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Background: In Guinea, despite women’s recourse to antenatal care (ANC), little remains known about the use of focused antenatal care (FANC), contained in the ANC package. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyse the frequency and factors associated with FANC, using data from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 2018. Setting: This study was conducted in Guinea. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data from the DHS conducted in 2018 in Guinea. It included all women who achieved at least one ANC visit in the last 2 years prior to the survey. Multivariate logistic regression was received to identify factors associated with FANC. Stata 16 software was used for the analysis. Results: This study shows that in Guinea, between 2016 and 2018 only 33% of women undergoing ANC received a FANC. The most commonly used service was blood pressure measurement (93%), while the least commonly used service was deworming (42%). Factors associated with FANC were living in the Kindia region (odds ratio = 1.7; 95% confidence interval: 1.04–2.97); not intending to become pregnant for this pregnancy; belonging to a poor household; and having made 3, 4 or more ANC visits. Conclusion: This study reports a low proportion of women receiving the full package of ANC. Contribution: In order to improve this indicator, greater efforts need to be made in certain regions of the country to target pregnant women who achieve fewer ANC visits, carry pregnancies that were not intentional or belong to poorer households.

Dengue virus is becoming a major public health threat worldwide, principally in Africa. From 2016 to 2020, 23 outbreaks were reported in Africa, principally in West Africa. In Senegal, dengue outbreaks have been reported yearly since 2017. Data about the circulating serotypes and their spatial and temporal distribution were limited to outbreaks that occurred between 2017 and 2018. Herein, we describe up-to-date molecular surveillance of circulating DENV serotypes in Senegal between 2019 to 2023 and their temporal and spatial distribution around the country. For this purpose, suspected DENV-positive samples were collected and subjected to dengue detection and serotyping using RT-qPCR methods. Positive samples were used for temporal and spatial mapping. A subset of DENV+ samples were then sequenced and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. Results show a co-circulation of three DENV serotypes with an overall predominance of DENV-3. In terms of abundance, DENV-3 is followed by DENV-1, with scarce cases of DENV-2 from February 2019 to February 2022. Interestingly, data show the extinction of both serotype 1 and serotype 2 and the only circulation of DENV-3 from March 2022 to February 2023. At the genotype level, the analysis shows that sequenced strains belong to same genotype as previously described: Senegalese DENV-1 strains belong to genotype V, DENV-2 strains to the cosmopolitan genotype, and DENV-3 strains to Genotype III. Interestingly, newly obtained DENV 1-3 sequences clustered in different clades within genotypes. This co-circulation of strains belonging to different clades could have an effect on virus epidemiology and transmission dynamics. Overall, our results highlight DENV serotype replacement by DENV-3, accompanied by a wider geographic distribution, in Senegal. These results highlight the importance of virus genomic surveillance and call for further viral fitness studies using both in vitro and in vivo models, as well as in-depth phylogeographic studies to uncover the virus dispersal patterns across the country.

Dengue fever is the most prevalent arboviral disease worldwide. Dengue virus (DENV), the etiological agent, is known to have been circulating in Senegal since 1970, though for a long time, virus epidemiology was restricted to the circulation of sylvatic DENV-2 in south-eastern Senegal (the Kedougou region). In 2009 a major shift was noticed with the first urban epidemic, which occurred in the Dakar region and was caused by DENV-3. Following the notification by Senegal, many other West African countries reported DENV-3 epidemics. Despite these notifications, there are scarce studies and data about the genetic diversity and molecular evolution of DENV-3 in West Africa. Using nanopore sequencing, phylogenetic, and phylogeographic approaches on historic strains and 36 newly sequenced strains, we studied the molecular evolution of DENV-3 in Senegal between 2009 and 2022. We then assessed the impact of the observed genetic diversity on the efficacy of preventive countermeasures and vaccination by mapping amino acid changes against vaccine strains. The results showed that the DENV-3 strains circulating in Senegal belong to genotype III, similarly to strains from other West African countries, while belonging to different clades. Phylogeographic analysis based on nearly complete genomes revealed three independent introduction events from Asia and Burkina Faso. Comparison of the amino acids in the CprM-E regions of genomes from the Senegalese strains against the vaccine strains revealed the presence of 22 substitutions (7 within the PrM and 15 within the E gene) when compared to CYD-3, while 23 changes were observed when compared to TV003 (6 within the PrM and 17 within the E gene). Within the E gene, most of the changes compared to the vaccine strains were located in the ED-III domain, which is known to be crucial in neutralizing antibody production. Altogether, these data give up-to-date insight into DENV-3 genomic evolution in Senegal which needs to be taken into account in future vaccination strategies. Additionally, they highlight the importance of the genomic epidemiology of emerging pathogens in Africa and call for the implementation of a pan-African network for genomic surveillance of dengue virus.

Objective: In Africa, the number of patients with hypertension is expected to reach 216.8 million by 2030. Large-scale data on antihypertensive medications used in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are scarce.Here, we describe antihypertensive drug strategies and identify treatment factors associated with blood pressure (BP) control in 12 Sub-Saharan countries., Setting: Outpatient consultations for hypertension in urban tertiary cardiology centres of 29 hospitals from 17 cities across 12 SSA countries between January 2014 and November 2015., Participants: Patients ≥18 years of age with hypertension were enrolled at any visit during outpatient consultations in the cardiology departments MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: We collected BP levels, demographic characteristics and antihypertensive treatment use (including traditional medicine) of patients with hypertension attending outpatient visits. BP control was defined as seated office BP <140/90 mm Hg. We used logistic regression with a random effect on countries to assess factors of BP control., Results: Overall, 2198 hypertensive patients were included and a total of 96.6% (n=2123) were on antihypertensive medications. Among treated patients, 653 (30.8%) patients received a monotherapy by calcium channel blocker (n=324, 49.6%), renin-angiotensin system blocker (RAS) (n=126, 19.3%) or diuretic (n=122, 18.7%). Two-drug strategies were prescribed in 927 (43.6%) patients including mainly diuretics and RAS (n=327, 42% of two-drug strategies). Prescriptions of three-drugs or more were used in 543 (25.6%) patients. Overall, among treated patients, 1630 (76.7%) had uncontrolled BP, of whom 462 (28.3%) had BP levels ≥180/110 mm Hg, mainly in those on monotherapy. After adjustment for sociodemographic factors, the use of traditional medicine was the only factor significantly associated with uncontrolled BP (OR 1.72 (1.19 to 2.49) p<0.01)., Conclusion: Our study provided large-scale data on antihypertensive prescriptions in the African continent. Among patients declared adherent to drugs, poor BP control was significantly associated with the use of traditional medicine., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objectives: The incidence of cardiovascular diseases is increasing and there is a growing need to provide access to quality cardio drugs in Africa. In the SEVEN study, we analysed 1530 cardiovascular drug samples randomly collected from 10 African countries. By that time, of the seven drugs products analysed, only those containing amlodipine and captopril had very low assay values with active substance contents that could be less than 75% of those expected. In this article we investigate complementary aspects of the amlodipine and captopril samples so to explain the previously observed low assays for these two drugs., Design: Post hoc analysis of the captopril and amlodipine drugs samples and their packages collected in the context of the SEVEN study., Setting: 10 countries were concerned: Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo., Participants: Local scientists and hospital practitioners collected the drug samples in the 10 African countries., Outcome Measures: The drug amount and the relative amounts of drug impurities, as well as the main compounds of the drugs packaging, were analysed., Results: Identification of the blister packaging of the samples led to separate both amlodipine and captopril drug samples in two groups. Mann Whitney's bilateral test showed a significant difference (p<0.0001) between the median value of the captopril dosage when tablets are packaged in blisters providing higher protection to humidity (n=105) as opposed to the tablets packaged in blisters providing lower humidity protection (n=130)., Conclusion: Based on these results, particular attention should be paid to the materials and types of packaging used in order to minimise the lack of control over the exposures and drug circuits present in these different countries., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Whereas the coronary artery disease death rate has declined in high-income countries, the incidence of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa, where their management remains a challenge., Aim: To propose a consensus statement to optimize management of ACS in sub-Saharan Africa on the basis of realistic considerations., Methods: The AFRICARDIO-2 conference (Yamoussoukro, May 2015) reviewed the ongoing features of ACS in 10 sub-Saharan countries (Benin, Burkina-Faso, Congo-Brazzaville, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo), and analysed whether improvements in strategies and policies may be expected using readily available healthcare facilities., Results: The outcome of patients with ACS is affected by clearly identified factors, including: delay to reaching first medical contact, achieving effective hospital transportation, increased time from symptom onset to reperfusion therapy, limited primary emergency facilities (especially in rural areas) and emergency medical service (EMS) prehospital management, and hence limited numbers of patients eligible for myocardial reperfusion (thrombolytic therapy and/or percutaneous coronary intervention [PCI]). With only five catheterization laboratories in the 10 participating countries, PCI rates are very low. However, in recent years, catheterization laboratories have been built in referral cardiology departments in large African towns (Abidjan and Dakar). Improvements in patient care and outcomes should target limited but selected objectives: increasing awareness and recognition of ACS symptoms; education of rural-based healthcare professionals; and developing and managing a network between first-line healthcare facilities in rural areas or small cities, emergency rooms in larger towns, the EMS, hospital-based cardiology departments and catheterization laboratories., Conclusion: Faced with the increasing prevalence of ACS in sub-Saharan Africa, healthcare policies should be developed to overcome the multiple shortcomings blunting optimal management. European and/or North American management guidelines should be adapted to African specificities. Our consensus statement aims to optimize patient management on the basis of realistic considerations, given the healthcare facilities, organizations and few cardiology teams that are available., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The fourth Pan-African Society of Cardiology (PASCAR) hypertension taskforce meeting was held at the Yaoundé Hilton Hotel on 16 March 2016. Its main goals were to update and facilitate understanding of the PASCAR roadmap for the control of hypertension on the continent, to refine the PASCAR hypertension algorithm, and to discuss the next steps of the PASCAR hypertension policy, including how the PASCAR initiative can be customised at country level. The formation of the PASCAR coalition against hypertension, the writing group and the current status of the PASCAR hypertension policy document as well as the algorithm were presented to delegates representing 12 French-speaking countries. The urgency to finalise the continental policy was recognised and consensus was achieved by discussion on the main points and strategy. Relevant scientific issues were discussed and comments were received on all points, including how the algorithm could be simplified and made more accessible for implementation at primary healthcare centres.

Background: There are few African data available on rheumatic heart disease (RHD)., Aim: To provide data on the clinical characteristics and treatment of patients with RHD hospitalized in sub-Saharan Africa., Methods: The VALVAFRIC study is a multicentre hospital-based retrospective registry of patients with RHD hospitalized in African cardiology departments from 2004 to 2008., Results: Among 3441 patients with at least one mild RHD lesion seen on echocardiography in 5 years in 12 cardiology departments from seven countries, 1385 had severe lesions (502 men; 803 women; mean age 29.3±15.6 years). The ratio of severe to any RHD valvular lesion was higher in countries with the lowest gross domestic product (GDP). Mitral valve regurgitation was seen in 52.8% of cases, aortic regurgitation in 32.1%, mitral stenosis in 13.4% and aortic stenosis in 1.8%. Combined valvular lesions were observed in 13% of cases. Heart failure was present in 40% of patients. Major left ventricular dilatation was observed in 13.6% of patients, ectasic left atrial dilatation in 13.8%, dilatation of the right cardiac chambers in 19.8% and pulmonary hypertension in 28.7%. Patients with no formal schooling (41.5%) were older and had a higher New York Heart Association (NYHA) class and a lower ejection fraction (EF). Among patients aged<20 years (mean age 14.5±3.8 years), those who were schooled had a lower NYHA class (2.86±0.92 vs 3.42±0.93; P<0.01) and a higher EF (60.3±11.7 vs. 54.8±12.8; P<0.05) than those who were not. RHD-related delays or school failures were affected by NYHA class, EF and the number of children in the household. Although 1200 of 1334 patients required valve repair or replacement, only 27 had surgery. In-hospital outcomes included death (16%), heart failure (62%), arrhythmias (22%), endocarditis (4%) and thromboembolic events (4%). Subsequently, 176 patients were readmitted (13.6%)., Conclusions: Patients with RHD hospitalized in sub-Saharan Africa are young, socially disadvantaged, with a high mortality rate and extremely low access to surgery. Poverty, as quantified by GDP and educational level, affects RHD-related severity, NYHA class and left ventricular dysfunction., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)