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The COVID-19 pandemic required massive testing of potential patients in resource-constrained areas in Senegal. The first case of COVID-19 was reported on 2 March 2020 in Dakar city and on 10 March, the first cases were reported in Touba city, the second most populous city in Senegal. Following the scale of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Touba city, the Institut Pasteur de Dakar mobile laboratory truck (MLT) was deployed on March 13 to bring diagnostics to the point of need for better management of patient and outbreak control. The MLT deployed is a 6 × 6 truck equipped with an isolator for sample inactivation, a generator and batteries to ensure energy autonomy, and a molecular platform for pathogens detection. Nasal and oropharyngeal swabs were collected from suspected COVID-19 cases and sent to the MLT located at the Touba primary healthcare center. Samples were extracted and RNA amplified by real time qRT-PCR. A total of 11,693 samples were collected from 14 regions of Senegal and tested between March to August 2021. Within the samples tested, 10.6% (1240/1693) were positive for SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, the MLT allowed the confirmation of the first cases of COVID-19 in 25 out of 79 health districts of Senegal. Thereby, the MLT deployment during the first 6 months of COVID-19 in Senegal allowed rapid processing of suspected case samples collected in Touba and other surrounding areas and, thus, significantly contributed to the outbreak response and early case management in Senegal.

Herpesviruses are known to cause a diversity of clinical syndromes, ranging from minor cutaneous lesions to life-threatening illnesses, especially in immunocompromised hosts. Here, we investigate retrospectively the contribution of five human herpesviruses, including herpes simplex virus Cytomegalovirus (CMV), the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), human herpesvirus 6, and varicella zoster virus (VZV) in serum samples collected from measles suspected patients with at least fever and rash. Sera specimens were first tested for serological evidence of measles and rubella virus infection by ELISA, and DNA extracted from an aliquot of each clinical specimen for molecular detection of human herpes viruses by RT-qPCR. A total of 3,358 specimens have been collected and tested for herpes viruses. Nearly half of the overall suspected cases were children younger than 5 years (49.4%). Of the 3,358 sera tested by ELISA, 227 (6.7%) were measles laboratory confirmed and 152 (4.5%) rubella laboratory confirmed. Herpes viruses were detected in 1763 (52.5%), and VZV was the most common with 44.3%, followed by EBV with 10.7%. Coinfections were found in 352 (20%) cases, and the most common co-detections were VZV/EBV or VZV/CMV (169 and 81 cases, respectively). A clear seasonal pattern of VZV, EBV, and CMV identification was observed, with the highest incidence between February and April each year. Results of this investigation provide more insights into cutaneous rash syndrome etiologies in patients sampled in the framework of measles/rubella surveillance in Senegal, which is useful for the guidance of both case definition revision and clinical practice as well as for public health policy.

We investigated the epidemiology of measles and rubella infections in Senegal based on data from twelve consecutive years of laboratory-based surveillance (2010–2021) and conducted phylogenetic analyses of circulating measles viruses. Sera from measles-suspected cases were collected and tested for measles and rubella-specific IgM antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Throat swabs were collected from patients with clinically diagnosed measles for confirmation by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and viral genotyping. Among 8082 laboratory-tested specimens from measles-suspected cases, serological evidence of measles and rubella infection was confirmed in 1303/8082 (16.1%) and 465/6714 (6.9%), respectively. The incidence of rubella is now low—0.8 (95% CI 0.4–1.3) cases per million people in 2021—whereas progress towards measles pre-elimination targets (

International audience; Influenza virus types A and B are responsible for acute viral infections that affect annually 1 billion people, with 290,000 to 650,000 deaths worldwide. In this study, we investigated the circulation of influenza B viruses over a 10-year period (2010–2019). Specimens from patients suspected of influenza infection were collected. Influenza detection was performed following RNA extraction and real-time RT-PCR. Genes coding for hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) of influenza B viruses were partially sequenced, and phylogenetic analyses were carried out subsequently. During the study period, we received and tested a total of 15,156 specimens. Influenza B virus was detected in 1322 (8.7%) specimens. The mean age of influenza B positive patients was 10.9 years. When compared to reference viruses, HA genes from Senegalese circulating viruses showed deletions in the HA1 region. Phylogenetic analysis highlighted the co-circulation of B/Victoria and B/Yamagata lineage viruses with reassortant viruses. We also noted a clear seasonal pattern of circulation of influenza B viruses in Senegal.