Incidence of typhoid fever in Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, and Nigeria (the Severe Typhoid in Africa programme): a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Typhoid Fever remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in low-income settings. The Severe Typhoid in Africa programme was designed to address regional gaps in typhoid burden data and identify populations eligible for interventions using novel typhoid conjugate vaccines. METHODS: A hybrid design, hospital-based prospective surveillance with population-based health-care utilisation surveys, was implemented in six countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Patients presenting with fever (≥37·5°C axillary or ≥38·0°C tympanic) or reporting fever for three consecutive days within the previous 7 days were invited to participate. Typhoid fever was ascertained by culture of blood collected upon enrolment. Disease incidence at the population level was estimated using a Bayesian mixture model. FINDINGS: 27 866 (33·8%) of 82 491 participants who met inclusion criteria were recruited. Blood cultures were performed for 27 544 (98·8%) of enrolled participants. Clinically significant organisms were detected in 2136 (7·7%) of these cultures, and 346 (16·2%) Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi were isolated. The overall adjusted incidence per 100 000 person-years of observation was highest in Kavuaya and Nkandu 1, Democratic Republic of the Congo (315, 95% credible interval 254-390). Overall, 46 (16·4%) of 280 tested isolates showed ciprofloxacin non-susceptibility. INTERPRETATION: High disease incidence (ie, >100 per 100 000 person-years of observation) recorded in four countries, the prevalence of typhoid hospitalisations and complicated disease, and the threat of resistant typhoid strains strengthen the need for rapid dispatch and implementation of effective typhoid conjugate vaccines along with measures designed to improve clean water, sanitation, and hygiene practices. FUNDING: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Epidemiology and Risk Factors for Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli Carriage among Children in Northern Ibadan, Nigeria.

Diarrhea is a leading cause of childhood morbidity in Africa, but few studies, focus on bacterial diarrheal etiology including multicountry studies that typically excluded Nigeria. We collected stool specimens from 477 children under 5 years of age, 120 with diarrhea, who were enrolled in our prospective case-control study between November 2015 and August 2019. All were attending primary health clinics on the northern outskirts of Ibadan. Up to 10 Escherichia coli isolates were obtained per specimen, and at least three of them were sequenced using Illumina whole-genome sequence technology. Genomes were assembled using SPAdes and evaluated for quality using QUAST. VirulenceFinder was used to identify virulence genes. The microbiological quality of water from 14 wells within the study area was assessed using total and coliform counts. Diarrheagenic E. coli (DEC) were isolated from 79 (65.8%) cases and 217 (60.8%) control children. A number of hybrid DEC pathotypes, Salmonella spp., Yersinia spp., and all DEC pathotypes except Shiga toxin-producing E. coli were detected, but no pathogen showed association with disease (P > 0.05). Enterotoxigenic E. coli were more commonly recovered from children without diarrhea aged below 6 months but exclusively detected in children with diarrhea aged over 9 months. Temporally linked, genetically similar enteroaggregative E. coli were isolated from children in different households in eight instances. No well water sample drawn in the study was potable. Children in northern Ibadan were commonly colonized with DEC. Access to water, proper sanitation, and vaccination against the prevailing pathogens may be critical for protecting children from the less overt consequences of enteric pathogen carriage.

SD-Bioline malaria rapid diagnostic test performance and time to become negative after treatment of malaria infection in Southwest Nigerian Children.

Context and Aim: Given the challenges of microscopy, we compared its performance with SD-Bioline malaria rapid diagnostic test (MRDT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and evaluated the time it took for positive results to become negative after treatment of children with acute uncomplicated malaria. Subjects and Methods: We present the report of 485 participants with complete MRDT, microscopy, and PCR data out of 511 febrile children aged 3-59 months who participated in a cohort study over a 12-month period in rural and urban areas of Ibadan, Nigeria. MRDT-positive children received antimalaria and tested at every visit over 28 days. Speciation was also carried out by PCR. Results: With microscopy as the gold standard, SD-Bioline™ had 95.2% sensitivity, 66.4% specificity, 67.5% positive predictive value (PPV), and 94.9 negative predictive value (NPV), while with PCR the findings were 84.3% sensitivity, 66.5% specificity, 72.7% PPV, and 80.1% NPV. PCR speciation of malaria parasites revealed 91.6% Plasmodium falciparum, 18.9% Plasmodium malariae, and 4.4% Plasmodium ovale. Among the 47 children with P. malariae infections, 66.0% were coinfected with P. falciparum, while 54.6% cases of P. ovale occurred as coinfections with P. falciparum. The median time to a negative MRDT was 23.2 days, while the median time to a negative malaria microscopy was 3.8 days. The two survival curves were significantly different. Conclusions: The SD-BiolineTM MRDT performed well, with remarkable persistence of rapid test-positive for an average of 23 days post treatment. The prevalence of P. malaria is somewhat greater than expected.

Résumé Contexte et objectif: Compte tenu des défis de la microscopie, nous avons comparé le test de diagnostic rapide du paludisme SD-Bioline (MRDT) avec la réaction en chaîne par polymérase (PCR) et évalué le temps qu'il a fallu pour que des résultats positifs deviennent négatifs après le traitement d'enfants atteints de paludisme aigu non compliqué. Sujets et méthodes: Nous présentons le rapport de 485 participants avec des données complètes de MRDT, de microscopie et de PCR sur 511 enfants fébriles âgés de 3 à 59 mois qui ont participé à une étude de cohorte sur une période de 12 mois dans les zones rurales et urbaines d'Ibadan, Nigeria. Les enfants positifs au MRDT ont reçu un antipaludique et ont été testés à chaque visite pendant 28 jours. La spéciation a également été réalisée par PCR. Résultats: Avec la microscopie comme référence, SD-Bioline TM avait une sensibilité de 95,2 %, une spécificité de 66,4 %, une valeur prédictive positive (VPP) de 67,5 % et une valeur prédictive négative (VPN) de 94,9 %, tandis qu'avec la PCR, les résultats étaient de 84,3 % de sensibilité, 66,5 % de spécificité, 72,7 % de VPP et 80,1 % de VPN. La spéciation par PCR des parasites du paludisme a révélé 91,6 % de Plasmodium falciparum, 18,9 % de Plasmodium malariae et 4,4 % de Plasmodium ovale. Parmi les 47 enfants atteints d'infections à P. malariae, 66,0 % étaient co-infectés par P. falciparum, tandis que 54,6 % des cas de P. ovale se sont produits sous forme de co-infections par P. falciparum. Le délai médian jusqu'à un MRDT négatif était de 23,2 jours, tandis que le délai médian jusqu'à une microscopie négative du paludisme était de 3,8 jours. Les deux courbes de survie étaient significativement différentes. Conclusions: Le SD-BiolineTM MRDT a donné de bons résultats, avec une infection à P. malariae un peu plus élevée que attendu dans la population et persistance remarquable des résultats positifs aux tests de diagnostic rapide pendant une moyenne de plus de 23. Mots-clés: Paludisme, microscopie, Nigéria, réaction en chaîne par polymérase, test de diagnostic rapide, spéciationjours après le traitement.

Children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus in Nigeria: clinical characteristics and compliance with care.

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is increasing in most developed and developing countries. This study described the clinical characteristics and compliance with care among Nigerian children and adolescents with T1DM. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive multi-center study of children seen at the paediatric endocrinology clinic of seven selected tertiary health facilities in Nigeria. Information was collected on socio-demographics, clinical characteristics and compliance of the children with dietary recommendations and insulin therapy. Compliance with dietary recommendations and insulin therapy was graded as either good or poor based on defined criteria. RESULTS: The mean age of children was 13.1 ± 4.7 years. The mean age of children at the diagnosis of T1DM was 9.9 ± 4.2 years. Sixty-nine (60%) children were female while about half (47.8%) of the children were from the lower socioeconomic class. Compliance with insulin administration was good in 39.1% of the children and was significantly associated with the father's (p=0.001) and mother's educational status (p=0.024) while compliance with dietary recommendations was good in 20.0% of the children and was significantly associated with mother's educational status (p=0.034) and family socioeconomic class (p=0.010). Only the mother's level of education was independently and significantly associated with compliance to recommendations on insulin therapy (OR 4.2, 95% CI=1.5-11.6, p=0.007). CONCLUSIONS: The compliance of children with dietary recommendations and insulin therapy was poor. Efforts should be strengthened at all healthcare facilities to educate parents on the need for compliance with management guidelines.

Edwardsiella ictaluri, an unusual cause of bacteraemia in a Nigerian child with acute bloody diarrhoea.

Enteric septicaemia of catfish was first detected in 1976 as an economically significant disease associated with commercial catfish production. Initially, Edwardsiella ictaluri was a host specific pathogen of catfish species but has also been reported from other hosts other than the catfish such as the zebrafish. E. ictaluri has not been isolated in humans hence it is not a zoonotic infection. There has been no previous report of isolation of this organism in humans. This was a case report of a 5 year old boy who presented with fever, vomiting, passage of bloody stool of 6 days and abdominal pain of a day duration. In the case of this 5 year old boy who presented with features of dysentery, blood culture using BACTEC™ grew E. ictaluri. E. ictaluri may be a pathogen which can infect humans just like another closely related species, Edwardsiella tarda. Although, E. ictaluri has not been reported in humans, could this be the first case? Non availability of diagnostic technique appropriate for its diagnosis may explain the rare incidence of the organism in humans, hence many cases would have been treated without isolating the organism.

Probiotics for induction of remission in Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, in which the pathogenesis is believed to be partly influenced by the gut microbiome. Probiotics can be used to manipulate the microbiome and have therefore been considered as a potential therapy for CD. There is some evidence that probiotics benefit other gastrointestinal conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis, but their efficacy in CD is unclear. This is the first update of a Cochrane Review previously published in 2008. OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy and safety of probiotics for the induction of remission in CD. SEARCH METHODS: The following electronic databases were searched: MEDLINE (from inception to 6 July 2020), Embase (from inception to 6 July 2020), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), The Cochrane IBD Review Group Specialised Trials Register, World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry, and ClinicalTrials.gov. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared probiotics with placebo or any other non-probiotic intervention for the induction of remission in CD were eligible for inclusion. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of included studies. The primary outcome was clinical remission. Risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for dichotomous outcomes. MAIN RESULTS: There were two studies that met criteria for inclusion. One study from Germany had 11 adult participants with mild-to-moderate CD, who were treated with a one-week course of corticosteroids and antibiotics (ciprofloxacin 500 mg twice daily and metronidazole 250 mg three times a day), followed by randomised assignment to Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG (two billion colony-forming units per day) or corn starch placebo. The other study from the United Kingdom (UK) had 35 adult participants with active CD (CDAI score of 150 to 450) randomised to receive a synbiotic treatment (comprised of freeze-dried Bifidobacterium longum and a commercial product) or placebo. The overall risk of bias was low in one study, whereas the other study had unclear risk of bias in relation to random sequence generation, allocation concealment, and blinding. There was no evidence of a difference between the use of probiotics and placebo for the induction of remission in CD (RR 1.06; 95% CI 0.65 to 1.71; 2 studies, 46 participants) after six months. There was no difference in adverse events between probiotics and placebo (RR 2.55; 95% CI 0.11 to 58.60; 2 studies, 46 participants). The evidence for both outcomes was of very low certainty due to risk of bias and imprecision. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The available evidence is very uncertain about the efficacy or safety of probiotics, when compared with placebo, for induction of remission in Crohn's disease. There is a lack of well-designed RCTs in this area and further research is needed.

Bacteremia Among Febrile Patients Attending Selected Healthcare Facilities in Ibadan, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: The relative contribution of bacterial infections to febrile disease is poorly understood in many African countries due to diagnostic limitations. This study screened pediatric and adult patients attending 4 healthcare facilities in Ibadan, Nigeria, for bacteremia and malaria parasitemia. METHODS: Febrile patients underwent clinical diagnosis, malaria parasite testing, and blood culture. Bacteria from positive blood cultures were isolated and speciated using biochemical and serological methods, and Salmonella subtyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested by disk diffusion. RESULTS: A total of 682 patients were recruited between 16 June and 16 October 2017; 467 (68.5%) were <18 years of age. Bacterial pathogens were cultured from the blood of 117 (17.2%) patients, with Staphylococcus aureus (69 [59.0%]) and Salmonella enterica (34 [29.1%]) being the most common species recovered. Twenty-seven (79.4%) of the Salmonella isolates were serovar Typhi and the other 7 belonged to nontyphoidal Salmonella serovarieties. Thirty-four individuals were found to be coinfected with Plasmodium falciparum and bacteria. Five (14.7%) of these coinfections were with Salmonella, all in children aged <5 years. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that most of the Salmonella and Staphylococcus isolates were multidrug resistant. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrates that bacteria were commonly recovered from febrile patients with or without malaria in this location. Focused and extended epidemiological studies are needed for the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccines that have the potential to prevent a major cause of severe community-acquired febrile diseases in our locality.

Adolescent girls' understanding of tetanus infection and prevention: implications for the disease control in Western Nigeria.

Tetanus is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Nigeria is aiming to eliminate tetanus by maintaining coverage of routine vaccinations for infants and pregnant women, but little attention is given to the adolescents' needs. This study assessed the understanding of adolescent girls about tetanus infection and prevention in order to provide information that may foster better policy. In this cross-sectional analytical study, 851 female adolescents were selected from eight secondary schools in Ibadan, south-west of Nigeria using a three-stage random sampling technique. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on demographic and socio-economic characteristics, history of tetanus vaccination, and adolescents' knowledge of tetanus infection. Mean age of respondents was 14.3 ± 1.9 years. Only 3.1% had received tetanus toxoid injection 1 year prior to the study, most frequently following a "wound or injury" (65.4%). Though 344 (40.4%) respondents claimed that they knew about tetanus as a "serious neurological disease," only 46.5% correctly defined tetanus. Overall, the mean knowledge score was 4.8 ± 3.1 and 64.7% of the respondents had poor knowledge. Academic class was significantly associated with knowledge; higher mean score among the senior (5.3 ± 5.3) than junior classes (4.4 ± 3.2); p < 0.001. Over half (56.2%) of the adolescents disagreed with the statement that "tetanus immunization can be given to students in the school premises." There is the need to improve immunization campaigns against tetanus among adolescent girls and consider the introduction of school-based immunization programs if the elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus is to be achieved.

Prevalence and socio-demographic factors associated with non-protective immunity against tetanus among high school adolescents girls in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: The low uptake of tetanus vaccine and its resultant high burden of tetanus in Nigeria suggest the need to improve routine and booster vaccination in children and adolescents. However, epidemiological evidence for vaccination in the adolescent age group needed for effective strategy and policy formulation is lacking. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of protective immunity against tetanus and to identify risk factors for non-protective immunity among schooling adolescents. METHODS: Using a three-stage sampling technique, 851 female adolescents were randomly selected from secondary schools in Ibadan, Nigeria. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to obtain data on demographic and socio-economic characteristics and history of tetanus vaccination. An immuno-chromatographic rapid test kit, "Tetanos Quick Stick" was used to test specific anti-tetanus antibody protective level in venous blood samples. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were done with level of significance set at p = 0.05. RESULTS: Mean age of participants was 14.3 ± 1.9 years. Seroprevalence of protective immunity against tetanus was 38.1% and it significantly decreased with increasing age. More adolescents in public (65.4%) than private (44.7%) schools had non-protective level of immunity. A significantly increasing trend in the risk of non-protective immunity was observed with decreasing level of mothers' education. Also, the Odds of non-protective level of immunity was significantly higher in public than private schools (OR = 2.14; 95% CI =1.39, 3.20) but lower among adolescents who had history of recent tetanus toxoid injection than those who did not (OR = 0.11 95% CI = 0.09, 0.22). However, no significant association was found between protective immunity against tetanus and parents' marital status as well as family size. CONCLUSION: Protective immunity against tetanus among female adolescents was poor, more so in public schools and those who had not received vaccination a year prior to the study. Policy-makers need to consider the inclusion of immunization against tetanus in the school health programme.

Immunity Against Tetanus Infection, Risk Factors for Non-Protection, and Validation of a Rapid Immunotest Kit among Hospitalized Children in Nigeria.

Seroepidemiological studies of tetanus in Africans have focused mainly on adults especially pregnant women and data on children are scarcely reported. We investigated the seroprevalence of protective immunity level, determined risk factors for non-protection against tetanus, and evaluated the performance of Tetanos Quick Stick(®) (TQS) among hospitalized children aged 1-9 years in Nigeria. Blood IgG antibody levels to tetanus was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the laboratory and TQS (an immunochromatographic test) at the bedside for 304 children admitted into emergency unit of a tertiary hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. Demographic information and vaccination history were also collected. TQS results were compared with anti-tetanus antibody measured by ELISA using seroprotection cut-off of 0.1 IU/ml. Seroprevalence of protective level of immunity against tetanus using ELISA and TQS methods was 44.7 and 45.4% respectively. Protective level of immunity increased as age increases. Of the seven potential factors assessed, male gender and being second or more position among mother's children were independent predictors of non-protective level of immunity. Absence of history of recent tetanus toxoid injection was significantly associated with non-protective level of immunity in univariate analysis but not logistic regression model. The agreement between the ELISA and the TQS results was good with a k coefficient of 0.931. TQS sensitivity was 95.7%, specificity 97.6%, positive predictive value 98.0%, and negative predictive values 96.0%. This study showed that lack of protective immunity against tetanus is common; few demographic characteristics correctly predict non-protection and IgG antibody levels to tetanus was accurately detected by TQS.