We investigated the antimicrobial susceptibilities of mycoplasmas in Gabonese men and women. A total of 1,332 men and women were included in the study. Sperm, urine, ureteral or vaginal swabs were collected from the subjects. Mycoplasmas identification and antimicrobial susceptibility to azithromycin, clarithromycin, erythromycin, josamycin, pristinamycin, doxycycline, tetracycline, ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were tested using the Mycoplasma IST 2 kit. 794 subjects were positive for Mycoplasma. Respectively, 1.6 % and 82.24 % of subjects were singly infected with M. hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum and 15.87 % had a mixed infection. M. hominis isolates were resistant to erythromycin and had an intermediate (I) to resistant (R) profile to azithromycin and clarithromycin. 84.6 % of M. hominis strains were sensitive (S) to josamycin and pristinamycin. 30.8 % and 92.3 % of M. hominis strains were sensitive to tetracycline and doxycycline, respectively. 76.9 and 84.6 % of M. hominis isolates were sensitive to ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin, respectively. The sensitivity rates of U. urealyticum strains were 45.23 %, 47.7 %, 63.84 %, 90.8 % and 92 % for azithromycin, erythromycin, clarithromycin, pristinamycin and josamycin, respectively. U. urealyticum strains showed 62.2 % and 79.7 % sensitivity to tetracycline and doxycycline, respectively. The resistance rates to azithromycin, clarithromycin and erythromycin for samples with mixed infection were 72.8 %, 84.7 % and 85.6 %, respectively. Josamycin and pristinamycin were 81.5 % effective on samples with mixed infection. The sensitivity rates of samples with mixed infection to tetracycline, doxycycline, ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin were 32 %, 69.6 %, 8.9 % and 18.5 %, respectively. Sub-Saharan Africa needs to use antibiotics rationally, as falling to do so would compromise the management of infectious diseases.

The antimicrobial resistance profiles seen here are of concern. To control the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, clinicians should be cognizant of their local antimicrobial resistance patterns.

Background and Objectives. There is no data analyzing the outcome of blood transfusions and oral iron therapy in patients with kidneys failure in sub-Saharan Africa. The present study aimed to fill that gap and assess the value of ferritin in the diagnosis of iron overload and deficiency. Design. From January to February 2012, we prospectively studied 85 hemodialysis patients (78% of males and 22% of females aged 20 to 79 years) attending the Gabonese National Hemodialysis Centre. Results. Correlation studies showed (a) a strong positive linear relationship between the number of blood transfusions and high serum ferritin in hemodialysis patient (Spearman r : 0.74; P value: 0.0001); (b) a weak association between the number of blood transfusions and serum iron concentrations (Spearman r : 0.32; P value: 0.04); (c) a weak association between serum ferritin and serum iron (Spearman r : 0.32; P value: 0.003). Also, the strength of agreement beyond chance between the levels of ferritin and iron in the serum was poor (κ = 0.14). The prevalence of iron overload was 10.6%, whereas the prevalence of iron deficiency was 2.3%, comparing (1) patients with a maximum of one transfusion not on iron therapy; (2) patients with a maximum of one transfusion on iron therapy; (3) polytransfused patients not on iron therapy; and (4) polytransfused patients on oral iron therapy. The “Kruskal-Wallis test” showed that ferritin levels varied significantly between the groups (P value: 0.0001). Conclusion. Serum ferritin is not reliable as a marker of iron overload. For patients undergoing regular transfusion we recommend routine serum ferritin measurement and yearly measurement of LIC.

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La drépanocytose est une maladie génétique héréditaire de transmission autosomique récessive. L´organisation depuis septembre 2016 au Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Libreville (CHUL), d´une consultation d´hématologie dédiée à l´adulte drépanocytaire, a été l´occasion de mener cette étude dont le but était de décrire le profil socio-démographique et économique des patients régulièrement suivis. Il s´agissait d´une étude rétrospective, descriptive et non comparative, qui s´est déroulée de septembre 2016 à juin 2019 inclus au service de Médecine Interne du CHUL. Les patients drépanocytaires homozygotes de 18 ans et plus, de tous les genres, suivis durant la période de l´étude, capable de répondre aux questions et qui avaient effectué au moins trois consultations d´hématologie ont été inclus. Un total de 88 patients répondait aux critères d´inclusion sur les 233 vus durant la période de l´étude. Les femmes étaient les plus nombreuses. Le sex ratio était de 0,5 et l’âge moyen de 30,4 ± 7,8 ans, 42% avaient un niveau d´étude supérieur, 88,6% avaient une assurance maladie qui permettait à 31,8% d´entre eux de se prendre en charge en plus de leurs revenus mensuels. La drépanocytose était un obstacle dans la vie quotidienne et professionnelle des patients qui trouvaient un soutien dans leur famille et chez leurs amis. Cette étude a permis de montrer que les patients drépanocytaires qui adhèrent au suivi sont intégrés dans la société. Ils ont pour la plupart un niveau d´instruction qui leur permet de comprendre leur maladie et une assurance santé qui constitue une aide pour leur prise en charge.