de DPVN soulevée par le système d'assurance qualité à partir de niveaux sous-optimaux: c'est-à-dire des taux d'erreurs de diagnostic de 5%, 10% et 20% et des interruptions des tests de DPVN en mois, à des performances optimales ininterrompues (sensibilité de 98,5%, spécificité de 99,9%). Pour chaque pays, nous avons estimé l'impact sur un an et la rentabilité (en USD/DALY évitée) de scénarios améliorés pour éviter les infections à VIH manquées et les coûts inutiles de traitement du VIH pour les diagnostics faux positifs. RÉSULTATS: Les coûts modélisés sur un an d'un système national d'assurance qualité DPS vont de 69.359 USD en Afrique du Sud à 334.341 USD au Zimbabwe. Au niveau des pays, les systèmes d'assurance de la qualité pourraient potentiellement éviter entre 36 et 711 infections manquées (c'est-à-dire des faux négatifs) par an et des coûts de traitement inutiles entre 5.808 et 739.030 USD. CONCLUSIONS: Le modèle estime que l'ajout de systèmes d'assurance qualité efficaces permet de réaliser des économies dans quatre des cinq pays au cours de la première année. Le lancement de l'assurance qualité nécessite un investissement initial, mais fournira un retour sur investissement positif dans les cinq ans en évitant les coûts des diagnostics erronés et serait encore plus efficace s'il était mis en œuvre dans plusieurs applications de DPS.

SiO2 thin film growth through a pure atomic layer deposition technique at room temperature.

In this study, less contaminated and porous SiO2 films were grown via ALD at room temperature. In addition to the well-known catalytic effect of ammonia, the self-limitation of the reaction was demonstrated by tuning the exposure of SiCl4, NH3 and H2O. This pure ALD approach generated porous oxide layers with very low chloride contamination in films. This optimized RT-ALD process could be applied to a wide range of substrates that need to be 3D-coated, similar to mesoporous structured membranes.

[Neuro-Behçet in a Sub-Saharan Africa Country: a Series of Sixteen Patients in Fann Teaching Hospital, Dakar, Senegal]. / Neuro-Behçet dans un pays d'Afrique subsaharienne : une série de 16 patients au centre hospitalier national universitaire de Fann de Dakar, Sénégal.

Neuro-Behçet (NB) African studies are mainly North African, but Sub-Saharan Africa is not to be outdone. Our aim was to describe diagnostic and therapeutic features of NB in a Senegalese series collected in Dakar. This was a descriptive and retrospective study conducted at the Neurology department of Fann Teaching Hospital in Dakar, Senegal. All patients who met the NB's diagnostic criteria were included. Sixteen patients were collected, 14 males and 2 females with an average age of 40 years [18-71]. The main neurological signs were motor deficit (13 cases), headache (10 cases), and language disorders (4 cases). Extra-neurological signs were dermatological (14 cases), ocular (2 cases), and articular (2 cases) with aseptic unilateral gonarthritis. Fever was present in 9 patients. Neurological involvement was mostly isolated parenchymal (8 cases) or mixed (6 cases). The main clinical forms of NB were rhombencephalitis (8 cases) and retrobulbar optic neuritis (4 cases). Seven patients had a cerebral angio-Behçet with cerebral venous thrombosis (3 cases), ischemic stroke (2 cases), and intracerebral hematoma (2 cases). Under prednisone (16 cases) and azathioprine (3 cases), the short-term clinical outcome was mostly favorable (14 cases) with a modified Rankin scale at 2. NB is an under-diagnosed adult male disease in Sub-Saharan Africa and further studies are needed.

Les études africaines sur le neuro-Behçet (NB) sont majoritairement maghrébines, mais l'Afrique noire n'est pas en reste. L'objectif de l'étude était de décrire les particularités diagnostiques et thérapeutiques du NB dans une série sénégalaise colligée à Dakar. Il s'agit d'une étude rétrospective à visée descriptive menée à la clinique de neurologie du centre hospitalier universitaire de Fann de Dakar, au Sénégal. Tous les patients répondant aux critères diagnostiques de NB ont été inclus. Seize patients ont été colligés, 14 hommes et deux femmes avec un âge moyen de 40 ans [18­71]. Les principaux signes neurologiques étaient un déficit moteur (13 cas), des céphalées (10 cas) et un trouble du langage (4 cas). Les signes extraneurologiques étaient dermatologiques (14 cas), oculaires (2 cas) et articulaires (2 cas) à type de gonarthrite unilatérale aseptique. Une fièvre était présente chez neuf patients. L'atteinte neurologique était majoritairement parenchymateuse isolée (8 cas) ou mixte (6 cas). Les principales formes cliniques de NB étaient la rhombencéphalite (8 cas) et la névrite optique rétrobulbaire (4 cas). Sept patients avaient un angio-Behçet cérébral à type de thromboses veineuses cérébrales (3 cas), d'infarctus cérébraux (2 cas) et d'hématomes intracérébraux (2 cas). Sous prednisone (16 cas) et azathioprine (3 cas), l'évolution clinique à court terme était majoritairement favorable (14 cas) avec un score de Rankin modifié de 2 au moment de l'exeat. Le NB est une maladie de l'homme adulte sous-diagnostiquée en Afrique noire. Des études ultérieures multicentriques nationales et sous-régionales sont souhaitables.

Acute circulatory failure in two cardiology departments in Dakar: 44 cases.

INTRODUCTION: Acute circulatory failure is a life-threatening emergency whose prognosis depends on early management and aetiological diagnosis. The aim of our study was to assess the epidemiological, aetiological, therapeutic and prognostic aspects of acute circulatory failure in two cardiology departments in Dakar. METHODS: This was a longitudinal, multicentre, descriptive study over a period of six months from October 2014 to March 2015. We included all patients with acute circulatory failure (systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg, oligoanuria, tachycardia, tachypnoea, onset of altered consciousness) either on admission or during hospitalisation during the study period. A long-term survival survey (six months to one year) was conducted on all included patients. RESULTS: Forty-four patients were enrolled. The average age was 54.9 years, ranging from 20 to 83 years. The gender ratio was 1.1. Acute circulatory failure occurred most often during hospitalisation (63%), with known cardiomyopathy in 47.7% of cases. Consciousness was impaired in 11 patients while oligoanuria was present in 27.3% of cases. Inflammatory syndrome was mostly found in 63.6% of cases and renal insufficiency and acute liver failure were reported in 45.5 and 29.5% of patients, respectively. Left ventricular dysfunction was the most common echocardiographic feature (70%). Acute circulatory failure was cardiogenic in most cases, with a predominance of advanced dilated cardiomyopathy (44.9%). Septic shock was found in 25% of patients, with pulmonary infection as the main location (20%). Nine per cent of patients had hypovolaemic shock. The most used inotropic drug was dobutamine in 79.5% of cases, followed by adrenaline (18.2%) and norepinephrine (4.5%). Intra-hospital mortality rate was high (52.3%) and one-year survival rate was 27.2%. Poor prognostic factors such as advanced age and renal impairment were associated with a higher overall mortality rate of 18 to 90%, with no statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Acute circulatory failure is a diagnostic and therapeutic emergency with a high mortality rate.

Rhinophyma: Our experience based on a series of 12 cases.

INTRODUCTION: Rhinophyma is a rare, benign and unsightly disease of the skin of the nose that was first described a very long time ago, as illustrated by portrait of an old man with a bulbous nose holding his grandson, by Ghirlandaio in 1490. It was described for the first time by Ferdinando Hebra Von (1816-1880), as the third stage of rosacea. The objective of this study is to report the author's experience and propose a new treatment option in the management of rhinophyma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We describe our experience of rhinophyma based on a retrospective case study. RESULTS: We identified 12 cases over a 12-year period, with a marked male predominance. The therapeutic approach was the same in all patients, consisting of a combination of dermabrasion, decortication and application of fibrin glue, with a favourable outcome in every case with complete epithelialisation. CONCLUSION: Rhinophyma is a rare condition of uncertain pathophysiology. Management is surgical and, in view of the many techniques and procedures proposed, we advocate the slogan "to each his own technique", until a consensus has been reached. Our technique combining dermabrasion, decortication and application of fibrin glue has given very good results.

Manejo quirúrgico de los carcinomas diferenciados de tiroides Experiencia en un país de bajos ingresos / SURGICAL MANAGEMENT OF DIFFERENTIATED THYROID CARCINOMAS. EXPERIENCE IN A LOW INCOME COUNTRY

ience in the management of differentiated thyroid carcinomas in a low- income country. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective study in our department where 21 cases of differentiated thyroid carcinomas were recorded from February 2001 to December 2010. Results: We performed 334 thyroidectomies for 326 patients. Of this group, 21 differentiated thyroid carcinomas were diagnosed. Differentiated thyroid carcinomas represented 6.4% of all thyroid neoplasm managed during the same period (n=326). Median age was 44 years (range 13 - 75 years). Male to female ratio was 1:20. Six (6) patients underwent primary hemithyroidectomy in other institutions while the fifteen left were entirely managed in our clinic. Of them, one patient was referred with positive fine needle aspiration cytology for papillary thyroid carcinoma (incidental detection by fine needle aspiration biopsy) and another had history of sinus pyriform fistula. Pathology of surgical specimens showed 13 cases of papillary thyroid carcinomas and 8 cases of follicular thyroid carcinomas with association to Hashimoto thyroiditis and Grave's disease in respectively in 1 case. Twenty cases were incidentally discovered by thyroid surgery and undergone completion thyroidectomy with prophylactic central neck dissection, completion thyroidectomy alone, modified lateral neck dissection alone and surveillance respectively in 13, 1, 1 and 6 cases. Complications of thyroid surgery were bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis and hematoma respectively in 1 case. Median hospital stay was 5 days ranged from 3 to 15 days. During the follow-up period, most of our patients were lost of follow-up. Conclusion: Management guidelines of differentiated thyroid carcinomas are well established but not applicable to low- income country for several reasons. National guidelines, based on further researches, must then be implemented to improve our practice

[Fatal female genital mutilation in a 10-year-old girl]. / Mutilation génitale féminine fatale chez une fille de 10 ans.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external genitalia and/or any other procedures affecting the female genitalia, for cultural or religious reasons or for nontherapeutic purposes in general. FGM is responsible for a number of short-, medium-, and long-term complications that can engage the vital and functional prognosis, especially in African countries. We report on a case in a 10-year-old girl who underwent genital mutilation, a traditional type of total excision during the neonatal period. She was followed for urethral meatus stenosis, which then was complicated by obstructive chronic kidney failure and urinary sepsis, whose progression was fatal.

Syndrome d'activation macrophagique secondaire chez l'enfant. Rapport de 5 cas sénégalais

Le Syndrome d'Activation Macrophagique (SAM) est défini comme la traduction clinico-biologique d'une prolifération et d'une activation non-spécifique des macrophages du système réticulo-histiocytaire avec phagocytose des éléments figurés du sang. Nous rapportons 5 cas de SAM secondaires chez des enfants hospitalisés dans le service de pédiatrie de l'hôpital Aristide le Dantec entre août 2015 et avril 2016. Il s'agissait de 3 filles et 2 garçons âgés de 7 ans à 14 ans. Cliniquement, la fièvre, l'altération de l'état général et la splénomégalie étaient constantes. Quatre patients ont présenté des adénopathies et chez 2 patients une hépatomégalie a été retrouvée. Au niveau de l'hémogramme, l'anémie était constante, la thrombopénie et la leuco-neutropénie étaient retrouvées chez 3 patients et le frottis sanguin révélait 36% de blastes chez un patient. L'hémophagocytose médullaire était retrouvée chez tous les patients, l'hyper ferritinémie était constante et chez trois patients une hypertriglycéridémie avec un taux élevé de lactate déshydrogénase (LDH) ont été notés. Le diagnostic était surtout guidé par le médullogramme et basé sur les critères de l'hemophagocytic histiocytosis et les étiologies étaient infectieuses et néoplasiques. Chez trois patients, le SAM était d'origine infectieuse et les germes retrouvés étaient le Streptococcus, l'Escherichia coli et le Mycobacterium tuberculosis alors que les deux autres cas étaient d'origines néoplasiques secondaires à une leucémie aiguë myéloïde et à un lymphome hodgkinien. Le traitement était basé sur l'antibiothérapie (cas 1 et 2), les antituberculeux (cas 3) et la chimiothérapie (cas 4 et 5). L'évolution était favorable chez tous nos patients

[Kangaroo mother care for low birth weight infants at Albert-Royer National Children Hospital Center of Dakar]. / Les soins kangourou pour nouveau-nés de faible poids de naissance au centre hospitalier national d'enfants Albert-Royer de Dakar.

INTRODUCTION: Kangaroo care (KC) is an effective method to care for low birth weight (LBW) newborns, particularly in developing countries. The objective of this study was to estimate the efficacy of this method and its impact on morbidity and mortality of LBW infants admitted to the KC unit of Albert-Royer National Children's Hospital Center (ARNCHC) in Dakar, Senegal. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a retrospective, single-center study from July 2011 to July 2013. We collected sociodemographic, maternal, and obstetrical data, neonatal characteristics and information during KC (age and weight at inclusion, thermoregulation, feeding, growth, and overall progression). Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 9.0. RESULTS: We included 135 newborns, with a female predominance (sex ratio: 0.78). One-third of the mothers (35.5%) were primiparous and only 21.1% had a socioprofessional activity and the majority had a low educational level. The mean gestational age (GA) was 33.08±2.06 weeks of amenorrhea and the mean birth weight 1485±370 g. There were 20 term babies with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) (14.8%) and 115 (85.2%) preterm newborns, 83 (72.2%) of whom, showed IUGR. The mean duration of conventional care was 12.3 days (range: 4-27 days) and the main complications were respiratory distress (46.2%), infection (36.9%), and necrotizing enterocolitis (15.1%). At KC admission, the mean post-conceptional age was 34.2±2.46 weeks and the mean weight 1445±319 g (minimum, 700 g). The main complications in KC were infections (20.2%), hypoglycemia (18.5%), and gastro-esophageal reflux disease (16.4%). Only 56.3% of the babies were exclusively breastfed. The mean weight gain during the stay in the KC unit was 15.3±9.08 g/kg/day and the mean weight at discharge was 1761±308 g. Only three episodes of hypothermia were noted. The mean duration in the KC unit was 10.2 days (range: 3-24 days). Five babies died (3.7%): one during KC, one at home, and the three others after readmission to neonatology. CONCLUSION: Kangaroo care for LBW infants is highly effective in our context. This method should be spread to a large majority of health centers in the country.