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Dengue fever is a growing worldwide public health concern. In mid-October 2023, multiple cases of uncommon febrile illness were reported among patients in Niamey, Niger. Fifteen samples were tested by using molecular methods, from which 7 (46.66%) were confirmed positive for mosquitoborne dengue virus belonging to serotypes 1 and 3.

Background: As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic unfolds, laboratory services have been identified as key to its containment. This article outlines the laboratory organisation and management and control interventions in Niger. Intervention: The capitol city of Niger, Niamey, adopted a ‘National COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan’ to strengthen the preparedness of the country for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2. Laboratory training and diagnostic capacity building were supported by existing active clinical and research laboratories for more rapid and practicable responses. The National Reference Laboratory for Respiratory Viruses located at the Centre de Recherche Médicale et Sanitaire was designated as the reference centre for COVID-19 testing. The national plan for COVID-19 testing is being gradually adopted in other regions of the country in response to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 emergency and to ensure a more rapid turn-around time. Lessons learnt: After the decentralisation of COVID-19 testing to other regions of the country, turn-around times were reduced from 48–72 h to 12–24 h. Reducing turn-around times allowed Niger to reduce the length of patients’ stays in hospitals and isolation facilities. Shortages in testing capacity must be anticipated and addressed. In an effort to reduce risk of shortages and increase availability of reagents and consumables, Niamey diversified real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction kits for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 detection. Recommendations: Continued investment in training programmes and laboratory strategy is needed in order to strengthen Niger’s laboratory capacity against the outbreak.

Objective: The objective of our work was to determine the bacteriological profile and antibiotic sensitivity of bacteria isolated from diabetic foot wounds. Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study from July 1 to December 31, 2020. During this period, all diabetic patients with wounds were sampled. The different samples were plated on appropriate media. The identification of the isolated bacterial strains as well as the study of their sensitivity to antibiotics was performed according to conventional methods. Results: A total of 689 diabetic patients were followed during this period, 58 (8.41%) had infected foot wounds. The average age was 53.6 years with a sex ratio (M/F) of 1.15. Bacteriological analyses allowed the isolation of 48 bacterial strains (10 different species) with a predominance of Staphylococcus aureus (35.42%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (20.84%), Escherichia coli (12.50%), and Enterobacter aerogenes (10.42%). We observed a predominance of Gram-negative bacilli (56.25%). The sensitivity tests performed on the identified bacteria showed that 100% of the enterobacteria strains were sensitive to ertapenem and imipenem, except for Proteus mirabilis. Four strains were tested for extended-spectrum betalactamase and none were producers. All Gram-positive cocci isolates were sensitive to vancomycin and resistant to penicillin G. Staphylococcus aureus strains were sensitive to erythromycin (82.35%), kanamycin (82.35%), and oxacillin (82.35%). Conclusion: These results show that diabetic foot wound infections are becoming more frequent. It is necessary to manage them with adequate antibiotic therapy based on an antibiogram to avoid the spread of multiresistant bacterial strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objective: Objective of this study was to determine the frequency of tuberculosis (TB) and the impact of immunosuppression in patients living with HIV (PvVIH) monitored at the Regional Hospital Center (CHR) of Maradi. Methods: That was a retrospective study based on the medical records of PvVIH followed in the infectious diseases department of the CHR of Maradi. All HIV-positive adults were included in regular consultations between January 2013 and September 2018. Results: A total of 872 patients were included. The average age of the cohort was 36.10 years ± 11,53. Of these patients, 15 had tuberculosis infection with a frequency of 1.72% (95% CI: 1.05 - 2.82) and 429 a CD4 T cell count of less than 200 / mm3. Of the 15 co-infected HIV / TB patients, 60% had a CD4 T cell count of less than 200 / mm3 (p = 0.78). HIV1 was tested in 98.73% of cases, HIV2 in 0.69% and both types of virus in 0.58% of cases. All patients who had a TB infection were HIV1 +. Conclusion: Knowledge about the prevalence and impact of TB in people living with HIV is needed to establish a mechanism for controlling this disease. It is more than necessary to prevent TB among PLWHIV when CD4 counts begin to decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: this study aimed to describe the epidemiological, clinical and evolutionary profile of patients treated for tuberculosis at the Regional Hospital of Maradi. Methods: we conducted a retrospective, descriptive and analytical study of data from the medical records of patients treated for tuberculosis from 1st January 2015 to 31 st December 2017. Results: a total of 595 patients were followed (406 men, 68.24%, and 189 women, 31.76%) with a prevalence of 27,71%. The average age of patients was 42.3 ranging from 13 months to 85 years; 70.5% of these patients were from urban areas. Merchants represented 36.9% of the cases. Bacterial test was positive in 64.7% of cases. Functional signs included: coughing (99.5%), fever (79.5%), and chest pain. Pulmonary tuberculosis represented 78.7% of cases. Therapy was effective in 81.28% of cases. HIV prevalence was 13.6%, lethality 10.42% (40.4% of patients died from TB/HIV co-infection). Conclusion: tuberculosis is a scourge in low-income countries, with 10.42% of deaths. HIV/AIDS infection has negatively contributed to these deaths during the study period. The search for comorbidities in any patient with tuberculosis should be systematic in order to improve their global management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim of Study: To describe the clinical, therapeutic and evolutionary profile of patients followed for rifampicin-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (RR-TB) at the Regional Hospital Centre (RHC) of Maradi (Niger) from 2014 to 2018., Methods: We conducted a retrospective and descriptive study based on the records of patients followed for Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) between January 1, 2014 and June 30, 2018 at the resistant tuberculosis management unit in Maradi (Niger). This unit is located within the RHC of Maradi and has a capacity of 20 beds in 4 wards. It receives patients with tuberculosis resistant to first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs. In this study, patients diagnosed with RR-TB by genotypic (GeneXpert MTB/RIF) or phenotypic (culture) testing were included. We excluded from this study: patients previously treated for more than 1 month with second-line anti-TB drugs; patients with resistance to second-line injectables (SLI) and/or fluoroquinolones (FQ); patients with an electrocardiogram QTc greater than 500 ms (the corrected QT (QTc) estimates the QT interval at a rate of 60 beats per second); cases of atypical mycobacteriosis detected by phenotypic testing.Patients were previously on 2RHZE/4RH prior to the discovery of resistance. The treatment protocol for resistant TB was as follows: 4KmMfxPtoCfzHZE/5MfxCfzZE (The second-line injectable was replaced by Lzd in case of initial or treatment-emergent deafness). HIV co-infected patients received, in addition to anti-tuberculosis drugs, antiretrovirals and cotrimoxazole in preventive doses., Results: A total of 80 patients were included in the present study (70 males and 10 females, mean age 34.4 years with extremes ranging from 18 to 71 years). Patients aged 18-35 years accounted for more than half. Patients with primary treatment failure were the most frequent type (36%) followed by patients with retreatment failure (24%) and patients with retreatment relapse (17%). It should be noted that 77 patients (96%) were previously treated for TB and only 3 patients (4%) were new cases. The majority of patients (70%) had a Body mass index of less than 18 kg/m 2 . 7.5% of patients were HIV positive, one was diabetic, 52% of the patients had grade 2 radiological lesions. Grade 1 deafness was noted at the beginning of treatment in 3%. A third of patients (36%) were primary treatment failures. The treatment protocol was as follows: 4KmMfxPtoCfzHZE/5MfxCfzZE. Only 1 patient had a positive culture at the end of the 4th month of treatment. Most of the patients had experienced adverse events, mainly digestive, with vomiting being the most common. The therapeutic success rate was 88%. We noted 10% of deaths, 1% of therapeutic failure and 1% of lost to follow-up.Six months after treatment, 48 patients (60%) were smear negative and 43 (54%) were culture negative. In 32 patients (40%), the smear was not performed and culture was not performed in 37., Conclusion: The short treatment regime gives satisfactory results in the absence of resistance to fluoroquinolones, with rare adverse effects. In Niger, further efforts should be made to minimize the delay in diagnosis which is responsible for most deaths during treatment. A centre could usefully be designated to organize "TB consiliums" allowing any practitioner to submit difficult cases of MDR-TB., (Copyright © 2023 SFMTSI.)

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact and complications related to self-medication among patients admitted to the Maradi RHC., Methodology: We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study at the Maradi RHC, in the referral department from June 30 to September 30, 2021, by means of an interview., Results: A total of 254 patients were interviewed. The frequency of self-medication at the Maradi CHR was 3.63%. The majority of the patients surveyed were women (53.94%). The average age was 42 years. Among them, 63.39% were attending Koranic school and 38.19% were housewives. Street vendors and traditional practitioners were the main suppliers of self-medication drugs, respectively 45.28% and 30.31%. The most commonly used products were traditional medicines, analgesics, antibiotics and anti-malarial (47.63%, 26.37%, 22.44% and 16.92% respectively). The lack of financial means and accessibility of treatment were the main reasons for this practice. Digestive diseases were the most frequent pathology group. Jaundice was the first complication related to self-medication, followed by urticaria and Lyell's syndrome. Following management, 8% (n=20) patients were discharged cured and 6% (n=15) had died., Conclusion: Self-medication is a rapidly growing practice, favored by many factors despite the many risks that can arise from it. In order to prevent these risks, an awareness program is necessary to make the population adhere to a change of behavior., (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.)

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact and complications related to self-medication among patients admitted to the Maradi RHC., Methodology: We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study at the Maradi RHC, in the referral department from June 30 to September 30, 2021, by means of an interview., Results: A total of 254 patients were interviewed. The frequency of self-medication at the Maradi CHR was 3.63%. The majority of the patients surveyed were women (53.94%). The average age was 42 years. Among them, 63.39% were attending Koranic school and 38.19% were housewives. Street vendors and traditional practitioners were the main suppliers of self-medication drugs, respectively 45.28% and 30.31%. The most commonly used products were traditional medicines, analgesics, antibiotics and anti-malarial (47.63%, 26.37%, 22.44% and 16.92% respectively). The lack of financial means and accessibility of treatment were the main reasons for this practice. Digestive diseases were the most frequent pathology group. Jaundice was the first complication related to self-medication, followed by urticaria and Lyell's syndrome. Following management, 8% (n=20) patients were discharged cured and 6% (n=15) had died., Conclusion: Self-medication is a rapidly growing practice, favored by many factors despite the many risks that can arise from it. In order to prevent these risks, an awareness program is necessary to make the population adhere to a change of behavior., (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.)

Objective: Objective of this study was to determine the frequency of tuberculosis (TB) and the impact of immunosuppression in patients living with HIV (PvVIH) monitored at the Regional Hospital Center (CHR) of Maradi., Methods: That was a retrospective study based on the medical records of PvVIH followed in the infectious diseases department of the CHR of Maradi. All HIV-positive adults were included in regular consultations between January 2013 and September 2018., Results: A total of 872 patients were included. The average age of the cohort was 36.10 years ± 11,53. Of these patients, 15 had tuberculosis infection with a frequency of 1.72% (95% CI: 1.05 - 2.82) and 429 a CD4 T cell count of less than 200 / mm3. Of the 15 co-infected HIV / TB patients, 60% had a CD4 T cell count of less than 200 / mm3 (p = 0.78). HIV1 was tested in 98.73% of cases, HIV2 in 0.69% and both types of virus in 0.58% of cases. All patients who had a TB infection were HIV1 +., Conclusion: Knowledge about the prevalence and impact of TB in people living with HIV is needed to establish a mechanism for controlling this disease. It is more than necessary to prevent TB among PLWHIV when CD4 counts begin to decline., (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.)

Objective: The present study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of HBs Ag in HIV-infected patients followed at the Maradi CHR., Methods: This is a retrospective study based on the records of the infectious diseases department of the CHR of Maradi. Included were all HIV-positive adults seen in consultation who received HBs Ag research between 2006 and 2018. The data was collected from patients' medical records., Results: In total, 2770 patients included in our study. The average age of the cohort was 38 years old. Of these patients, 159 had HBs Ag or a prevalence of 5.74% (95% CI: 4.93 - 6.67). HIV-HBV coinfections were higher in men (52.20%). HIV1 subtype was involved in 96.86% of cases. Two patients co-infected with HIV-HBV had HIV1 and HIV2 dual profile. Which represents 1.26% (95% CI: 0.15 - 4.47)., Conclusion: This study confirms the high prevalence rate of HBV coinfection in HIV-infected patients. It is therefore necessary to screen all HIV-infected patients for better management., (Le comitée de rédaction se réserve le droit de revoyer 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 sonserver un examplaire du manuscrit, des figures et des tableaux.)