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PubMed2004

[Comparison of inhibitory effect of rifalazil and rifampicin against Mycobacterium ulcerans infection induced in mice].

PURPOSE: Buruli ulcer is a human skin disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans infection, which is characterized by massive skin ulceration and persistent necrotic change. In recent years Buruli ulcer has rapidly emerged as an increasingly important cause of human morbidity around the world. The disease is endemic at least 32 countries in Africa, Western Pacific, Asia and South America, and it is considered the third most common mycobacterial infection of humans after tuberculosis and leprosy. An effective chemotherapeutic regimen against Buruli ulcer disease has not been established to date. In this study, the inhibitory effect of rifalazil (RLZ) against M. ulcerans was assessed in experimentally infected mice and compared to that of rifampicin (RFP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five-week-old BALB/c female mice were challenged with 25 microliters (CFU = 4 x 10(4) of M. ulcerans cultured in Middlebrook 7H9 broth in bilateral hind footpads. Mice were administered per os with a suspension of RLZ or RFP at 2.5, 5, or 10 mg/kg once daily 5 times per week starting from one day up to 6 weeks after infection. During the treatment, mice were observed weekly for footpad skin lesions and examined for footpad swelling. In addition, CFU enumeration was done on both hind footpads and spleen at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after initiating treatment. RESULTS: In the infected control mice group, slightly erythematous lesions and moderate swelling of footpads were observed 4 weeks after the infection. Ulcerative lesion was observed 6 weeks after the infection. Mean log10 CFU/footpad (FP) was 5.22 on day 1 after the infection and increased to 5.56, 6.29, and 7.33 at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after treatment was initiated in the treated groups. On the other hand, no visible erythema, swelling or ulcerative lesion in footpads were observed in RLZ-administered groups. Furthermore, log10 CFU/FP decreased to 4.14 after only 2 weeks of initiating treatment in 2.5 mg/kg administered group, i.e. the lowest dose employed group. Log10 CFU/FP decreased to < 2.1 in 6 weeks in the 10 mg/kg administered group, which was close to the detection limit (< 1.7) of the CFU assay. By contrast, inhibitory effect on disease progression and reduction of CFU were observed only in the group of mice given 10 mg/kg among RFP-administered groups: the reduction of CFU was not observed in the early period but 6 weeks after initiating treatment. CONCLUSION: These results clearly demonstrate that the in vivo anti-M.ulcerans activity of RLZ is much higher than RFP. RLZ activity against M. ulcerans can be expected to control the disease progression in the clinical applications.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Wastewater planning in Djenné, Mali. A pilot project for the local infiltration of domestic wastewater.

The city of Djenné (Mali) is famous for its mosque which is the world's largest adobe building. Djenné is considered to be one of the most interesting cities in Western Africa from an architectural point of view. Since 1988, Djenné is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the 1990s, a drinking water supply network was provided by foreign development organisations. However, no facilities were provided for the disposal of wastewater, resulting in an increase of waterborne diseases. This paper describes the urban drainage problem in Djenné and discusses the systematic evaluation of possible solutions and the subsequent pilot project for the local infiltration of sullage. The infiltration of sullage proved to be an appropriate technology for solving the urban drainage problem in Djenné.

Cities↗
PubMed1991

[Tropical mycoses].

The most common tropical subcutaneous and deep mycoses include chromomycosis, sporotrichosis and mycetoma. All are commonly found in Natal and in other sub-tropical countries. Although blastomycosis is endemic in North America, only four cases have been identified in Natal during the last 25 years and all presented with atypical clinical features. African histoplasmosis caused by H. capsulatum var. duboisii and limited mainly to central and western Africa has been found in only one patient in Natal. Paracoccidioidomycosis, although the most common deep mycosis in Latin America, is limited to that area and we have no experience of this disease in South Africa. Over the past eight years itraconazole has been used in clinical trials for all these mycoses. The results in sporotrichosis, non-meningeal blastomycosis and paracoccidioidomycosis suggest that for these diseases itraconazole may be the drug of choice. The results in histoplasmosis are encouraging as are the results in chromomycosis particularly those cases associated with C. carrionii. However, where F. pedrosoi is the causal agent and in mycetomas, successful management still remains a therapeutic problem. In our own experience and that of other using itraconazole, even over prolonged periods, this drug has an impressive safety profile. In our present series of 42 patients, no side effects were observed, no adverse reactions occurred and serum chemistry values remained within normal limits. It appears, therefore, that itraconazole, although not the final answer to management of the deep mycoses, is certainly a major improvement on previous drugs.

Antifungal Agents↗
PubMed1991

[Verrucous epidermal nevus of the face].

The authors report a case of extensive verrucous epidermal naevus of the face in a 15 year old Senegalese boy. This is the second reported case in Western Africa following the case presented to the French Language African Medical Society in 1984 (B. Ndiaye). The skin lesion in the form of a naevus of variable dimensions is an essential manifestation of the epidermal naevus syndrome described by Solomon, Fretzin and Dewald in 1968. This syndrome consists of a variable but inconstant association of dysembryoplastic abnormalities affecting the central nervous system (epilepsy, mental retardation, hydrocephalus, localized central deficits), the eye (fibrous conjunctival tumours, corneal opacities, colobomas) and the bones (spine, clavicle, pelvis, limb bones). The bones may be affected by malformations or hypoplasia. The epidermal naevus generally has a linear verrucous appearance, but it is not exceptional to find Jadassohn's sebaceous naevus or even localized erythroderma ichthyosiformis. Mucosal lesions, especially oral, well described in 1960 by Brown and Gorlin, correspond to a particular localization of epidermal naevus and must be differentiated histologically from white sponge naevus, which has a fairly similar clinical appearance. This non-hereditary disease must be systematically investigated looking for visceral abnormalities which are very common. Lastly, in terms of therapy, surgery may be justified when the facial lesions are unsightly, extensive or disabling. Various techniques may be applied depending on the extent and the site of these naevi.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1988

[Infection caused by the human immunodeficiency virus type 2 in the USSR].

The serological study of 20 sera, showing atypical reaction with HIV-1 in the immunoblotting assay, for the presence of HIV-2 infection revealed some cases of this infection among Africans who had arrived to the USSR from Western Africa (5 cases) and Burundi (1 case); besides, in 1 case HIV-2 infection was detected in a Soviet female citizen having had many sexual partners among foreigners.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Appearance of human anthrax in Ivory Coast forests].

Eight cases of human anthrax were reported in 1983 from Ivory Coast Republic, all of them in the tropical forest belt (7 degrees 30' N). Clinical forms were: cephalic cutaneous (4 cases), intestinal (1 case) and very likely neurological (3 cases). Human disease was correlated to epizootic anthrax occuring in sheeps and goats within this area. Bacteriological cultures of animal material confirmed the diagnosis. This report of human anthrax is the second one coming from Ivory Coast Republic but the first one from the western Africa forest belt.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

[Limits of conventional nutrition education: an example from a West African urban area].

The failure of conventional nutrition education, as practiced in Western Africa, is acknowledged by the author. This assessment follows the formative and summative evaluation of a nutrition education programme, directed towards the parents of hospitalized children, in a hospital, in the Ivory Coast. Often carried out within conventional health structures (maternal-child health centers, rural health centers, hospitals, etc...), the programme represents an addition to daily health care activities, with actions often too isolated and too limited to exert a decisive impact on public health. Most of the time, these programmes are conceived and implemented by health care workers who are inadequately motivated and trained in both nutrition and education. Poorly conceived messages that lack cultural, economic or social adaptation to the specified target population, authoritarian, unfeeling pedagogy, and inadequate educational tools lead to uncertain results. Results that are difficult to assess due to the absence of a clear definition of objectives and procedures for scientific evaluation. The author, in agreement with other recent studies, suggests that nutrition education should be viewed as the cumulative effect of all the various communication activities aimed at modifying those individual or community behaviours that affect the nutritional status of a given population. Multimedia nutrition education, however, can only be implemented once population needs and available communication channels have been identified. It is with the idea of promoting such multimedia activities that the network for nutrition education in Africa has been created (see p. 56).

Cote d'Ivoire↗
PubMed1988

Blood parasites of birds in Cameroon.

Birds from south-central Cameroon, western Africa, were surveyed for blood parasites from August to October 1986. Of 331 birds examined, representing 65 species of 15 families and 6 orders (mostly passerines), 55 (17%) were found to be infected with 1 or more genera of hemotropic parasites. These included: Haemoproteus spp. (11% prevalence), Leucocytozoon spp. (3%), Plasmodium spp. (2%), Trypanosoma spp. (1%), and microfilariae of filariid nematodes (1%). Several new host-parasite associations were identified.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

[Malaria imported from Equatorial Guinea caused by Plasmodium falciparum probably resistant to chloroquine].

The authors present the case of a 4 year old girl affected by malaria, the latter having been imported from Equatorial Guinea. The initial treatment of the disease with adequate administration and duration of chloroquine therapy, did not impede the recurrence of the disease, once the patient seemed apparently cured. Although due to the special evolutionary circumstances it was not possible to clinically confirm the chloroquine resistant of the parasite, it is considered, to best of our knowledge, to be the first pediatric case of probable chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria imported into Spain from Western Africa.

Africa, Central↗
PubMed1985

[2 cases of hydatidosis in the Republic of Niger].

Two cases of hydatidosis have been observed at the hospital of Niamey, one involving the tibia and the other one the liver and the spleen. For unknown epidemiological factors, this helminthiasis is rare in man in western Africa.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Onchocerciasis in expatriates on the Ivory Coast.

Six cases of onchocerciasis were diagnosed in expatriates working on a hydroelectric dam project in Taabo (Ivory Coast) between 1977 and 1978. Taabo is in the forest area of the Bandama River, where onchocerciasis is hyperendemic. The six patients had lived in the area from 20 months to four years. In the early 1970s four of them had worked at the Kossou Dam, a similar project 125 miles up the Bandama River. Diagnoses were confirmed by demonstrating microfilariae in biopsy specimens taken from the skin overlying the iliac crest. A seventh case was diagnosed clinically as tropical filarial pulmonary eosinophilia. The six patients with microfilariae in the skin were treated successfully with diethylcarbamazine (Notezine, Hetrazan) and suramin (Moranyl). The patient with pulmonary involvement responded dramatically to treatment with diethylcarbamazine. The overall effects of onchocerciasis are poorly understood, though it is now one of the major tropical diseases, affecting millions of people living in central and western Africa, Yemen, and Central America. Medical treatment is successful, but few preventive measures are available for the disease; larvicides are subject to resistance, and their effects are transient.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

[Comparative studies on properdin factor B (Bf) polymorphism in random samples from Brazil, Germany and Guinea-Bissau].

Three different population samples have been tested for properdin factor B markers: 395 individuals from Schleswig-Holstein (Germany), 343 individuals (Europids) from Southern Brazil, and 309 individuals (Negroids) from Guinea-Bissau (Western Africa). These samples are showing marked differences in the distribution of Bf gene frequencies. As for the sample from Southern Brazil the Bf data are confirming the assumption that the Caucasoid population in Southern Brazil is somewhat mixed with Negroids.

Alleles↗
PubMed1980

[Problems in diagnostics of histoplasmosis (author's transl)].

This report deals with three observations of Histoplasma mycosis (one acquired in Western Africa - large cell form; two in the USA - classical form) which were diagnosed from 10 to 35 years after primary infection. The laboratory diagnosis was based on immunological, histopathological and clinico-epidemiological data, since in none of the cases material was available for mycological culture. The histoplasmin skin test is considered to be the most sensitive procedure. A positive outcome may support other evidence or suspicion and may deliver an valid clue - particularly among individuals from non-endemic areas-to consider the possibility of Histoplasma infection. The demonstration of serum antibodies may assist in establishing a correct diagnosis in such cases.

Antibodies, Fungal↗
PubMed1995

Guinea-Bissau: maternal mortality assessment.

With more than 40% of all female deaths attributable to pregnancy, delivery, and the puerperium period, the study established a maternal mortality ratio of 914 deaths per 100,000 live births. The principal risk factors for dying from pregnancy-related causes are: no attendance at antenatal care, too great a distance between the home and the nearest hospital facility, home delivery, belonging to specific ethnic/religious groups, and delivery assistance from family members and TBAs. The health policy implications to improve this situation are: increased coverage with appropriate services, increased numbers of rural midwives, in-service training of existing staff in maternity issues and problems, culture-specific educational approaches using the existing value system, educational campaigns to discourage harmful practices and behaviour, continued educational efforts to upgrade the knowledge of TBAs, and a culturally sensitive integration of TBAs into the government programmes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Paneth cells of African giant rats (Cricetomys gambianus).

The ultrastructure of Paneth cells of African giant rats (Cricetomys gambianus), which were captured on the savanna in western Africa, was studied. The Paneth cells of Cricetomys were clustered at the bottom of crypts of the small intestine, but not of the colon. In the normal state, Paneth cells had a few secretory granules showing high electron density. Small clear vesicles which are a characteristic in laboratory albino rats were not conspicuous. Vacuolated Paneth cells and secreted materials from the Paneth cells were frequently found. This suggests that the secretion of Paneth cells of Cricetomys is active in the natural state. No phagocytotic figures were observed. After atropine sulfate treatment, secretory granules increased in size and number, whereas the electron density decreased, similar to that of goblet cell granules. However, the granules were not stained by alcian blue or by PAS. Inhibition of secretory stimuli by atropine can alter the intracellular processing of secretory substances in Paneth cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Attitudes to malaria, traditional practices and bednets (mosquito nets) as vector control measures: a comparative study in five west African countries.

Five West African communities were visited to assess the knowledge of the cause of malaria and to document traditional ways of treating and preventing the infection. Knowledge of the cause of malaria was low in the five communities visited. People were more concerned about mosquitoes being a nuisance than a cause of the infection. Various herbs were used as mosquito repellents. Malaria was treated by a number of traditional practices, including herbal remedies. Bednets were used to a varying extent, from 44% Ghana to 86% Gambia, in each community to protect against mosquito bites but also for other purposes such as privacy, decoration and protection from roof debris dropping on the bed.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Endemic onchocerciasis in forested zones of Ivory Coast: prevalence rate and microfilarial densities].

Since 1974 grassy plain areas of the western Africa have been protected by the Onchocerciasis Control Programme, but wooded endemic areas are also of concerned to countries in the region. Numerous studies have been performed to study endemic features of onchocerciasis in wooded areas. A parasitologic/entomologic survey was conducted between April and October 1990 in 5 villages in wooded areas located in Cote d'Ivoire. The parasitologic survey consisted of blood-free skin snips taken from both iliac crests of all subjects one year or over. Microfilarial counts performed after soaking biopsy material in distilled water for 30 minutes allowed characterization of the disease in the area. Overall microfilariae were found in 60.51% of the population indicating that onchocerciasis was highly endemic. The level of endemicity varied from one village to another. Prevalence was same in the two sexes and increased with age. Microfilarial density was the same in men and women up to the age of 9 years. After that time the density was at least twofold higher in men than in women at the same age. Although onchocerciasis is highly endemic in the area, blindness is uncommon.

Adolescent↗