Objectives:The contribution of African authors to the biomedical literature is small. We evaluated the African and non-African scientific production published in the international literature on the COVID-19 in Africa during the first year of the epidemic (2020).Methods: Papers on COVID-19 in Africa were extracted from the Medline (PubMed) database for bibliometric analysis including the proportions of three leading and last authors by study type, study country, authors' and laboratories/institutions' countries of affiliation and journal ranking.Results: A total of 160 articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria were analysed. The majority (91.3%) was produced by half (53.7%) of African countries, with important regional disparities, and generally without sources of funding mentioned. The majority (>85.0) of authors in lead positions (first, second, third and last authors) were Africans. Only a small number (8.7%) of studies on COVID-19 in Africa were carried out by laboratories not on the African continent (mainly Europe, USA and China) and generally received funding. The last and first authors were more frequently of non-African origin in journals with an Impact Factor ranking ≥1, and more frequently of African origin in journals with a lower ranking (< 1). The first and last non-African authors tended to report their studies in high ranking ≥1 journals. Conclusions:Our study demonstrates that the emergence of promising African research capable of publishing in indexed but low-impact factor medical journals and reveals the persistence of a North-South asymmetry in international cooperation in biomedical research with Africa.

Objective: To determine the predictive factors for the occurrence of tuberculosis (TB) in adults infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) during the first 6 months of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Kisangani. Methods: A case-control study was carried out during the period from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018. Clinical data were collected retrospectively from patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in the city of Kisangani. Of a total of 1,161 HIV-infected patients included in this study, 58 of them developed TB. The diagnosis of tuberculosis was made on the presence of Acid-Alcohol-Resistant Bacile (BAAR) on at least one biological sample or on the basis of a bundle of clinical and paraclinical arguments. This test is done during the first six months of initiating anti retroviral therapy (ART). Predictive factors for the onset of TB in these patients on antiretroviral therapy were identified using logistic regression analysis. Results: After multivariate analysis, the independent factors associated with the onset of TB were: being married (OR = 4.456; 95% CI: 1.061-18.713), residence in the town of Tshopo (OR = 7.04; 95% CI: 1.168-42.47) as well as stages 3 and 4 of AIDS disease (OR = 29 95% CI: 4.563-184.872 and OR = 50.8 95% CI: 3.971-680.995). Conclusion: The results found by this study highlight the need for active TB testing in HIV-infected individuals. Particular emphasis should be placed on the category of patients on antiretroviral therapy who have one of the independent factors for the onset of TB.

Background & objective: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is now a well-established cause of renal damage. In the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), SCD is common. However, sickle cell nephropathy remains unstudied in this region. Thus, this study aimed to assess renal abnormalities in SCD patients in Kisangani (northeastern DRC). Methods: This cross-sectional study included 98 sickle cell patients selected from six health facilities in Kisangani and 89 healthy non-sickle cell subjects as the control group. Based on a survey form, a clinical examination and biological tests were performed to collect data related to the sex, age, weight, height, blood pressure, serum creatinine, serum uric acid, urinary albumin/creatinine ratio, and hemoglobin phenotype. We used a spectrophotometer to measure serum creatinine and uricemia, the sickle SCAN® device for hemoglobin phenotype, and an automatic multifunction analyzer for urine albumin/creatinine ratio. Data were entered into an Excel file and analyzed on SPSS 20.0.  Results: The mean urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio was 11.79±9.03 mg/mmol in SCD patients, significantly higher than in AA (1.69±1.89 mg/mmol) and AS (2.97±4.46 mg/mmol) subjects. The decrease in glomerular filtration rate was more observed in SCD patients with hyperuricemia compared to those with normal uric acid levels. A significantly elevated prevalence of chronic kidney disease was observed among SCD patients (87.8%) compared to 23.8% in AS and 7.7% in AA subjects. Conclusions: This study highlighted that albuminuria and chronic kidney disease are common in SCD patients in Kisangani. More studies are needed to document these complications further.   Keywords: Sickle cell disease, prevalence, sickle cell nephropathy, renal abnormalities, Democratic Republic of the Congo, sub-Saharan Africa.