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After a pilot study, we tested 443 cadavers using OraQuick Ebola rapid diagnostic tests during surveillance after the 10th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. No false negative and 2% false-positive results were reported. Quickly returning results and engaging the community enabled timely public health actions.

Background There is limited to no evidence of the prevalence and incidence rates of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) among Indigenous peoples. In partnership with Indigenous patients and family advocates, we aimed to estimate the prevalence, incidence, and trends over time of IBD among First Nations (FNs) since 1999 in the Western Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Methods We conducted a retrospective population-based study linking provincial administrative health data from the 1999-2000 to 2016-2017 fiscal years. An IBD case definition requiring multiple health care contacts was used. The prevalence and incidence data were modeled using generalized linear models and a negative binomial distribution. Models considered the effect of age groups, sex, diagnosis type (ulcerative colitis [UC], Crohn disease [CD]), and fiscal years to estimate prevalence and incidence rates and trends over time. Results The prevalence of IBD among FNs increased from 64/100,000 (95% confidence interval [CI], 62-66) in 1999-2000 to 142/100,000 (95% CI, 140-144) people in 2016-2017, with an annual average increase of 4.2% (95% CI, 3.2%-5.2%). Similarly, the prevalence of UC and CD, respectively, increased by 3.4% (95% CI, 2.3%-4.6%) and 4.1% (95% CI, 3.3%-4.9%) per year. In contrast, the incidence rates of IBD, UC, and CD among FNs depicted stable trends over time; no statistically significant changes were observed in the annual change trend tests. The ratio of UC to CD was 1.71. Conclusions We provided population-based evidence of the increasing prevalence and stable incidence rates of IBD among FNs. Further studies are needed in other regions to continue understanding the patterns of IBD among Indigenous peoples.

To characterize and identify determinants of HIV disease progression among a predominantly injection drug use (IDU) HIV population in the highly active antiretroviral therapy era.The present retrospective study was based on 343 HIV patients diagnosed from 2005 to 2010 from two clinics in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Disease progression was defined as the time from diagnosis to immunological AIDS (CD4 count200 cells/μL) and death. Uni- and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used.Of the 343 patients, 79% had a history of IDU, 77% were hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfected and 67% were of Aboriginal descent. The one-year and three-year immunological AIDS-free probabilities were 78% and 53%, respectively. The one-year and three-year survival probabilities were 97% and 88%, respectively. Multicollinearity among IDU, HCV and ethnicity was observed and, thus, separate models were built. HCV coinfection (HR 2.9 [95% CI 1.2 to 6.9]) was a significant predictor of progression to immunological AIDS when controlling for baseline CD4 counts, treatment, age at diagnosis and year of diagnosis. For survival, only treatment use was a significant predictor (HR 0.34 [95% CI 0.1 to 0.8]). HCV coinfection was marginally significant (P=0.067).Baseline CD4 count, HCV coinfection, year of diagnosis and treatment use were significant predictors of disease progression. This highlights the importance of early treatment and the need for targeted interventions for these particularly vulnerable populations to slow disease progression.Caractériser et établir les déterminants de la progression du VIH dans une population atteinte du VIH surtout composée d’utilisateurs de drogues injectables (UDI) à une époque d’antirétrovirothérapie très active.La présente étude rétrospective s’est fondée sur 343 patients atteints du VIH diagnostiqués entre 2005 et 2010 dans deux cliniques de Saskatoon, en Saskatchewan. La progression de la maladie était définie comme le moment du diagnostic jusqu’à l’apparition du sida immunologique (numération de CD4 inférieure à 200 cellules/μL), puis jusqu’au décès. Les chercheurs ont utilisé le modèle univariable et multivariable de risques proportionnels de Cox.Sur les 343 patients, 79 % avaient déjà été UDI, 77 % étaient co-infectés par le virus de l’hépatite C (VHC) et 67 % étaient d’origine autochtone. La probabilité de non-apparition de sida immunologique au bout d’un an et de trois ans correspondait à 78 % et à 53 %, respectivement. La probabilité de survie au bout d’un an et de trois ans s’élevait à 97 % et à 88 %, respectivement. Les chercheurs ont observé une multicolinéarité entre les UDI, le VHC et l’ethnie et ont donc préparé des modèles différents. La co-infection par le VHC (RC 2,9 [95 % IC 1,2 à 6,9]) était un prédicteur important de progression en sida immunologique lorsqu’on contrôlait l’effet de la numération de CD4 de référence, du traitement, de l’âge au diagnostic et de l’année de diagnostic. Seule l’utilisation du traitement était une prédicteur important de la survie (RC 0,34 [95 % IC 0,1 à 0,8]). La co-infection par le VHC avait peu d’importance (P=0,067).La numération de CD4 de référence, la co-infection par le VHC, l’année de diagnostic et l’utilisation d’un traitement étaient des prédicteurs importants de progression de la maladie. Ces constatations font ressortir l’importance d’un traitement rapide et la nécessité de procéder à des interventions ciblées pour ces populations particulièrement vulnérables afin de ralentir la progression de la maladie.