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Objectives: To estimate the sensitivity and specificity of childhood pulmonary tuberculosis (CPTB) diagnostic tests, including Xpert MTB/RIF and alternative samples such as nasopharyngeal aspirate and stool. We used latent class analysis to overcome the lack of reference standards., Methods: We included 1165 children suspected of having CPTB in a prospective cohort study conducted in the Ivory Coast, Madagascar, and Cameroon. We used Bayesian latent class analysis to evaluate the performance of multiple diagnostic tests for CPTB: smear microscopy, mycobacterial culture, and Xpert carried out on different types of samples (sputum after 10 years of age, gastric aspirate before 10 years of age, nasopharyngeal aspirate, and stool), tuberculin skin test, and chest X-ray., Results: Median age was 3.5 years (95% credible interval [1.3-8.2]). Smear microscopy was highly specific in all types of samples but lacked sensitivity (sputum 31%; 95% credible interval [18-46]), gastric aspirate 36% [27-45], nasopharyngeal aspirate 24% [17-32], and stool 24% [17-32]). Culture sensitivity was slightly higher in gastric (75% [65-83]) than in nasopharyngeal aspirate (64% [54-72]). Xpert sensitivity was similar in gastric (69% [59-78]) and nasopharyngeal aspirate (66% [57-74]) but lower in sputum (58% [43-74]) and stools (53% [44-62]). Xpert was highly specific in all respiratory samples (sputum 96% [96-100], gastric aspirate 100% [99-100], and nasopharyngeal aspirate 100% [99-100])., Discussion: The Xpert performed on the nasopharyngeal aspirate shows similar accuracy to the culture. It was also similar to that in gastric aspirate. It highlights an interesting CPTB diagnostic combination., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects on laying performance, egg quality traits, color, and composition of supplementing a white corn-based diet with Desmodium tortuosum leaf flour. Three hundred 32-week-old hens were distributed to 30 pens of 10 hens each and allocated to six dietary treatments (five replicates per treatment) for 13 weeks. Two control groups of 50 hens received one of either diet Y, based on yellow corn, or diet W, based on white corn. The other groups received a diet based on white corn supplemented with Desmodium tortuosum leaf flour at 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, or 10% (diet D). Diet D improved laying performance and yolk color at a reduced feed cost per egg but had no effect on cholesterol content. In conclusion, the inclusion of Desmodium tortuosum leaf flour, in a white corn-based diet, is effective in lowering feed cost, increasing egg production, and improving yolk color.

Background: In Côte d'Ivoire, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a serious public health problem with a prevalence estimated at 2.5% in 2006. Zinc and copper are essential Trace element needed to strengthen the immune system and also useful in the fight against tuberculosis. The Cu / Zn ratio is a good indicator of oxidative stress. The principal aim of this study was to evaluate the serum concentration of some trace element and determine the Cu / Zn ratio in patients with multidrug resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (MDR-TB) before and after second line treatment of TB., Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 100 MDR-TB patients after confirmation of their status through the microscopic and molecular diagnosis of resistance to Isoniazid and Rifampicin by GeneXpert. The concentration level of zinc and copper were determined using flame air / acetylene atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) Type Varian Spectr AA-20 Victoria, Australlia., Results: A significant decrease in zinc levels (P < 0.05) and an increased Cu / Zn ratio (P < 0.05) was observed in MDR-TB patients compared to controls TB free. During treatment a significant reduction in Cu / Zn ratio (P < 0.05) was observed compared to the initial result., Conclusions: The decrease in serum zinc level and the high Cu / Zn ratio could explain the immune system dysfunction and the high level of oxidative stress in patients with MDR-TB. Therefore the evaluation of the zinc and copper status could represent essential parameters in monitoring of TB second line treatment for better treatment management.

Introduction: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a major obsession for TB control. The main risk factor for MDR-TB remains a history of TB treatment especially bad conduct. The objective of this study is to describe the profile of patients in situations of failure and relapse of tuberculosis., Methods: We performed a retrospective survey of the analysis of records of patients starting TB retreatment for failure or relapse of tuberculosis. We used 193 cases with results of culture-sensitivity., Results: The proportion of failure is 59/193 (30.6 %) and cases of relapse are 134/193 (69.4 %). The proportion of married life is 23.4 % (11/47) in chess against 41.5 % (51/123) in relapse of TB [P=0.021, OR=0.431 (0.201 to 0.927)]. Patients failing therapy have more chest pain [5.8 % (3/52) versus 0 % (0/126) with P=0.024]. The proportion of MDR-TB was 61.4 (38/59) in case of failure against 41 % (55/134) in case of relapse [P=0.002, OR=2.599 (1.378 to 4.902)]. The evolution is the same whatever the indication of reprocessing., Conclusion: The proportion of MDR-TB is very important in case of reprocessing failure and relapse of tuberculosis., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Mycobacterium ulcerans infections are a public health problem in Céte d'Ivoire. The etiological diagnosis of this disease made by culture remains a big concern due to the slowness and difficulties encountered. This detection by culture of M. ulcerans represents a big interest as it allows obtaining the circulating strains for research. The purpose of this study was to determine on a routine basis in a poorly equipped laboratory, in vitro culture of M. ulcerans from exudates of skin ulcerations and from biopsy of patients with suspected Buruli ulcer. A particular attention was paid to the conditioning of the sample forwarded to the laboratory and inoculation in Lowenstein-Jensen medium supplemented with glycerol. The results of the three methods for the analysis showed 26.7, 57.4 and 17.8% positive rate respectively in the microscopy examination by nested PCR and by culture. In all the analysis, the positive rate from biopsy is higher than that obtained from exudates. The overall contamination rate by invasion of the three tubes of culture by fungi is 15.8 with 14.3 and 19.4% respectively,from exudates and biopsies. All positive samples in Ziehl-Neelsen staining and in culture were also positive by nested PCR. The nested PCR confirmed the positive strains found in culture, which were responsible for skin ulcerations. After culture, only one strain was nPCR negative. This strain was identified as Mycobacterium Gordonae. Our culture conditions showed that M. ulcerans was not the only strain identified and that other strains were present in the culture. We can conclude that the culture of M. ulcerans, in spite of the growth difficulties of the bacterium can be performed in laboratory in developing countries despite the lack of reagent and consumables. The implementation of this culture is the only way to determine sensitivity tests in vitro and in vivo in order to treat patients with Buruli ulcer.

Mycobacterium ulcerans skin ulceration is a major issue of public health in Côte d'Ivoire. The diagnosis of M. ulcerans infection is hampered by the slow growth of the bacterium in culture, implying a delay of several weeks before a specific diagnosis can be obtained. In Côte d'Ivoire the diagnosis of Buruli ulcer is almost based on clinical features. During the last decade, many studies have demonstrated the extremely high capacity of PCR for rapidly and specifically detecting bacteria and genes of interest. That ability has revealed PCR as a powerful tool in clinical microbiology studies. In this study we evaluated the M. ulcerans detection in specimens of exudates and biopsies collected from patients clinically suspected of Buruli ulcer and treated in "Raoul Follereau" centre of Manikro in the North-central region of Côte d'Ivoire. The microscopic research of BAAR in 185 swabs loaded with skin lesions collected from these patients showed a positive rate of 14.6%. The PCR detection in 48 h or 72 h of the M. ulcerans IS2404 and IS2606 in the swabs and in the 26 biopsies, from these patients, showed positive rates of 15.7% and 84.6% respectively and in the same samples. These results obtained with PCR detection of M. ulcerans insertions sequences suggest that this technique performed with exudates and biopsy can be used to confirm a routine specific diagnosis of M. ulcerans and early screening of Buruli ulcer in Côte d'Ivoire.