Introduction non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) constitutes the main cause of therapeutic failure among HIV-infected adolescents, especially in the aged group 15 to 19 years. We aimed to determine factors associated with this non-adherence in this specific population. Methods we conducted a cross-sectional study at the Mother and Child Center in Yaounde from August to October 2018. Delayed clinic appointment was referred to as defaulters. Non-adherence was measured during the 3 days preceding inclusion by self-reported method following quantitative (missing dosage of ART), qualitative (ART taken with a delay of more than 2 hours) and combined measure. A threshold of non-adherence > 20% was considered high, with p<0.05 statistically significant. Results overall, 195 out of 251 (77.7%) eligible adolescents were included, of which 56.9% were girls (sex-ratio = 4/3). The mean age was 16.8 ± 1.5 years. The rate of defaulters was 21.0%. Following quantitative approach, 33.8% were non-adherent. Using combined approach, we had 41.0%. This non-adherence was associated with duration on ART > 5 years (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR]: 2.33;95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.08-5.00; p:0.030), defaulters (aOR: 2.56;95% CI: 1.12-5.82; p:0.025) and HIV Viral Load (VL) ≥ 40 copies/ml (aOR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.21-0.83; p:0.013). Conclusion at this reference pediatric center, 4 out of 10 adolescents aged 15-19 years on ART are non-adherent, driven by missing dosage of drug intake. Strategies for enhanced adherence for late age adolescents are therefore warranted, by prioritizing interventions on defaulters and duration on ART > 5 years.

Introduction. Antimicrobial resistance represents a growing public health threat. One of the World Health Organization’s strategic objectives is “strengthening knowledge through surveillance and research.” Sub-Saharan African countries are still far from achieving this objective. We aimed to estimate and compare the prevalence of antibacterial resistance in 2010 and 2017 in Cameroon. Methods. We conducted a retrospective study on all clinical specimens cultured in Centre Pasteur du Cameroun (CPC) in 2010 and 2017. Data were extracted from the CPC’s laboratory data information system software and then managed and analyzed using R. Bacterial resistance rates were calculated in each year and compared using chi-square or Fisher’s tests, and relative changes were calculated. Outcomes included acquired resistance (AR), WHO priority resistant pathogens, some specific resistances of clinical interest, and resistance patterns (multi, extensively, and pan drug resistances) for five selected pathogens. Results. A total of 10,218 isolates were analyzed. The overall AR rate was 96.0% (95% CI: 95.4–96.6). Most of WHO priority bacterial resistance rates increased from 2010 to 2017. The most marked increases expressed as relative changes concerned imipenem-resistant Acinetobacter (6.2% vs. 21.6%, +248.4%, p = 0.02 ), imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (13.5% vs. 23.5%, +74.1%, p < 0.01 ), 3rd generation-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (23.8% vs. 40.4%, +65.8%, p < 10 − 15 ), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (27.3% vs. 46.0%, +68.6%, p < 0.002 ), fluoroquinolone-resistant Salmonella (3.9% vs. 9.5%, +142.9%, p = 0.03 ), and fluoroquinolone-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (32.6% vs. 54.0%, +65.8%, p < 10 − 15 ). For selected pathogens, global multidrug resistance was high in 2010 and 2017 (74.9% vs. 78.0% +4.1%, p = 0.01 ), intensively drug resistance rate was 5.8% (7.0% vs. 4.7%; p = 0.07 ), and no pan drug resistance has been identified. Conclusion. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics of clinical relevance in Cameroon was high and appeared to increase between 2010 and 2017. There is a need for regular surveillance of antibacterial resistance to inform public health strategies and empirically inform prescription practices.

We describe the coding-complete genome sequence of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strain obtained in Cameroon from a 58-year-old French patient who arrived from France on 24 February 2020. Phylogenetic analysis showed that this virus, named hCoV-19/Cameroon/1958-CMR-YAO/2020, belongs to lineage B.1.5 and is closely related to an isolate from France.

BackgroundAs many longitudinal studies, follow-up in the ANRS-PEDIACAM study is disrupted by repeated absences of participants to scheduled visits. This lead to missing data which influence the quality of results. We describe reasons for participants absence or non-compliance (NC) and assess the influence of phone call reminders (CR) on retention in care.MethodsFrom November 2007 to 2011, 611 infants divided in three groups were included and followed in three referral hospital in Cameroon: HIV-infected children followed from the first week of life or not but diagnosed before seven month of life (n=210), HIV-uninfected children born to HIV-infected (HEU) (n=205) mothers or not (HUU) (n=196). From 2014 to 2017, CR were reinforced to record reasons of missing visits. we used frequency, chi-square or Fisher test for categorical variables; means, median (IQR) and non-parametric Kruskal Wallis test for continuous variables. A multistate transition modelling approach was used to analyse the retention care cascade. The R software was used to perform all statistical analysis.ResultsDuring the study period, 45.1% (246/546) of children were NC at least once of ​​which 16.3% (25/153), 58% (116/200), 54.4% (105/193) respectively among HIV-infected, HEU and HUU-children. Among NC, 69.5% (171/246) has been reachable at least once and 22.2% (38/171) of them returned to follow-up after a median delay of 32 days (IQR: [2.0 – 110]); 44.4% (109/246) were not seen throughout the study period (HIV-infected: 12/153, HEU-children: 57/200, HUU-children: 40/193). A total of 276 reasons have been reported among 54%(115/213) of the NC, mainly related to delocalisation (30.4%), lack of time (23.6%), wish to stop follow-up (11.6%), travelling (9.8%), schooling (9.4%), forgetting (7.2%). Comparing before and after period, CR allowed to divided by three adjusted relative risk ratio to miss one clinical visit (RRR [CI]: 0.35[0.24 – 0.52]), However CR effect was not significant among children who are non-compliant.ConclusionOur finding suggest that maternal HIV and socio-economic status are related to attendance of children in HIV care. Also, the CR are an effective strategy to improve attendance. However, to make this strategy effective for children who are non-compliant, it needs to be strengthened by community monitoring.