No abstract

Dengue fever is a major public health problem in the world, because it is especially endemic in the tropical and subtropical areas. Arbovirus infection is less well documented in African countries. We aimed to assess the distribution of patients in the dengue epidemic and the seroprevalence of different serotypes of the circulating dengue virus. A retrospective study included analyses of human blood samples sent to the National Reference Laboratory for diagnosis during dengue infection outbreak. Samples were screened by IgM capture ELISA (MAC-ELISA) or by RT-PCR. Of the 2,849 serum samples from suspected dengue cases, 2,297 (80.6%) were from Abidjan. The seroprevalence of dengue was (15.1%) during this epidemic. The seroprevalence of dengue virus serotypes in cocirculation was predominated by DENV-2 with 189 cases (6.6%), followed by DENV-3 77 cases (2.7%), and DENV-1 14 cases (0.5%). The seroprevalence in children was 8.7% compared to 19.0% in adults. The age group of 16 to less than 45 years accounted for 54.0% of total positive cases. In addition, positive peak was observed in July (28.3%) and Abidjan East was the most affected locality. The increasing trend of serotypes of the dengue virus cocirculation suggests that Abidjan is becoming a hyperendemic state from an endemic one.

Background : Since 2009, Côte d'Ivoire has had a biobank, which now houses the ECOWAS regional biobank. This biobank intends to set up a biological tissue bank for research. In Côte d'Ivoire, several public and private structures handle biological tissues. However, we do not know which ones are involved in the conservation of biological tissues and their related procedures. To ensure optimal conservation of biological tissues at the biobank of Côte d'Ivoire, it is necessary to conduct a study on the state of the art of tissue preservation in Côte d'Ivoire. The objective of our work is to know the attitudes and practices of biological tissue preservation in Côte d'Ivoire.Methods : This is a descriptive study carried out in biological analysis laboratories in the south of the Ivory Coast.Results : A total of 66 laboratories agreed to answer the questionnaire that was proposed to them. Among them, only 21.21% kept biological tissues, of which 42.86% were human tissues, 35.71% animal tissues and 21.43% plant tissues. Human tissuesz were stored in formalin at room temperature for a period ranging from 2 weeks to 6 months. Animal biopsies and surgical specimens were stored in formalin and at -80°C for an indefinite period of time. Plant tissues were stored at room temperature and +4°C for an indefinite period of time.Conclusion : The conservation quality of biological tissues still needs to be improved.

The preservation and use of biological samples for therapy, diagnosis and research have been common practice for a long time. To maintain the stability of biomolecules (DNA, RNA, proteins) contained in the samples stored at the biobank of Pasteur Institute of Côte d'Ivoire, we evaluated the quality of the conservation of influenza nasopharyngeal and meningococcal CSF samples. Two (2) samples were chosen for this evaluation, namely Influenza A nasopharyngeal samples and Streptococcus pneumoniae CSF samples. After a few years of storage, these same samples were used to perform a PCR test. The results of the PCR tests showed a discordance of 36.4% for the Streptococcus pneumoniae CSF samples compared to 15.4% for the nasophryngeal samples. This study validates the need to write procedures for sample conservation at the level of the analysis laboratories and the Biobank. Therefore, a reflection must be carried out to standardise conservation techniques and a sample conservation evaluation programme.