Background Since 2005, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been recommended to treat uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Madagascar. Artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) are the first- and second-line treatments, respectively. A therapeutic efficacy study was conducted to assess ACT efficacy and molecular markers of anti-malarial resistance. Methods Children aged six months to 14 years with uncomplicated falciparum malaria and a parasitaemia of 1000–100,000 parasites/µl determined by microscopy were enrolled from May–September 2018 in a 28-day in vivo trial using the 2009 World Health Organization protocol for monitoring anti-malarial efficacy. Participants from two communes, Ankazomborona (tropical, northwest) and Matanga (equatorial, southeast), were randomly assigned to ASAQ or AL arms at their respective sites. PCR correction was achieved by genotyping seven neutral microsatellites in paired pre- and post-treatment samples. Genotyping assays for molecular markers of resistance in the pfk13, pfcrt and pfmdr1 genes were conducted. Results Of 344 patients enrolled, 167/172 (97%) receiving ASAQ and 168/172 (98%) receiving AL completed the study. For ASAQ, the day-28 cumulative PCR-uncorrected efficacy was 100% (95% CI 100–100) and 95% (95% CI 91–100) for Ankazomborona and Matanga, respectively; for AL, it was 99% (95% CI 97–100) in Ankazomborona and 83% (95% CI 76–92) in Matanga. The day-28 cumulative PCR-corrected efficacy for ASAQ was 100% (95% CI 100–100) and 98% (95% CI 95–100) for Ankazomborona and Matanga, respectively; for AL, it was 100% (95% CI 99–100) in Ankazomborona and 95% (95% CI 91–100) in Matanga. Of 83 successfully sequenced samples for pfk13, no mutation associated with artemisinin resistance was observed. A majority of successfully sequenced samples for pfmdr1 carried either the NFD or NYD haplotypes corresponding to codons 86, 184 and 1246. Of 82 successfully sequenced samples for pfcrt, all were wild type at codons 72–76. Conclusion PCR-corrected analysis indicated that ASAQ and AL have therapeutic efficacies above the 90% WHO acceptable cut-off. No genetic evidence of resistance to artemisinin was observed, which is consistent with the clinical outcome data. However, the most common pfmdr1 haplotypes were NYD and NFD, previously associated with tolerance to lumefantrine.

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In medical analysis laboratories, techniques for identifying bacteria are currently becoming more and more numerous. The objective of this study is to compare the 2 bacterial identification systems Bis NEG-D and Api 20E for the identification of gram-negative bacilli. This is a qualitative evaluation of the Bis NEG-D compared to the gold standard Api 20E. During the study period, 32 Gram-negative bacilli isolates were identified simultaneously using Api 20E and Bis NEG-D. The samples are represented by 12 (37.5%) blood samples for blood culture, 12 (37.5%) urine samples for cytobacteriological examination of the urine, 06 (18.8%) pus samples for bacteriological examination of pus, a sample of the cerebrospinal fluid (3.1%) and a vaginal sample (3.1%).The bacteria identified were represented by Enterobacter spp, Escherichia col,i Klebsiella pneumonia, Shigella spp, Salmonella typhi, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas spp, Proteus mirabilis, Raoultella ornithinolytica and Bukholderia cepacia. This study showed a concordance of 90.6% (29/32) and a discordance of 9.4% (3/32) between the results of Api 20E and Bis NEG-D. Concerning the probability scores, they vary between 95% to 100% for Api 20E and between 79.3% to 100% for Bis NEG-D. This study also compared the pros and cons of using Api 20 E and Bis NEG-D. The Bis-NEG-D is valid and can be used by medical analysis laboratories like the Api 20E, especially if these laboratories do not need to perform a lot of bacterial identification tests.

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Background: Since 2005, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been recommended to treat uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Madagascar. Artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) are the first- and second-line treatments, respectively. A therapeutic efficacy study was conducted to assess ACT efficacy and molecular markers of antimalarial resistance.Methods: Children aged six months through 14 years with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria and a parasitemia of 1,000—100,000 parasites/µl determined by microscopy were enrolled from May—September 2018 in a 28-day in vivo trial using the 2009 World Health Organization protocol for monitoring antimalarial efficacy. Participants from two communes, Ankazomborona (tropical, northwest) and Matanga (equatorial, southeast), were randomly assigned to ASAQ or AL arms. PCR correction was achieved by genotyping seven neutral microsatellites in paired pre- and post-treatment samples. Genotyping assays for molecular markers of resistance in the pfk13, pfcrt, and pfmdr1 genes were conducted.Results: Of 344 patients enrolled, 164/170 (96%) receiving ASAQ and 170/174 (98%) receiving AL completed the study. For ASAQ, the day-28 cumulative PCR-uncorrected efficacy was 100% (95% CI 100–100) and 95% (95% CI 91–100) for Ankazomborona and Matanga, respectively; for AL, it was 99% (95% CI 97–100) in Ankazomborona and 84% (95% CI 76–92) in Matanga. The day-28 cumulative PCR-corrected efficacy for ASAQ was 100% (95% CI 100–100) and 97% (95% CI 94–100%) for Ankazomborona and Matanga, respectively; for AL, it was 100% (95% CI 99–100) in Ankazomborona and 96% (95% CI 91–100) in Matanga. Of 83 successfully sequenced samples for pfk13, no mutations associated with artemisinin resistance were observed. A majority of successfully sequenced samples for pfmdr1 carried either the NFD or NYD haplotypes corresponding to codons 86, 184, and 1246. Of 82 successfully sequenced samples for pfcrt, all were wild type at codons 72–76. Conclusion: PCR-corrected analysis indicated that ASAQ and AL have therapeutic efficacies above the 90% WHO acceptable cut-off. We did not observe any genetic evidence of resistance to artemisinin, consistent with the clinical outcome data. However, the most common pfmdr1 haplotypes were NYD and NFD, previously associated with tolerance to lumefantrine.