Severe rotavirus diarrhea in children <5 years of age is a major public health problem; however, limited regional and country specific data on rotavirus disease burden are available from sub-Saharan Africa. In June 2006, the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa initiated rotavirus surveillance in selected African countries. With use of standardized methodology developed by the World Health Organization, children <5 years of age who were hospitalized with severe diarrhea were enrolled, and stool specimens were collected for detection of rotavirus strains with use of a commercial enzyme immunoassay. Rotavirus strains were further characterized for G and P types with use of a reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. From June 2006 through December 2008, rotavirus surveillance was established at 14 sites in 11 African countries. Of 5461 stool samples collected from children enrolled in 8 countries with 1 or 2 complete years of data, 2200 (40%) were positive for rotavirus. Ninety percent of all rotavirus hospitalizations occurred among children aged 3-12 months. Predominant types included G1P[8] (21%), G2P[4] (7%), and P [8] (29%); however, unusual types were also detected, including G8P[6] (5%), G8P[8] (1%), G12P[6] (1%), and G12P[6] (1%). A high percentage of mixed rotavirus infections was also detected. These preliminary results indicate that rotavirus is a major cause of severe diarrheal disease in African children.

We found that the TB burden was lower than previously thought, which may indicate better programme performance. However, a high proportion of TB among young persons suggests that TB is circulating in the community and that there is a need for more efforts to limit the spread of TB disease.

SUMMARYA community-based seroepidemiological survey of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was conducted in 1994 to inform on the transmission dynamics and control of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Venous blood from 4736 individuals under 50 years of age from 1262 households, selected using stratified cluster-sampling, was screened for HBV markers using commercial ELISAs. HBsAg prevalence was 7% (95 % CI 6-8), higher in males (9 % ; 7-10) than females (5 %; 4-6). HBeAg prevalence in HBsAg positives was 23 % (18-29), and less than 1 % of women of childbearing age were HBeAg positive. Overall HBV seroprevalence (any marker), rose steadily with age to over 70 % in 40-49 year olds, indicating significant childhood and adult transmission. Estimated instantaneous incidence was 3-4/100 susceptibles/year, higher in males than females in 0-4 year olds, and peaking in early childhood and young adults. The age at which 50 % had evidence of infection was around 20 years, and the herd immunity threshold is approximated at 63-77%. Addis Ababa is of intermediate-high HBV endemicity, with negligible perinatal transmission. Our main findings are the identification of a significant difference between males and females in the age-acquisition of HBV infection, and marked differences between age groups in HBV incidence rates. These results should target future research studies of underlying risk factors. Furthermore, we generate a crude estimate of the level of coverage of HBV vaccine that would be required to eliminate the virus from the study population.

Ethiopian patients with HIV-1 C-subtype AIDS harbour a remarkably low frequency of SI phenotype viruses. Coreceptor usage of these viruses correlates with their biological phenotypes.