[Seroprevalence and factors associated with viral hepatitis B among pregnant women in Parakou, Republic of Benin]. / Séroprévalence et facteurs associés à l'hépatite virale B chez les gestantes à Parakou en République du Bénin.

The purpose of this study is to determine the seroprevalence and the factors associated with viral hepatitis B among pregnant women at the Departmental University Hospital of Borgou (CHUD-B).We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study with prospective collection of data. It focused on pregnant women treated and/or having given birth at the CHUD-B from 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2017. The study included patients who gave their consent to participate in the study. The variables studied were the sociodemographic data of pregnant women and the result of HBsAg test. The detectionof HBsAg in blood sampling of pregnant women was performed using a biological test for rapid diagnosis. Positive results were confirmed by ELISA technique. Two hundred and fourteen (214) pregnant women were included in the study. The average age of patients was 26.73±5.68 years. The mean gestation age was 31 weeks of amenorrhea (WA) ranging from 4 WA and 42 WA. Among them, 30 women were positive for HBsAg, reflecting a prevalence of 14.02%. The factors associated with this colonization were the practice of scarification, a personal history of jaundice and family history of viral hepatitis B. The seroprevalence of viral hepatitis B among pregnant women at the CHUD-B is high. This best reflect this major public health problem due to Hepatitis B virus.

[Fever and malaria in children under 5 years of age in Benin: do we have accurate statistics?]. / Fièvres et paludisme chez les enfants de 0 à 5 ans au Bénin: avons-nous de vraies statistiques?

INTRODUCTION: In Benin, mothers generally seek health care for their children with fever and malaria only when complications appear, including severe anemia, convulsions, and coma. Statistics from the national health system are based on consultations at national health care centers and do not take into account existing cases in the community. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of malaria from the analysis of subjects with fever and their management in two participating villages. This evaluation--and a better approach to fighting childhood malaria--rely on habits of management and care-seeking and the extent of parental participation. METHODS: Parents in two villages were interviewed about their practices in managing fever in children and about active malaria screening. RESULTS: The prevalence of (thick smear-positive) malaria was the same in both villages (p>0.05). Parents brought children to health centers for consultation in only 6% of the cases of fever. Treatment was administered immediately within 48 hours for most children (75%) but only 15% received adequate anti-malarial treatment. DISCUSSION: Care-seeking is highly associated with perceptions and representations of childhood fever: for every case treated at the health centre, 16 remain in the community. CONCLUSION: Adequate management of fever and the malaria often associated with it requires understanding the perceptions and representations of parents, which will make it possible to learn the true proportion of malaria in fevers in the two villages and thus to apply appropriate strategies.