BackgroundSince 2005, the Togo National Malaria Control Programme has recommended two different formulations of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), artesunate–amodiaquine (ASAQ) and artemether-lumefantrine (AL), for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria. Regular efficacy monitoring of these two combinations is conducted every 2 or 3 years. This paper reports the latest efficacy assessment results and the investigation of mutations in the k13 propeller domain.MethodsThe study was conducted in 2012–2013 on three sentinel sites of Togo (Lomé, Sokodé and Niamtougou). Children aged 6–59 months, who were symptomatically infected with Plasmodium falciparum, were treated with either AL (Coartem®, Novartis Pharma, Switzerland) or ASAQ (Co-Arsucam®, Sanofi Aventis, France). The WHO standard protocol for anti-malarial treatment evaluation was used. The primary end-point was 28-day adequate clinical and parasitological response (ACPR), corrected to exclude reinfection using polymerase-chain reaction (PCR) genotyping.ResultsA total of 523 children were included in the study. PCR-corrected ACPR was 96.3–100 % for ASAQ and 97–100 % for AL across the three study sites. Adverse events were negligible: 0–4.8 % across all sites, for both artemisinin-based combinations. Upon investigation of mutations in the k13 propeller domain, only 9 (1.8 %) mutations were reported, three in each site. All mutant parasites were cleared before day 3. All day 3 positive patients were infected with k13 wild type parasites.ConclusionsThe efficacy of AL and ASAQ remains high in Togo, and both drugs are well tolerated. ASAQ and AL would be recommended for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Togo.

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Background: Significant morbidity in children is associated with infectious diseases especially soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections which are prevalent in sub-Saharan African countries. The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of STH and intestinal protozoa among schoolchildren in Lomé, Togo. Patients and Methods: In November 2013, in each of the five districts of the Lomé-commune region, thirty pupils per level of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades of five primary schools were included. Each child submitted a single stool sample that was analyzed by the Kato-Katz method for STH. In addition, stool samples of school children selected in third and sixth grades were examined by direct visualization using saline and Lugol's stain for intestinal protozoa. Results: A total of 2944 children were enrolled at 25 schools. The overall prevalence of STH at schools was 5.0% (range 1.5% to 8.6%), was higher in boys than girls, and increased with age and grade. Hookworm was the most prevalent species (3.4% of children surveyed). Intestinal protozoa were found in 52.2% (765/1465) of children tested and commensal amoebae represented 22.7% of these protozoa identified. Entamoeba histolytica/dispar/moshkovskii and Giardia intestinalis were identified in 2.3% and 11.5% of children, respectively. Co-infestation was noted in 1.