These results add further evidence for the usefulness of shorter, standardised regimens among patients without second-line drug resistance.

The study results support the use of the short regimen recently recommended by the World Health Organization. Its high level of success even among HIV-positive patients promises substantial improvements in TB control.

To assess the magnitude of the Buruli ulcer (BU) problem in Cameroon, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in the Nyong River basin and identified on clinical grounds a total of 436 cases of active or inactive BU (202 and 234, respectively). Swab specimens were taken from 162 active cases with ulcerative lesions and in 135 of these (83.3%) the clinical diagnosis was confirmed by the IS2404 polymerase chain reaction. Most lesions (93%) were located on the extremities, with lower limbs being twice as commonly involved as upper limbs. The age of patients with active BU ranged from 2 to 90 years with a median age of 14.5 years. Vaccination with bacilli Calmette-Guérin appeared to protect children against more severe forms of BU with multiple lesions. We conclude that in Cameroon BU is endemic, at least in the study area, and that a comprehensive control program for BU in Cameroon is urgently needed.

We sought to compare the effectiveness of two World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended regimens for the treatment of rifampin- or multidrug-resistant (RR/MDR) tuberculosis (TB): a standardised regimen of 9–12 months (the “shorter regimen”) and individualised regimens of ≥20 months (“longer regimens”).We collected individual patient data from observational studies identified through systematic reviews and a public call for data. We included patients meeting WHO eligibility criteria for the shorter regimen: not previously treated with second-line drugs, and with fluoroquinolone- and second-line injectable agent-susceptible RR/MDR-TB. We used propensity score matched, mixed effects meta-regression to calculate adjusted odds ratios and adjusted risk differences (aRDs) for failure or relapse, death within 12 months of treatment initiation and loss to follow-up.We included 2625 out of 3378 (77.7%) individuals from nine studies of shorter regimens and 2717 out of 13 104 (20.7%) individuals from 53 studies of longer regimens. Treatment success was higher with the shorter regimen than with longer regimens (pooled proportions 80.0% versus 75.3%), due to less loss to follow-up with the former (aRD −0.15, 95% CI −0.17– −0.12). The risk difference for failure or relapse was slightly higher with the shorter regimen overall (aRD 0.02, 95% CI 0–0.05) and greater in magnitude with baseline resistance to pyrazinamide (aRD 0.12, 95% CI 0.07–0.16), prothionamide/ethionamide (aRD 0.07, 95% CI −0.01–0.16) or ethambutol (aRD 0.09, 95% CI 0.04–0.13).In patients meeting WHO criteria for its use, the standardised shorter regimen was associated with substantially less loss to follow-up during treatment compared with individualised longer regimens and with more failure or relapse in the presence of resistance to component medications. Our findings support the need to improve access to reliable drug susceptibility testing.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of and factors associated with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in an urban prison in sub-Saharan Africa. Design: A cross-sectional survey. Setting: The Central Prison of Douala, Cameroon. Results: Two thousand four hundred and seventy four (87.4%) out of 2830 inmates underwent screening. Twenty seven (1.1%) of the inmates were under treatment for smear-positive PTB on commencement of the survey while 60 (2.4%) were diagnosed with smear and/or culture-positive PTB during the active case finding, resulting in a point prevalence of PTB of 3.5%. HIV seroprevalence in inmates without clinical signs of PTB was 111/1067 (10.4%) while it amounted to 6/24 (25%) in PTB patients. In multiple stepwise regression analysis, a low BMl, a prison stay of ≤12 months, and a history of previous incarceration were positively associated with PTB. Conclusion: The study results confirm the high prevalence rates of PTB in prison populations and underscore the need for urgent preventive measures.