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In December 2023, we observed through hospital-based surveillance a severe outbreak of enterovirus D68 infection in pediatric inpatients in Dakar, Senegal. Molecular characterization revealed that subclade B3, the dominant lineage in outbreaks worldwide, was responsible for the outbreak. Enhanced surveillance in inpatient settings, including among patients with neurologic illnesses, is needed.

In 2022, many regions around the world experienced a severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) epidemic with an earlier-than-usual start and increased numbers of paediatric patients in emergency departments. Here we carried out this study to describe the epidemiology and genetic characteristics of RSV infection in patients hospitalized with severe acute respiratory infections in 2022. Samples were tested for RSV by multiplex real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Subsequently, a subset of RSV positive samples was selected for NGS sequencing. RSV was detected in 16.04%, among which RSV-A was confirmed in 7.5% and RSV-B in 76.7%. RSV infection were more identified in infants aged ≤ 11 months (83.3%) and a shift in the circulation pattern was observed, with highest incidences between September-November. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that all RSV-A strains belonged to GA2.3.5 genotype and all RSV-B strains to GB5.0.5a genotype. Three putative N-glycosylation sites at amino acid positions 103, 135, 237 were predicted among RSV-A strains, while four N-linked glycosylation sites at positions 81, 86, 231 and 294 were identified in RSV-B strains. Globally, our findings reveal an exclusive co-circulation of two genetic lineages of RSV within the pediatric population in Senegal, especially in infants aged ≤ 11 months., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background:  Although a growing number of very elderly patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), multiple conditions, and polypharmacy receive direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), few studies specifically investigated both apixaban/rivaroxaban pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in such patients., Aims:  To investigate: (1) DOAC concentration-time profiles; (2) thrombin generation (TG); and (3) clinical outcomes 6 months after inclusion in very elderly AF in-patients receiving rivaroxaban or apixaban., Methods:  Adage-NCT02464488 was an academic prospective exploratory multicenter study, enrolling AF in-patients aged ≥80 years, receiving DOAC for at least 4 days. Each patient had one to five blood samples at different time points over 20 days. DOAC concentrations were determined using chromogenic assays. TG was investigated using ST-Genesia (STG-ThromboScreen, STG-DrugScreen)., Results:  We included 215 patients (women 71.1%, mean age: 87 ± 4 years), 104 rivaroxaban and 111 apixaban, and 79.5% receiving reduced-dose regimen. We observed important inter-individual variabilities (coefficient of variation) whatever the regimen, at C max [49-46%] and C min [75-61%] in 15 mg rivaroxaban and 2.5 mg apixaban patients, respectively. The dose regimen was associated with C max and C min plasma concentrations in apixaban ( p =  0.0058 and p =  0.0222, respectively), but not in rivaroxaban samples (multivariate analysis). Moreover, substantial variability of thrombin peak height (STG-ThromboScreen) was noticed at a given plasma concentration for both xabans, suggesting an impact of the underlying coagulation status on TG in elderly in-patients. After 6-month follow-up, major bleeding/thromboembolic event/death rates were 6.7%/1.0%/17.3% in rivaroxaban and 5.4%/3.6%/18.9% in apixaban patients, respectively., Conclusion:  Our study provides original data in very elderly patients receiving DOAC in a real-life setting, showing great inter-individual variability in plasma concentrations and TG parameters. Further research is needed to understand the potential clinical impact of these findings., Competing Interests: V.S., I.G.-T., E.Pa, E.Pu, F.M., M.D., and P.G. have received honoraria for participating in expert meetings on dabigatran (from Boehringer Ingelheim), rivaroxaban (from Bayer Healthcare AG), or apixaban (Bristol Myers Squibb-Pfizer). G.F. and E.Pu received a grant from Bayer. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest., (The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).)

Introduction: Diabetes, a high prevalence chronic disease, especially in the elderly, is a risk factor of chronic lower limb wounds, whose management involves screening and treatment of peripheral arterial obstructive disease (PAOD), which must be systematic. Aim : Evaluate the screening and the management of PAOD amongst those patients, hospitalized in a Geriatric Department., Methods: Observational, retrospective, monocentric study, including all the elderly above 75 years old, with diabetes, and a wound in the lower limb, hospitalized from 01/01/2018 to 29/02/2020 at Henri Mondor hospital in Créteil., Results: Over the study period, 2567 patients were hospitalized, including 501 diabetic patients (19,5 %). 38 patients were included. Amongst them, 66 % had a bedsore, 18 % a leg ulcer, and 24 % a diabetic foot ulcer. Concerning the screening of PAOD, 66 % was screened for peripheral pulses, 8 % had an ankle-brachial index, and 45 % at least an imaging including 39 % arterial doppler. Amongst the 21 patients with PAOD, only one had a complete medical treatment, 6 had a revascularization including 5 amputations., Conclusion: Management of PAOD in the wound of lower limb amongst diabetic elderly patients is insufficient. Although it can be difficult to revascularize them, the screening must be systematic. Educate geriatric doctors in the screening of PAOD and build an expert team amongst them would help to improve that problematic.

Objective: To evaluate the implementation of the maternal and neonatal death surveillance and response (MNDSR) system at county level in Liberia., Methods: Secondary analysis of data from a cross-sectional study carried out in March 2016, using both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data in five counties based on set criteria. Three health facilities were selected in each county through the Health Management Information System (HMIS) by random sampling. The evaluation was also carried out in one catchment community per health facility and at the county referral hospital. Primary data were collected through individual interviews and a review of MNDSR tools and structure. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis., Results: Implementation of the MNDSR system was very low in the five counties. Only two out of the five counties were currently conducting MNDSR. MNDSR guidelines and standard operating procedures were not available at the county level. Only 12 (23.5%) health facilities had a maternal and neonatal death review committee. Less than a quarter of the assessed community members could correctly give the definition of a maternal or neonatal death., Conclusion: The MNDSR system is weak in Liberia, at county, health facility, and community levels. Strong national commitment is needed in collaboration with diverse partners for successful implementation of the system., (© 2022 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.)

Objective: To assess the current system of maternal death review (MDR) in Ghana and identify the achievements, challenges, and gaps that will assist in transitioning to the maternal death surveillance and response system (MDSR)., Methods: A secondary analysis of data from a cross-sectional study on MDSR implementation was conducted between September and October 2018. The MDSR cycle served as an analytical framework to measure the country's performance in implementing MDSR. Common facilitating or hindering factors were also identified., Results: The MDR system is moderately strong at regional level with timely receipt of data and regular review meetings and reports in most regions. At district level the MDR system is less well implemented, although there is evidence of good communication with regional teams in providing timely data. Communication between districts and communities about maternal deaths seemed to be poor in general. There was no MDR committee at national level and the recommendations made were poorly implemented., Conclusion: MDRs in Ghana were structurally sound, but recommendations were poorly implemented. Leadership at the national level needs to be developed to ensure that the current system could transition to an MDSR system., (© 2022 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.)

The study aimed to analyse the challenges and solutions for maintaining the continuity of essential health services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Francophone West Africa. A cross-sectional study involving the managers of Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) and vaccination programmes in Francophone West Africa was designed. The challenges that limited the supply and use of RMNCAH services included: lack of standardized guides and procedures for appropriate care, limited knowledge of health workers on the new coronavirus disease, lack of diagnostic materials and kits, ineffective organization of services, anxieties of health workers and populations, and postponement of immunisation mass campaigns. The solutions proposed to address these challenges, included better organization of services to respect the physical distance, provision of adapted guides and care procedures, enhanced communication, training of health workers, effective use of social media and information and communication technologies. This study showed that the managers of RMNCAH programmes are aware of the challenges that could limit the supply and use of essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Increasingly, WHO recommendations are defined by context-specific factors and WHO is developing strategies to ensure that recommendations are successfully adapted and implemented at country level. This manuscript describes the development of a toolkit to support governments to adapt the WHO recommendations on antenatal care (ANC) for a positive pregnancy experience for their context in a systematic manner., Methods: The toolkit was developed in three steps. It was created with input from methodologists and regional implementation experts (Step 1) followed by a user-testing phase (Step 2), implemented during country stakeholder meetings. User testing consisted of stakeholder interviews that were transcribed, and data was categorised according to the content analysis method. Suggestions for toolkit improvement and issues identified during the interviews were assessed as serious, moderately serious or minor/cosmetic., Results: A total of 22 stakeholders - comprising five Ministry of Health (MoH) consultants, four MoH policy-makers, and 13 advisors/implementers - from Burkina Faso, India, Rwanda and Zambia participated in user-testing interviews during stakeholder meetings held in each country between August 2018 and February 2019. Most stakeholders had a medical or nursing background and half were women. Overall, responses to the toolkit were positive, with all stakeholders finding it useful and desirable. User testing interviews highlighted four serious, four moderately serious and five minor/cosmetic issues to be managed. These were addressed in the final step (Step 3), an updated version of the WHO ANC Recommendations Adaptation Toolkit, comprised of two main components - a baseline assessment tool with spreadsheets for data entry and a Slidedoc ® , a dual-purpose document for reading and presentation, outlining the qualitative data that shaped the women-centred perspective of the guidelines, accompanied by an instruction manual detailing the components' use., Conclusions: The WHO ANC Recommendations Adaptation Toolkit was developed to support countries to systematically adapt the WHO ANC recommendations for country contexts. Using this approach, similar tools can be developed to support guideline implementation across different health domains and the continuum of care.

Introduction: Surgical site infections (SSI) are frequent and dangerous in the surgical ward. They represent an obsession for the surgeon. The objectives were to determine the frequency of ISOs and risk factors, to identify the germs and to study their sensitivity to different antibiotics., Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with prospective data collection, performed at the general surgery department of the Bocar Sidy Sall University Hospital Center (Kati CHU) from January 2015 to December 2018., Results: During this period of study we recorded 55 cases of ISO out of 650 operated patients with a frequency of 8.46%. 450 patients were operated on the cold operating program (69.23%) and 200 patients on emergency (30.77%). The average age was 39, the sex ratio was 2.66. Among the 55 cases of ISO, 60% of these patients were operated in emergency and 40% in the operating program. The most common strains found were Escherichia coli (E. coli) in 38.3% of cases, Staphylococcus aureus in 23.4% and Klebsiella pneumonia in 13.3%. Hemoglobin levels were normal in 70% of cases. 4 of our patients or 7.27% were diabetic. We did not have any cases of obesity. Of the 55 cases of ISO, 66% were of class 3 and 4 of Altemeier, 59% were of ASA score 2 and ASA 3, 55% were of score 2 of NNISS (National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System), 5.45% were NNISS score 3 or 3 cases and these 3 cases developed ISO. The ISOs were parietal in 49 cases, ie 89%. The recovered germs were 100% sensitive to imipenem. The most informative interventions of the ISOs were peritonitis 25 cases (45.45%), intestinal occlusions 12 cases (21.82%), appendicular abscess 8 cases (14.55%). We had 2 death cases, 3.64%, the average hospital stay was 13 days., Conclusion: Escherichia coli was the common germ found in the ISO in general surgery at Kati BSS Hospital. The usual resistance to antibiotics must provoke effective preventive actions., (Le comité de rédaction se réserve le droit de renvoyer aux auteurs avant toute soumission à l'avis des lecteurs les manuscrits qui ne seraient pas conformes à ces modalités de présentation. En outre il leur conseille de conserver un exemplaire du manuscrit, des figures et des tableaux.)

Problem: In Burkina Faso, the coverage of services for family planning is low due to shortage of qualified health staff and limited access to services., Approach: Following the launch of the Ouagadougou Partnership, an alliance to catalyse the expansion of family planning services, the health ministry created a consortium of family planning stakeholders in 2011. The consortium adopted a collaborative framework to implement a pilot project for task sharing in family planning at community and primary health-care centre levels in two rural districts. Stakeholders were responsible for their areas of expertise. These areas included advocacy; monitoring and evaluation; and capacity development of community health workers (CHWs) to offer oral and injectable contraceptives to new users and of auxiliary nurses and auxiliary midwives to provide implants and intrauterine devices. The health ministry implemented supportive supervision cascades involving relevant planning and service levels., Local Setting: In Burkina Faso, only 15% (2563/17 087) of married women used modern contraceptives in 2010., Relevant Changes: Adoption of new policies and clinical care standards expanded task sharing roles in family planning. The consortium trained a total of 79 CHWs and 124 auxiliary nurses and midwives. Between January 2017 and December 2018, CHWs provided injectables to 3698 new users, and auxiliary nurses or midwives provided 726 intrauterine devices and 2574 implants to new users. No safety issues were reported., Lessons Learnt: The pilot project was feasible and safe, however, financial constraints are hindering scale-up efforts. Supportive supervision cascades were critical in ensuring success., ((c) 2019 The authors; licensee World Health Organization.)

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease associated with several antinuclear autoantibodies useful to diagnosis and prognosis. The aim of the present multicentric study was to determine the clinical relevance of antifibrillarin autoantibodies (AFA) in patients with SSc. The clinical features of 37 patients with SSc positive for AFA (AFA+) and 139 SSc patients without AFA (AFA-) were collected retrospectively from medical records to enable a comparison between AFA- and AFA+ patients. Antifibrillarin autoantibodies were screened by an indirect immunofluorescence technique using HEp2 cells and identified by an in-house Western blot technique and/or an EliA test. Comparing AFA+ and AFA- patients, AFA+ patients were significantly younger at disease onset (36.9 versus 42.9; P = 0.02), more frequently male (P = 0.02) and of Afro-Caribbean descent (65% versus 7.7%; P < 0.001). At diagnosis, the Rodnan skin score evaluating the cutaneous manifestations was higher (13.3 versus 8.7; P = 0.01) and myositis was also more common in the AFA+ group (31.4% versus 12.2%; P < 0.01). Patients with AFA+ were not associated with diffuse cutaneous SSc or with lung involvement and no difference in survival was observed. Antifibrillarin autoantibodies are associated with patients of Afro-Caribbean origin and can identify patients with SSc who are younger at disease onset and display a higher prevalence of myositis., (© 2016 The Foundation for the Scandinavian Journal of Immunology.)