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Although Amblyomma variegatum and Ehrlichia ruminantium infections have been reported in cattle from some agro‐ecological zones (AEZs) of Cameroon, the transmission patterns of this bacterium seem to vary according to endemic areas and its prevalence as well as that of Heartwater remains not well understood in most sub‐Saharan African countries. This study was designed to detect E. ruminantium infections in cattle of four AEZs of Cameroon and to identify areas presenting enzootic stability and those with potentially high risk for Heartwater. Blood samples were collected from cattle in four AEZs of Cameroon. DNA was extracted from blood and semi‐nested PCR targeting the 16S rRNA gene of E. ruminantium was used to search for this bacterium. From 569 cattle analysed, an E. ruminantium DNA fragment was detected in 197 of them, giving an overall prevalence of 34.6%. The highest prevalence of E. ruminantium of 48.0% was recorded in cattle from AEZ IV and the lowest (26.0%) in those from AEZ III. Among the AEZs, significant differences (X2= 14.85, p = 0.002) were recorded in terms of the prevalence of E. ruminantium infections. Villages of the westerly areas are at higher risk for E. ruminantium infections. This study revealed a high prevalence and a wide distribution of E. ruminantium infections in AEZs of Cameroon. It enabled the identification of areas showing an enzootic stability for E. ruminantium transmission as well as those where the transmission of this bacterium is low and where livestock are at higher risk of developing Heartwater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice fritter is a fermented food produced using traditional technology, and its consumption has become important these last years. However, as its technological production is not well mastered due to multitude production processes, information on the production process and the nutritional value of rice fritters remains unknown. This study was designed to produce rice fritters with good nutritional value by standardizing its production. A randomized cross‐study was carried out, and knowledge on the production process and the ingredients' origin was collected from 298 consumers and 104 producers of 7 cities of Cameroon (Bafoussam, Banyo, Foumban, Foumbot, Yaoundé, Ngaoundéré, and Maroua). It was a randomize cross‐study. Thus, the nutritional characterization of rice fritters marked and the rheological properties of rice flours commonly used were carried out in the laboratory by using standardized methods. About 93.3% people producing rice fritter were women, from the north (40.4%) and permanent traders (60.6%). Moreover, 83.7% of producers used a mixture of rice–wheat flour while 16.3% used only rice flour. Producers used both local and imported rice grains. Marketed rice fritters contained ash (1.38%–2.17%), proteins (7.19%–10.35%), lipids (13.82%–21.72%), fibers (1.38%–2.54%), and carbohydrates (67.16%–74.17%). Independently of collection city and although the production steps were identical, some differences recorded in the step of making dough led to four commonly used production processes and fritters made by Process 2 (which differed from the others especially with the addition of milk (100–200 mL)) had the highest macro‐ and micronutrient contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic variation in CYP2B6 and CYP2A6 is known to impact interindividual response to antiretrovirals, nicotine, and bupropion, among other drugs. However, the full catalogue of clinically relevant pharmacogenetic variants in these genes is yet to be established, especially across African populations. This study therefore aimed to characterize the star allele (haplotype) distribution in CYP2B6 and CYP2A6 across diverse and understudied sub‐Saharan African (SSA) populations. We called star alleles from 961 high‐depth full genomes using StellarPGx, Aldy, and PyPGx. In addition, we performed CYP2B6 and CYP2A6 star allele frequency comparisons between SSA and other global biogeographical groups represented in the new 1000 Genomes Project high‐coverage dataset (n = 2,000). This study presents frequency information for star alleles in CYP2B6 (e.g., *6 and *18; frequency of 21–47% and 2–19%, respectively) and CYP2A6 (e.g., *4, *9, and *17; frequency of 0–6%, 3–10%, and 6–20%, respectively), and predicted phenotypes (for CYP2B6), across various African populations. In addition, 50 potentially novel African‐ancestry star alleles were computationally predicted by StellarPGx in CYP2B6 and CYP2A6 combined. For each of these genes, over 4% of the study participants had predicted novel star alleles. Three novel star alleles in CYP2A6 (*54, *55, and *56) and CYP2B6 apiece, and several suballeles were further validated via targeted Single‐Molecule Real‐Time resequencing. Our findings are important for informing the design of comprehensive pharmacogenetic testing platforms, and are highly relevant for personalized medicine strategies, especially relating to antiretroviral medication and smoking cessation treatment in Africa and the African diaspora. More broadly, this study highlights the importance of sampling diverse African ethnolinguistic groups for accurate characterization of the pharmacogene variation landscape across the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the treatment of HIV infection has provided different good results: like long-term viral suppression, the decrease of opportunistic infections, and repair of the immune system. METHODS: we carried out a hospital-based cross-sectional analytic study involving 315 participants 228 were on HAART (group 1) and 87 were HAART-naive (group 2) at the HIV treatment centre of the Bamenda regional hospital with our study population being all people living with HIV (PLWHIV) in the North West region of Cameroon. The sampling was performed from the 15th of March to the 30th of June 2017. The questionnaire was administered face to face with participants and their vital signs taken. Blood pressure was measured using an automated electronic blood pressure monitor and hypertension (HTN) was considered as systolic blood pressure (BP) e" 140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP e" 90mmHg. RESULTS: the prevalence of hypertension in the HAART group was 36.44% (n=82, CI: 30.15%-43.10%) compared to that of the HAART-naive group which was 13.33% (n=12, CI: 7.08%-22.13%, P=0.01). HAART was associated with HTN after controlling for gender, family history of hypertension, body mass index (BMI), smoking and alcohol consumption. The odds ratio of the HAART-treated versus the HAART-naive was 3.86 (95% CI: 1.98-7.50). we also found an association between TDF/3TC/EFV (OR=2.83), AZT/3TC/NVP (OR=2.82), AZT/3TC+EFV (OR=3.48) and TDF/3TC+NVP (OR=2.36) and HTN whereas those on AZT+3TC+ATV/r (OR=0.84) and TDF+3TC+ATV/r (OR=0.45) were not associated to hypertension. CONCLUSION: our result suggests that blood pressure should be periodically measured and treated when necessary in PLWHIV on HAART.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) has been targeted for zero transmission to humans by 2030. Animal reservoirs of gambiense-HAT could jeopardize these elimination goals. This study was undertaken to identify potential host reservoirs for Trypanosoma brucei gambiense by detecting its natural infections in domestic animals of Chadian HAT foci. Blood samples were collected from 267 goats, 181 sheep, 154 dogs, and 67 pigs. Rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and capillary tube centrifugation (CTC) were performed to search for trypanosomes. DNA was extracted from the buffy coat, and trypanosomes of the subgenus Trypanozoon as well as T. b. gambiense were identified by PCR. Of 669 blood samples, 19.4% were positive by RDT and 9.0% by CTC. PCR revealed 150 animals (22.4%) with trypanosomes belonging to Trypanozoon, including 18 (12%) T. b. gambiense. This trypanosome was found in all investigated animal species and all HAT foci. Between animal species or villages, no significant differences were observed in the number of animals harboring T. b. gambiense DNA. Pigs, dogs, sheep and goats appeared to be potential reservoir hosts for T. b. gambiense in Chad. The identification of T. b. gambiense in all animal species of all HAT foci suggests that these animals should be considered when designing new control strategies for sustainable elimination of HAT. Investigations aiming to decrypt their specific role in each epidemiological setting are important to achieve zero transmission of HAT.

During the last 30 years, investigations on the microbiome of different tsetse species have generated substantial data on the bacterial flora of these cyclical vectors of African trypanosomes, with the overarching goal of improving the control of trypanosomiases. It is in this context that the presence of Wolbachia and Sodalis glossinidius was studied in wild populations of Glossina fuscipes quanzensis from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tsetse flies were captured with pyramidal traps. Of the 700 Glossina f. quanzensis captured, 360 were dissected and their midguts collected and analyzed. Sodalis glossinidius and Wolbachia were identified by PCR. The Wolbachia-positive samples were genetically characterized with five molecular markers. PCR revealed 84.78% and 15.55% midguts infected by Wolbachia and S. glossinidius, respectively. The infection rates varied according to capture sites. Of the five molecular markers used to characterize Wolbachia, only the fructose bis-phosphate aldolase gene was amplified for about 60% of midguts previously found with Wolbachia infections. The sequencing results confirmed the presence of Wolbachia and revealed the presence of S. glossinidius in the midgut of Glossina f. quanzensis. A low level of midguts were naturally co-infected by both bacteria. The data generated in this study open a framework for investigations aimed at understanding the contribution of these symbiotic microorganisms to the vectorial competence of Glossina fuscipes quanzensis.