BACKGROUND Vertical human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission is a public health problem in Burkina Faso. The main objective of this study on the prevention of mother-to-child HIV-1 transmission was to determine the residual risk of HIV transmission in infants born to mothers receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Moreover, we detect HIV antiretroviral (ARV) drug resistan...

The Government of Burkina Faso has recently been conducting important macroeconomic changes, aiming at encouraging the economic growth of the country. In order to maintain this growth, the Government has put in place a transportation program to improve the efficiency and safety of the road network. This paper documents the study carried out in 2000 on the safety improvement of rural roads in Bu...

BACKGROUND Differentiation between gametocyte-producing Plasmodium falciparum clones depends on both high levels of stage-specific transcripts and high genetic diversity of the selected genotyping marker obtained by a high-resolution typing method. By analyzing consecutive samples of one host, the contribution of each infecting clone to transmission and the dynamics of gametocyte production in ...

BACKGROUND Little is known about the reproductive health of women who survive obstetric complications in poor countries. Our aim was to determine how severe obstetric complications in Burkina Faso affect reproductive events in the first year postpartum. METHODS Data were collected from a prospective cohort of women who either experienced life threatening (near-miss) pregnancy-related complica...

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a pathological condition whose worldwide prevalence is growing, particularly in Africa, contrasting with an inadequacy of screening and diagnosis. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of this ailment in an urban environment of Burkina-Faso, as well as the prevalence of cardiovascular comorbid risk factors, such as arterial hypertension and obesity. Patien...

BACKGROUND Vaccination is an important tool for reducing infectious disease morbidity and mortality. In the past, less than 80% of children 12-23 months of age were fully immunized in Burkina Faso. OBJECTIVES To describe coverage and assess factors associated with adherence to the vaccination schedule in rural area Burkina Faso. METHODS The study population was extracted from the Nouna Heal...

BACKGROUND Intermittent screening and treatment (IST) of malaria during pregnancy has been proposed as an alternative to intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp), where IPTp is failing due to drug resistance. However, the antenatal parasitaemias are frequently very low, and the most appropriate screening test for IST has not been defined. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We conduct...

The occurrence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was monitored at a broad spatial scale in French agricultural soils, from various soil types and under various land uses to evaluate the ability of soil to be a natural habitat for that species. To appreciate the impact of agricultural practices on the potential dispersion of P. aeruginosa, we further investigated the impact of organic amendment at exper...

OBJECTIVE It is not exactly known how frequent exposure to Plasmodium falciparum shapes the peripheral blood T-cell population in healthy West Africans. METHODS The frequency of peripheral blood CD4(+) lymphocytes responding to Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 1 (PfMSP-1) by production of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin-2 (IL-2) or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) was ...

BACKGROUND In sub-Saharan Africa, women must overcome numerous barriers when they need modern healthcare. Respect of gender norms within the household and the community may still influence women's ability to obtain care. A lack of gender-sensitive instruments for measuring women's ability to overcome barriers compromises attempts to adequately quantify the burden and risk of exclusion they face...