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Tuberculosis is a contagious infectious disease, in which epidemiologic monitoring by molecular approaches is a critical element of prevention and control. The population structure of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBc) in Senegal was last described in the 1970’s using biochemical methods. In this present study, we applied molecular approaches to genotype M. tuberculosis isolates from active pulmonary tuberculosis patients who participated in a prospective cohort study between 2004 to 2006. Genetic characterization, using standard spoligotype analysis and Line Probe Assay for resistance to isoniazid and rifampicin, was applied after culture on egg based solid media. The prevalence of resistance to isoniazid was 1.0% and to rifampicin 0.0% among 203 isolates tested. Of the 203 isolates, spoligotype patterns present in the TB-insight database were identified in 178 (87.6%) while 25 (12.3%) showed patterns suggestive of mixed infection. The major spoligotypes identified were the Haarlem lineage (22%), followed by the T (19%), Beijing (12%), LAM (12%), and M. africanum West African 2 (10%). Patterns suggestive of mixed infections, such as the sole lack of spacers 33 and 34, suggested a combination of Euro-American M. tuberculosis and Beijing lineage, which were confirmed by polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) for lineage defining deletions in a subset of isolates. The population structure of the M. tuberculosis complex in Dakar reflects a predominance of Euro-American M. tuberculosis (Haarlem, T and LAM), with a decreased prevalence of M. africanum West African 2, compared with reports from the 1970’s based on biochemical speciation, which reported prevalence of M. africanum around 20% in Dakar. Key words: Tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, polymerase chain reactions (PCRs).

OBJECTIVE To assess the effectiveness of the WHO syndromic algorithm in the management of vaginal discharge among women of reproductive age in Dakar. METHODS Cross-sectional study of consecutive female patients (aged 18-49 years) presenting with vaginal symptoms at six selected study sites in Dakar; of these, 276 patients were included in the analysis. Vaginal and cervical swab samples were collected and analysed to establish an aetiological diagnosis of any infection. Syndrome-based diagnosis was compared with the laboratory results to evaluate its accuracy based on sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values. The degree of agreement between the two approaches was assessed using the Cohen's kappa concordance analysis. RESULTS Overall prevalence of vaginal infections was 56.9% (157/276); 5.4% (15/276) of the patients had cervical infection. Using the syndromic approach, 51% of patients were correctly managed for Trichomonas vaginalis (TV)/Gardnerella vaginalis (GV); 61% for Candida albicans (CA) and 54% for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT)/Neisseria gonorrhoea (NG) infections. Consequently, 31% of patients with TV/GV, 51% with CA and 53% with CT/NG infections would have missed treatment. Further, the kappa value was

Background Emergence of Multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains constitutes a significant public health problem worldwide. Prevalence of MDR tuberculosis from Chad is unavailable to date. Methods We collected samples from consecutive TB patients nationwide in the seven major cities of Chad between 2007 and 2012 to characterize drug resistance and the population structure of circulating Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) strains. We tested drug sensitivity using Line Probe Assays and phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (DST) were used for second line drugs. We genotyped the isolates using spoligotype analysis and MIRU-VNTR. Results A total of 311 cultures were isolated from 593 patients. The MDR prevalence was 0.9% among new patients and 3.5% among retreatment patients, and no second line drug resistance was identified. The distribution of genotypes suggests a dissemination of MDR strains in the Southern city of Moundou, bordering Cameroon and Central African Republic. Conclusion Emerging MDR isolates pose a public health threat to Southern Chad, with risk to neighboring countries. This study informs public health practitioners, justifying the implementation of continuous surveillance with DST for all retreatment cases as well as contacts of MDR patients, in parallel with provision of adequate 2nd line regimens in the region. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-017-2671-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A total of 24 cases of hospitalized, laboratory-confirmed Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) meningitis were identified through a regional pediatric bacterial meningitis surveillance system. Each case was matched by age and residence to 4 neighborhood controls. The adjusted vaccine effectiveness for ≥ 2 doses was 95.8% (95% confidence interval, 67.9%-99.4%). Hib vaccine appears to be highly effective in preventing Hib meningitis in Senegal.

In a polygamous marriage in Senegal, the husband and his two spouses were infected with HIV-1 group O. This study provides new full-length genome sequences for the two spouses (99SE-MP1299 and 99SE-MP1300) and the 3'-end LTR-tat fragment (6084 bp) for the husband (98SE-42HALD). Phylogenetic tree and diversity plot analysis revealed that the new viruses belong to HIV-1 group O and that they are closely related to each other in a cluster around ANT-70. The intrafamilial transmission occurred at most 6 years ago. The interpatient variability was highest in the envelope region, and in some regions of the envelope the strains from the two spouses do not cluster together anymore. The source of infection was in Cameroon and confirms a slow but continuous spread of HIV-1 group O viruses.

Bacterial meningitis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children living in low-resource settings. Pediatric bacterial meningitis cases < 5 years of age were identified through a regional hospital surveillance system for 3 years after introduction of routine immunization with Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine in Senegal in July 2005. Cases from the national pediatric hospital were also tracked from 2002 to 2008. The regional surveillance system recorded 1,711 suspected pediatric bacterial meningitis cases. Of 214 laboratory-confirmed cases, 108 (50%) were caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, 42 (20%) to Hib, and 13 (6%) to Neisseria meningitidis. There was a 98% reduction in the number of hospitalized Hib meningitis cases from Dakar Region in 2008 compared with 2002. The surveillance system provides important information to the Ministry of Health as they consider self-funding Hib vaccine and introducing pneumococcal vaccine.

To document the actual genetic diversity of HIV-1 strains in the Republic of Congo, 114 HIV-1 positives persons were sampled in 2003 and 2004 after their informed consent. They were attending the teaching hospital, the reference health center in Makelekele, Brazzaville and the regional hospital centers in Pointe-Noire, Gamboma and Ouesso. A total of 104 samples were genetically characterized by direct sequencing of the p24 gag region and 80 were also subtyped in the V3-V5 env region. The genetic subtype distribution of the Congolese strains showed the predominance of subtype A (36.5% and 32.5% in gag and env, respectively) and G (30.8% and 21.25%), whereas subtype D strains represented 12.5% and 15%. Subtypes C, F, H, J, K and the CRFs-01, -02, -05 -06, and also the recently characterized CRF18 were seen at lower rates. Finally, 4.8% (gag) and 6.25% (env) of the strains could not be classified. Moreover, a high intra-subtype diversity was observed in our study. Among 70 strains which have been characterized in the two genomic regions, 14 (20%) appeared to be unique recombinants. These data show a high genetic variability in the Republic of Congo, where all the subtypes have been documented together with certain subsubtypes and several CRFs. (c) 2006 B.V. All rights reserved.