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PubMed2005

Invasive chromoblastomycosis and sinusitis due to Phialophora verrucosa in a child from northern Africa.

We report on a severe, verrucous facial mycosis and sinusitis in a 12-year-old Libyan girl. Her disease started with verrucous, hyperkeratotic plaques and subcutaneous violet nodules of unknown origin on her face and upper extremities. Despite topical antimycotic therapy she needed in-hospital treatment because of severely progressive tumorous cutaneous and nasal lesions. Microscopic examination of scale samples taken from the upper extremities and the face revealed brown, thick-walled fungal elements. Under the assumption of a chromoblastomycosis, an oral treatment with itraconazole and fluorocytosin was initiated, with significant improvement of the lesions. The aetiological agent was identified as Phialophora verrucosa.

Antifungal Agents↗
PubMed1988

[Biological constants in migrants].

Until now, clinical chemists, clinicians, physicians dealing with the problem of migrant biology dispose only reference limits established for an autochtone population. But can these really be applied? We compared 28 blood constituents of a migrant population with those of the french population. We defined five geographic areas: Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, Northern Africa, Northern and Central Europe and the Near and Middle East.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Entomologic and avian investigations of an epidemic of West Nile fever in Romania in 1996, with serologic and molecular characterization of a virus isolate from mosquitoes.

Between July and October 1996, a West Nile (WN) fever epidemic occurred in the southern plain and Danube Valley of Romania and in the capital city of Bucharest, resulting in hundreds of neurologic cases and 17 fatalities. In early October 1996, entomologic and avian investigations of the epidemic were conducted in the city of Bucharest and nearby rural areas. Thirty (41%) of 73 domestic fowl sampled had neutralizing antibody to WN virus, including 5 of 13 ducks (38%), 1 of 1 goose, 19 of 52 chickens (37%), 1 of 1 peahen, and 4 of 6 turkeys (67%). Seroprevalence in domestic fowl (27%, or 7 of 26) from the urban Bucharest site was not significantly different (P = 0.08, by Fisher's exact test) than rates at three rural sites (50%, or 23 of 46). Serum collected from one of 12 Passeriformes, an Erithacus rubecula, was positive for neutralizing antibody to WN virus. A total of 5,577 mosquitoes representing seven taxa were collected. Culex pipiens pipiens accounted for 96% of the mosquitoes collected. A single virus isolate, RO97-50, was obtained from a pool of 30 Cx. p. pipiens females aspirated from the walls and ceiling of a blockhouse located near the center of Bucharest, resulting in a minimum infection rate of 0.19 per 1,000. Antisera prepared against RO97-50 failed to distinguish among RO97-50, WN virus strain Eg101, and Kunjin (KUN) virus strain MRM16. A 2,323-basepair DNA fragment of the envelope (E) glycoprotein gene from RO97-50 and a Romanian WN virus strain obtained from a human cerebrospinal fluid sample, RO96-1030, were sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses of 23 WN virus strains and one KUN virus strain using the amino acid and nucleotide sequences for a small portion of the E gene suggest the existence of two large lineages of viruses. Bootstrap analysis of the nucleotide alignment indicated strong support (95%) for a lineage composed of WN virus strains from northern Africa, including isolates from Egypt and Algeria, and west, central, and east Africa, all of the European isolates, those from France and Romania, an Israeli isolate, and an isolate of KUN virus from Australia. The nucleotide sequence of RO97-50 was identical to the sequence of a WN virus isolate obtained from Cx. neavei mosquitoes from Senegal and Cx. univittatus mosquitoes from Kenya. The phylogenetic analyses were compatible with the introduction of virus into Romania by birds migrating from sub-Saharan Africa, to northern Africa, and into southern Europe.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2005

Aspects of climate change prediction relevant to crop productivity.

Projected changes in surface climate are reviewed at a range of temporal scales, with an emphasis on tropical northern Africa--a region considered to be particularly vulnerable to climate change. Noting the key aspects of 'weather' affecting crop yield, we then consider relevant and projected change using output from a range of state of the art global climate models (GCMs), and for different future emission scenarios. The outputs from the models reveal significant inter-model variation in the change expected by the end of the twenty-first century for even the lowest IPCC emission scenario. We provide a set of recommendations on future model diagnostics, configurations and ease of use to close further the gap between GCMs and smaller-scale crop models. This has the potential to empower countries to make their own assessments of vulnerability to climate change induced periods of food scarcity.

Africa, Northern↗
PubMed2000

Anopheles funestus resistant to pyrethroid insecticides in South Africa.

Northern Kwazulu/Natal (KZN) Province of South Africa borders on southern Mozambique, between Swaziland and the Indian Ocean. To control malaria vectors in KZN, houses were sprayed annually with residual DDT 2 g/ m2 until 1996 when the treatment changed to deltamethrin 20-25 mg/m2. At Ndumu (27 degrees 02'S, 32 degrees 19'E) the recorded malaria incidence increased more than six-fold between 1995 and 1999. Entomological surveys during late 1999 found mosquitoes of the Anopheles funestus group (Diptera: Culicidae) resting in sprayed houses in some sectors of Ndumu area. This very endophilic-vector of malaria had been eliminated from South Africa by DDT spraying in the 1950s, leaving the less endophilic An. arabiensis Patton as the only vector of known importance in KZN. Deltamethrin-sprayed houses at Ndumu were checked for insecticide efficacy by bioassay using susceptible An. arabiensis (laboratory-reared) that demonstrated 100% mortality. Members of the An. funestus group from Ndumu houses (29 males, 116 females) were identified by the rDNA PCR method and four species were found: 74 An. funestus Giles sensu stricto, 34 An. parensis Gillies, seven An. rivulorum Leeson and one An. leesoni Evans. Among An. funestus s.s. females, 5.4% (4/74) were positive for Plasmodium falciparum by ELISA and PCR tests. To test for pyrethroid resistance, mosquito adults were exposed to permethrin discriminating dosage and mortality scored 24h post-exposure: survival rates of wild-caught healthy males were 5/10 An. funestus, 1/9 An. rivulorum and 0/2 An. parensis; survival rates of laboratory-reared adult progeny from 19 An. funestus females averaged 14% (after 1h exposure to 1% permethrin 25:75cis:trans on papers in WHO test kits) and 27% (after 30 min in a bottle with 25 microg permethrin 40:60cis:trans). Anopheles funestus families showing >20% survival in these two resistance test procedures numbered 5/19 and 12/19, respectively. Progeny from 15 of the families were tested on 4% DDT impregnated papers and gave 100% mortality. Finding these proportions of pyrethroid-resistant An. funestus, associated with a malaria upsurge at Ndumu, has serious implications for malaria vector control operations in southern Africa.

Africa, Southern↗
PubMed2006

Prevalence and socioeconomic associations of asthma and allergic rhinitis in northern [corrected] Africa.

The aims of the current study were to ascertain the prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms in Cairo, Egypt (northern Africa), and to elucidate the socioeconomic factors associated with symptom prevalence and severity. A translated and adapted version of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 2,645 11-15-yr-olds in state and fee-paying schools in Cairo. The overall prevalences of wheeze ever, wheeze during the last year and physician-diagnosed asthma were 26.5% (697 out of 2,631), 14.7% (379 out of 2,570) and 9.4% (246 out of 2,609), respectively. The prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis was 15.3% (399 out of 2,616). Asthma symptoms were independently associated with attendance at a state school, parental asthma, age, history of rhinitis and owning a pet cat. Rhinoconjunctivitis was independently associated with attendance at a state school, father's education, parental history of asthma, asthma symptoms and owning a pet cat. In spite of a higher prevalence of severe asthma symptoms in state schools prevalence of physician diagnosis of asthma was the same in both school types, suggesting inequalities in access to healthcare. In conclusion, the prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma in Cairo was 9.4%, while the prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis was 15.3%. There is a higher prevalence and increased severity of asthma symptoms in children of lower socioeconomic groups, as defined by state school attendance in Cairo.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The spectrum of dermatophytes in northern Malawi (Africa).

Between 1.5% and 2.5% of the population in Karonga District, northern Malawi (Africa), were diagnosed as having tinea faciei, corporis, inguinalis or cruris in the course of a total population survey carried out between 1987 and 1989. With regard to the relative frequency distribution of dermatophytes, the main findings were the rarity of Trichophyton rubrum (around 1%) and the predominance of Microsporum audouinii (57%) in this part of Africa. In the genital area Epidermophyton floccosum was the most common isolate (56%).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Antigenic variants of the Soldado virus (Nairovirus, Bunyaviridae) isolated in different parts of the world.

Antigenic analysis of 9 strains of the Soldado virus, originating from seven different countries of Central and Northern America, Africa, Northern Europe and of the Pacific area was carried out by means of complement fixation (CF) and immunodiffusion (ID) tests. Three strains isolated from Ornithodoros (A.) capensis, including the reference Trinidad strain, were found to be related within the same relatively heterogeneous sub-group C, being characteristic for the New World. Five other strains isolated from Ornithodoros (A.) maritimus were classified to form an another, much more homogeneous subgroup M, characteristic for the Old World (related to the Ireland strain). The South Africa strain, isolated form Ornithodoros (A.), probably capensis, could not be classified in either of the above two subgroups. Thus, the Soldado virus in fact represents a complex of more or less closely related strains, but not a single virus.

Antigens, Viral↗
PubMed1999

Combined use of biallelic and microsatellite Y-chromosome polymorphisms to infer affinities among African populations.

To define Y-chromosome haplotypes, we studied seven biallelic polymorphic sites. We combined data with those from four dinucleotide-repeat polymorphisms, to establish Y-chromosome compound superhaplotypes. Eight biallelic haplotypes that matched the dendrogram proposed by other investigators were identified in 762 Y chromosomes from 25 African populations. For each biallelic site, coalescence time of lineages carrying the derived allele was estimated and compared with previous estimates. The "ancestral" haplotype (haplotype 1A) was observed among Ethiopians, "Khoisan" (!Kung and Khwe), and populations from northern Cameroon. Microsatellite distributions within this haplotype showed that the Khoisan haplotypes 1A are widely divergent from those of the other two groups. Populations from northern Africa and northern Cameroon share a haplotype (i.e., 1C), which is not observed in other African populations but represents a major Eurasian cluster. Haplotypes 1C of northern Cameroon are clearly distinct from those of Europe, whereas haplotypes 1C of northern African are well intermingled with those of the other two groups. Apportionment of diversity for the Y-chromosomal biallelic haplotypes was calculated after populations were clustered into different configurations. Despite some correspondence between language affiliation and genetic similarity, geographic proximity seems to be a better predictor of genetic affinity.

Africa↗
PubMed2005

Evolutionary history of the greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula) inferred from analysis of mtDNA, Y, and X chromosome markers.

We investigate the evolutionary history of the greater white-toothed shrew across its distribution in northern Africa and mainland Europe using sex-specific (mtDNA and Y chromosome) and biparental (X chromosome) markers. All three loci confirm a large divergence between eastern (Tunisia and Sardinia) and western (Morocco and mainland Europe) lineages, and application of a molecular clock to mtDNA divergence estimates indicates a more ancient separation (2.25 M yr ago) than described by some previous studies, supporting claims for taxonomic revision. Moroccan ancestry for the mainland European population is inconclusive from phylogenetic trees, but is supported by greater nucleotide diversity and a more ancient population expansion in Morocco than in Europe. Signatures of rapid population expansion in mtDNA, combined with low X and Y chromosome diversity, suggest a single colonization of mainland Europe by a small number of Moroccan shrews >38 K yr ago. This study illustrates that multilocus genetic analyses can facilitate the interpretation of species' evolutionary history but that phylogeographic inference using X and Y chromosomes is restricted by low levels of observed polymorphism.

Africa, Northern↗
PubMed2004

Mitochondrial simple sequence repeats and 12S-rRNA gene reveal two distinct lineages of Crocidura russula (Mammalia, Soricidae).

A short segment (135 bp) of the control region and a partial sequence (394 bp) of the 12S-rRNA gene in the mitochondrial DNA of Crocidura russula were analyzed in order to test a previous hypothesis regarding the presence of a gene flow disruption in northern Africa. This breakpoint would have separated northeast-African C. russula populations from the European (plus the northwest-African) populations. The analysis was carried out on specimens from Tunisia (C. r. cf agilis), Sardinia (C. r. ichnusae), and Pantelleria (C. r. cossyrensis), and on C. r. russula from Spain and Belgium. Two C. russula lineages were identified; they both shared R2 tandem repeated motifs of the same length (12 bp), but not the same primary structure. These simple sequence repeats were present in 12-23 copies in the right domain of the control region. Within the northeast-African populations, a polymorphism of repeat variants, not yet found in Europe, was recorded. A neighbor-join tree, which was built by sequences of the conserved 12S-rRNA gene, separated the two sister groups; it permitted us to date a divergence time of 0.5 Myr. Our data discriminated two different mitochondrial lineages in accordance with the previous morphological and karyological data. Ecoclimatic barriers formed during the Middle Pleistocene broke the range of ancestral species in the Eastern Algeria (Kabile Mountains), leading to two genetically separate and modern lineages. The northeast-African lineage can today be located in Tunisia, Pantelleria, and Sardinia. The northwest-African lineage (Morocco and West Algeria), reaching Spain by anthropogenic introduction, spread over north Europe in modern times. The Palaearctic C. russula species is monophyletic, but a taxonomical revision (ie, to provide a full species rank for the northeast taxa and to put in synonymy some insular taxa) is required.

Africa, Northern↗
PubMed2005

Female genital mutilation -- an exported medical hazard.

BACKGROUND: Female circumcision (FC) has remained a common practice in the countries where it has traditionally been performed. Following increased global mobility, it has also become a common medical issue in the predominantly non-Islamic countries where an increasing number of immigrants from regions where FC is still traditional, have settled. OBJECTIVES: To investigate types of FC found in a group of immigrants from northern Africa with a current domicile in Scandinavia. To characterize these women with regard to education, socio-economic status and experienced complications and sequelae. To report attitudes to FC among the women and their husbands. METHODS: An autoquestionnaire was distributed to 220 immigrant women (16-42 years old), who belonged to an African community in Scandinavia and who had all been circumcised. Information was also gathered concerning 76 of their daughters (aged 1-13 years). Of the women's husbands, 95 were asked about their attitudes to FC. RESULTS: Of the 140 women, who had been circumcised in their home country before they migrated, 78 (35%) had been clitoridectomized, 38 (17%) had been subjected to genital excision and 24 (11%) to infibulation. The corresponding percentages in the remaining women, who had had FC when returning home for a visit, were 0%, 14% and 22%, respectively. Of the daughters, 15 (19%) had been circumcised whilst living in Scandinavia; all had been clitoridectomized. Twenty-eight (13%) women reported having experienced late complications or post-FC sequelae. A positive attitude to stopping the tradition of FC was reported twice as often by the husbands (69%) as by the circumcised women (35%). Religion (95% of the responders were Muslims and 5% Christians), cultural tradition, and increased chance of marriage or of continued health were the reasons put forward in favor of the continuation of FC by 58%, 27%, 10% and 4 %, respectively. Five per cent could not supply an opinion. CONCLUSIONS: FC is performed in immigrant women even after settling in areas where this practise is legally banned. Circumcised immigrant women experience medical and sexual problems which have to be dealt with in their new domicile country. Many African Islamic women, who have migrated to Scandinavia, seem still to be in favour of the continuation of circumcision for varying reasons.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Differences in the prevalence of hypertension by ethnic origin and age at immigration in a cohort of 5,146 Israelis.

Marked ethnic differences in hypertension prevalence have been described in Jewish immigrants to Israel. The extent to which this phenomenon has persisted after a long period of living in the same country, and whether native-born descendants exhibit similar patterns, is not clear. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hypertension in immigrants to Israel and native-born Israelis by region of origin and age at immigration. Complete data were available for 5,146 subjects (3,607 men and 1,539 women) aged 20-64 years who were employed in Israeli industries and were examined during 1985-1987. In both sexes, Jews originating in the West (Europe and the Americas) had higher blood pressures and a significantly higher prevalence of hypertension than those from northern Africa or Asia, particularly in the age group 20-44 years (17% vs. 9% and 8% in men, respectively, and 9% vs. 3% and 5% in women). There was a significant positive association between the prevalence of hypertension and age at immigration (p less than 0.001) in both sexes, and this finding was present in all ethnic groups. In multiple logistic regression analysis, the associations of hypertension with ethnic origin and age at immigration were only partly explained by variations in body mass index, after controlling for other potentially confounding variables. These findings suggest that despite these subjects' having shared a relatively similar physical environment for many years, ethnic differences in the prevalence of hypertension persist. Immigration at an older age was associated with a higher prevalence of hypertension for both subjects originating in industrialized countries and those originating in nonindustrialized countries, suggesting that the process of immigration itself may adversely affect blood pressure.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Polymorphic Alu insertions and genetic diversity among African populations.

Thorough assessment of modern genetic diversity and interpopulation affinities within the African continent is essential for understanding the processes that have been at work during the course of worldwide human evolution. Regardless of whether autosomal, Y-chromosome, or mtDNA markers are used, allele- or haplotype-frequency data from African populations are necessary in setting the framework for the construction of global population phylogenies. In the present study we analyze genetic differentiation and population structure in a data set of nine African populations using 12 polymorphic Alu insertions (PAls). Furthermore, to place our findings within a global context, we also examined an equal number of non-African groups. Frequency data from 456 individuals presented for the first time in this work plus additional data obtained from the literature indicate an overall pattern of higher intrapopulation diversity in sub-Saharan populations than in northern Africa, a prominent differentiation between these two locations, an appreciably high degree of transcontinental admixture in Egypt, and significant discontinuity between Morocco and the Iberian peninsula. Moreover, the topologies of our phylogenetic analyses suggest that out of the studied sub-Saharan groups, the southern Bantu population of Sotho/ Tswana presents the highest level of antiquity, perhaps as a result of ancestral or acquired Khoisan genetic signals. Close affinities of eastern sub-Saharan populations with Egypt in the phylogenetic trees may indicate the existence of gene flow along the Nile River.

Africa South of the Sahara↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[3Autochthonous cases of murine typhus in France?].

Three men native from Northern Africa, aged more than 40 years, but by their profession in France with narrow contacts to rats, present clinical signs of typhus. Serology (FCT and FAT) gives positive results with R. prowazeki and R. typhi which have a strait antigenic community. Following assays of absorption of the sera by the two antigens and light differences of titers we conclude that two cases are Brill-Zinsser illnesses, but one is really an autochtone case of murin typhus. The last affirmation is confirmed by the detection of specific IgM-antibodies.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Mild and severe muscular dystrophy caused by a single gamma-sarcoglycan mutation.

Autosomal recessive muscular dystrophy is genetically heterogeneous. One form of this disorder, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2C (LGMD 2C), is prevalent in northern Africa and has been shown to be associated with a single mutation in the gene encoding the dystrophin-associated protein gamma-sarcoglycan. The previous mutation analysis of gamma-sarcoglycan required the availability of muscle biopsies. To establish a mutation assay for genomic DNA, the intron-exon structure of the gamma-sarcoglycan gene was determined, and primers were designed to amplify each of the exons encoding gamma-sarcoglycan. We studied a group of Brazilian muscular dystrophy patients for mutations in the gamma-sarcoglycan gene. These patients were selected on the basis of autosomal inheritance and/or the presence of normal dystrophin and/or deficiency of alpha-sarcoglycan immunostaining. Four of 19 patients surveyed had a single, homozygous mutation in the gamma-sarcoglycan gene. The mutation identified in these patients, all of African-Brazilian descent, is identical to that seen in the North African population, suggesting that even patients of remote African descent may carry this mutation. The phenotype in these patients varied considerably. Of four families with an identical mutation, three have a severe Duchenne-like muscular dystrophy. However, one family has much milder symptoms, suggesting that other loci may be present that modify the severity of the clinical course resulting from gamma-sarcoglycan gene mutations.

Adolescent↗