Goal: To describe the clinical and immunological characteristics in the HIV-infected patients at the antiretroviral treatment initiation. Methods: This was a descriptive and retrospective study on the cohort of the patients living with HIV followed at Parakou teaching hospital from the 1st January 2004 to the 31st December 2012. Persons under the age of 15 and the pregnant women have been excluded from the study. Results: The active file was composed of 988 patients under antiretroviral treatment. They were 339 men and 649 women. The sex ratio was 0.52. The average age of the patients was 35.49 ± 9.72 years. The immunodeficiency was profound with 57.65% of patients at the stage 3 of WHO and 42.35% at the stage 4. Opportunistic infections at the antiretroviral treatment initiation were dominated by oral candidiasis (30.16%), the diarrhea (20.45%) and zona (11.03%). Conclusion: HIV infection touched young adults who consult at an advanced stage of immunodeficiency.

The first cases of SARS-CoV-2 were diagnosed in BENIN in early March 2020. Measures have been instituted to control its spread, including barrier measures. The objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness of self-application of these measures among hospital staff at CNHU-HKM. Methods: This is a case-control study conducted from July 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021 on the risk factors of COVID-19 contamination. Included were any CNHU-HKM staff who underwent PCR testing for COVID-19 at the CNHU-HKM triage center during the study period. Data were collected using a survey form administered to respondents. Data analysis was performed with R 4.1.0 software. Results: A total of 141 patients were included in the study. The mean age was 35.5 (±11.1) years. The sex ratio (M/F) was 1.87. Fon and Mina ethnic groups were the most represented (74.5%). Workers older than 50 years were more likely to be exposed to COVID-19 (OR=4.83). Nurses in contact with patients (87.2% of the study population) had a higher risk of contamination (OR=3.6), compared to administrative staff. The FFP2 mask was a protective factor (OR=0.35) as well as long-term chemoprophylaxis with chloroquine (OR=0.44). Conclusion: Health care workers are at high risk of contamination by COVID-19. Barrier measures and chloroquine chemoprophylaxis are indeed mandatory in controlling the spread of the pandemic.

Therapeutic plasma concentrations of EFV (efavirenz) are between 1,000 ng/mL and 4,000 ng/mL. Concentrations below 1000 ng/mL are associated with higher risk of treatment failure, and concentrations above 4,000 ng/mL are associated with toxicity. The aim of the study was to appreciate EFV plasmas concentrations profile and the association between plasma levels and various characteristics in Beninese patients treated by a 600 mg standard daily-dose. Blood samples were collected and EFV plasma levels were measured by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry detection in HIV-infected patients receiving EFV in combination with other antiretroviral drugs for at least 14 days. Adverse effects occurring during treatment were collected through a questionnaire. An over-exposure to EFV among Beninese HIV patients were observed, with 46.4% of patients presenting EFV concentration above 4,000 ng/mL, although adverse effects were tolerated indicating that antiretroviral treatment is safe. The measurement of plasma concentration at the steady-state could contribute to early detection of treatment failure and adapt treatment in subjects presenting serious adverse effects within context of therapeutic drug monitoring.

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Screening of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection by molecular test is not routinely performed for the care of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients in most countries of Sub-Saharan Africa such as Benin. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of HCV infection in patients infected with HIV in Cotonou. This study was conducted from February to June 2017 on HIV infected patients from the National Reference Center for Research and Management of HIV infection in Cotonou. Blood samples were collected from patients to detect anti-HCV antibody and HCV viral load. A total of 205 patients were tested, out of which 67.3% were females. Seroprevalence of anti-HCV antibody was 7.8% and HCV viral load was detectable in 3.4% of cases with a median of 2.200.000 IU/mL (6.3 Log 10 ). Three out of seven patients (42.8%) had negative HCV serology with positive HCV RNA detection. In conclusion, the prevalence of HCV infection among HIV infected patients is not negligible in Cotonou. Universal access to molecular tests is needed in the country to detect HCV infection in these patients.