Quality of Piped and Stored Water in Households with Children Under Five Years of Age Enrolled in the Mali Site of the Global Enteric Multi-Center Study (GEMS)

Water, sanitation, and hygiene information was collected during a matched case-control study of moderate and severe diarrhea (MSD) among 4,096 children < 5 years of age in Bamako, Mali. Primary use of piped water (conditional odds ratio [cOR] = 0.45; 0.34–0.62), continuous water access (cOR = 0.30; 0.20–0.43), fetching water daily (cOR = 0.77; 0.63–0.96), and breastfeeding (cOR = 0.65; 0.49–0.88) significantly reduced the likelihood of MSD. Fetching water in > 30 minutes (cOR = 2.56; 1.55–4.23) was associated with MSD. Piped tap water and courier-delivered water contained high (> 2 mg/L) concentrations of free residual chlorine and no detectable Escherichia coli. However, many households stored water overnight, resulting in inadequate free residual chlorine (< 0.2 mg/L) for preventing microbial contamination. Coliforms and E. coli were detected in 48% and 8% of stored household water samples, respectively. Although most of Bamako''s population enjoys access to an improved water source, water quality is often compromised during household storage.     

Antileishmanial activities associated with plants used in the Malian traditional medicine

Sixty-four extracts issued from twenty-one plants used in the Malian traditional medicine--several of them as antiparasitic drugs--were assayed for their antileishmanial effects against both extracellular and intracellular forms of Leishmania major. Seven extracts from six different plants--Sarcocephalus latifolius, Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides, Entada africana, Bobgunnia madagascarensis, Pseudocedrela kotschyi and Psorospermum guineense--were found to be significantly active against the intracellular form of the parasite.     

Lung cysts, spontaneous pneumothorax, and genetic associations in 89 families with Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome

RATIONALE: Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (BHDS) is an autosomal, dominantly inherited genodermatosis that predisposes to fibrofolliculomas, kidney neoplasms, lung cysts, and spontaneous pneumothorax. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated 198 patients from 89 families with BHDS to characterize the risk factors for pneumothorax and genotype-pulmonary associations. METHODS: Helical computed tomography scans of the chest were used to screen for pulmonary abnormalities. BHD mutation data were used for genotype-pulmonary associations. We examined the relationship of pneumothorax with categorical parameters (sex, smoking history, and lung cysts) and continuous parameters (number of cysts, lung cyst volume, and largest cyst diameter and volume). Logistic regression analyses were used to identify the risk factors associated with pneumothorax. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Twenty-four percent (48/198) of patients with BHDS had a history of pneumothorax. The presence of lung cysts was significantly associated with pneumothorax (p = 0.006). Total lung cyst volume, largest cyst diameter and volume, and every parameter related to the number of lung cysts were significantly associated (p < 0.0001) with pneumothorax. A logistic regression analysis showed that only the total number of cysts in the right parenchymal lower lobe and the total number of cysts located on the pleural surface in the right middle lobe were needed to classify a patient as to whether or not he or she was likely to have a pneumothorax. Exon location of the BHD mutation was associated with the numbers of cysts (p = 0.0002). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that patients with BHDS have a significant association between lung cysts and spontaneous pneumothorax.     

The aging face in Black Africans]

The face is the part of the human body that most reflects external marks of time. The change of this region concerns the body support as well as the musculo-cutaneous surface. In this survey, we have described its evolution during the life, in the Black African, particularly on the esthetical plane.     

Alloreactivity and association of human natural killer cells with the major histocompatibility complex

All NK cells potentially lytic for autologous cells but not expressing self-major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-reactive receptors could be eliminated by a negative selection mechanism during ontogeny. This idea is based on the existence of a NK cell subset expressing a specific inhibitory receptor for allogeneic MHC alleles. As ancestral haplotypes of the MHC appear to define identical MHC haplotypes in unrelated individuals, unrelated individuals having the same ancestral haplotype should also have the same NK-defined allospecificities that have been shown to map to the human MHC. To test this prediction, multiple cell lines from unrelated individuals having the same ancestral haplotypes were tested for the NK-defined allospecificities. It was found that cells having the same ancestral haplotypes do have the same NK-defined specificities. Furthermore, the NK-defined phenotype of cells that possess two different ancestral haplotypes can be predicted from the NK-defined phenotypes of unrelated cells that are homozygous for the ancestral haplotypes concerned. Although the group 1 and 2 NK-defined allospecificities can be explained to some extent by HLA-C alleles, evidence is presented that additional genes may modify the phenotype conferred by HLA-C.     

An ethnopharmacological survey of plants used for wound healing in Dogonland, Mali, West Africa

Traditional medicine, being a significant element in the cultural patrimony, still remains the main recourse for a large majority of people in Dogonland, Mali, for treating various diseases and ailments. This paper reports an ethnopharmacological study in Dogonland with the aim to identify medicinal plants used in the treatment of wounds. Information obtained from traditional healers revealed 73 plant species being used as wound healing remedies, according to the definitions of wounds given by the healers themselves. The plants, belonging to 34 plant families, are used as first aids, in the washing of wounds, extraction of pus, as coagulants, as well as for infected wounds. The most frequently used preparations are decoctions and powdered plant material.     

Positioning women's and children's health in African union policy-making: a policy analysis

Background  

With limited time to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, progress towards improving women's and children's health needs to be accelerated. With Africa accounting for over half of the world's maternal and child deaths, the African Union (AU) has a critical role in prioritizing related policies and catalysing required investments and action. In this paper, the authors assess the evolution of African Union policies related to women's and children's health, and analyze how these policies are prioritized and framed.     

Épilepsie et santé de la reproduction : cohorte sénégalaise

Introduction

Epilepsy is a public health problem in Senegal and Africa because of its severity and its social importance. It occurs at any age sparing no sex. It can influence sexual life and reciprocally. Our aims were to study the effects of antiepileptic drugs on the sexual lives of women with epilepsy, the influence of these drugs on pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Methods

We conducted a prospective study from 1st March to 31st August 2011 in the neurological department of the Fann-Dakar teaching hospital Senegal. Only women with epilepsy were included.

Results

We collected 120 patients aged 16–64 years with a mean age of 30.58 years, 45% married, 44.16% were uneducated preponderant. All patients were taking antiepileptic drugs, 89.16% was alone. Fifty-five percent of our patients had epilepsy for at least 6 years; 45.83% had generalized epilepsy; 44.17% of partial seizures. In our cohort, 64.16% were under phenobarbital, 69.16% had good adherence. As side effects of drugs, 90% had sexual problems. Seventy-five percent enjoyed an active sex life. A decrease in the number of sex per week for the disease [31/55 = 56.66%] was noted. In addition, 51.17% were using contraception, including 38.7% of oral kind and 64.86% had noticed an increase in seizure frequency during their pregnancies. Of the 74 women who had contracted a pregnancy, 41.89% had premature infants, 16.21% have made abortions and 61.17% had psychosocial life affected.

Discussion and conclusion

People with epilepsy often experience sexual problems that may be caused by epilepsy, antiepileptic and/or reactions of the partner and the other facing the diagnosis of epilepsy.