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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Malaria and pregnancy. Comparative study of Central Africa and Western Africa].

The transmission of malaria occurs mainly in and following the rainy season (intermittent transmission) in the Sahelian zone of Africa. On the other hand in rainy Equatorial Africa the transmission of malaria is continuous so that it is stable and can give rise to continuous antigenic stimulation in pregnant women which in turn gives rise to passive early high level immunity in the infant. 150 couples of mother and cord blood and 206 placentae were studied. We found 12.1% of carriers of blood parasites in the blood as compared with 1.6% in the cord bloods (exclusively P. falciparum). Where there were medium quantities of fluorescent antibodies in the mothers 74% could be found in the cord serum. Two methods were used to measure antimalarial antibodies as evidence of infection and also partly protective: the first method was indirect immunofluorescence, and the second was co-electrosyneresis. There was a narrow correlation between the level of precipitant antibodies in the mothers who were infected and in the fetal cord bloods. Anatomo-pathological examination of the placenta showed that 2 out of the 206 had parasites in them, 9 out of the 206 had fibrin deposits around the villi and 6.8% of the placentae showed lesions of malaria. On the other hand, in West Africa there was very little maternal morbidity as evidence by fever and anaemia, or of fetal morbidity. There was no single case of congenital malaria. The levels of the plasma indices in the towns could be explained because of prophylaxis which was both controlled and uncontrolled.

Africa, Central↗

[Ascariasis in Western Africa. Epidemiological review].

This paper draws, on the basis of available published reports, an outline of the epidemiological distribution of ascariasis in West Africa. This parasitic disease is easily transmitted in all humid areas which receive more than 1,400 mm rainfall every year. The endemicity pattern is typical of a contamination of the household environment. On the contrary, it is absent, with few exceptions, from a larger part of the region where drier conditions, combined with a series of specific socio-cultural factors, prevent the transmission from being anything else but sporadic. However, the author, although he recognizes that the maintenance of a short living parasite in a population is problematical under sporadic transmission conditions, warns that urban development in the future may very well result in a rapid spread of infections with ascaris.

Africa, Western↗

Mitochondrial DNA variation in Mauritania and Mali and their genetic relationship to other Western Africa populations.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation was analyzed in Mauritania and Mali, and compared to other West African samples covering the considerable geographic, ethnic and linguistic diversity of this region. The Mauritanian mtDNA profile shows that 55% of their lineages have a west Eurasian provenance, with the U6 cluster (17%) being the best represented. Only 6% of the sub-Saharan sequences belong to the L3A haplogroup a frequency similar to other Berber speaking groups but significantly different to the Arabic speaking North Africans. The historic Arab slave trade may be the main cause of this difference. Only one HV west Eurasian lineage has been detected in Mali but 40% of the sub-Saharan sequences belong to cluster L3A. The presence of L0a representatives demonstrates gene flow from eastern regions. Although both groups speak related dialects of the Mande branch, significant genetic differences exist between the Bambara and Malinke groups. The West African genetic variation is well structured by geography and language, but more detailed ethnolinguistic clustering suggest that geography is the main factor responsible for this differentiation.

Africa, Western↗

The eradication of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia from south western Africa. A plan for action.

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) caused by the Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides SC is one of the major plagues affecting cattle. With the imminent eradication of rinderpest from Africa, CBPP will become the major epidemic disease on the continent, because the majority of countries in sub-Saharan Africa have the infection in their cattle. There is an enclave of CBPP on the borders of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia. There has been endemic infection in the cattle herds on the borders of Angola and Namibia for more than 100 years, with irregular spread from these animals to the cattle of Botswana or Zambia. However, much of Angola and Namibia and all of Botswana and Zambia are currently free from the disease. This paper explains the origins of the problem and describes the current disease situation. A plan for the eradication of CBPP from this area is proposed and discussed. If this plan is successful it will release valuable resources to tackle other constraints on livestock and food production. Furthermore, it will act as a model for the eradication of CBPP from the remainder of the continent.

Africa↗

[Pregnancy and delivery in western Africa. High risk motherhood].

According to the World Health Organization, 585,000 women die each year from a pregnancy-related cause, 99% of whom are from developing countries. The first International Conference on Safe Motherhood in 1987 sensitized the world community to this drama. Ever since, maternal mortality and its medical causes are better known. The maternal mortality ratio is highest in West Africa (1,020 maternal deaths per 100,000 live borns) when it is 27/100,000 in industrialized countries. Direct obstetric causes account for 80% of the deaths: hemorrhage, infection, dystocia, hypertension and abortion. Indirect causes are essentially anemia, malaria, hepatitis C and AIDS. Severe maternal morbidity is 6 to 10 times more frequent than maternal mortality but it also leads to handicaps which end up often in women's social rejection. However, WHO estimates that 95% of these deaths and handicaps are avoidable, and at a low cost.

Africa, Western↗