/CD8؉ ratio seem to depend on gender. Normal lymphocyte subsets values among children from Cameroon differ from reported values in Caucasian and some African populations. The differences observed could be due to genetic and environmental factors coupled with the methodology used. These values could be used as initial national reference guidelines as more data are assembled.

This study aimed to estimate the survival rate of breast cancer in a group of patients followed up at the Yaoundé General Hospital in Cameroon. A retrospective review of records of patients managed for breast cancer between 1995 and 2007 was carried out at the Yaoundé General Hospital. Survival analysis was carried out with survival defined as the time between the date of unequivocal diagnosis of cancer and the date of last follow-up or death. Survival curves were plotted in R.3.1.1 software. Mean age of the patients was 47.5 ± 12.36 years. Most of the patients (67.9%) presented with advanced breast cancer disease (stage III and IV). Overall patient survival rate was 30% at 5 years and 13.2% at 10 years. Median overall survival time was 2 (1.9-3) years. There was a correlation between survival and the stage of disease. The highest survival rates were recorded in stages I and II while the lowest rates were recorded in stage IV. There was no statistically significant difference in survival among the age groups (p = 0.15). Overall survival rates of breast cancer are 30% at 5 years and 13.2% at 10 years among Cameroonian patients and are lower compared with 90% and 82% respectively at 5 years and 10 years in some developed countries.

BackgroundDespite the progress in the Prevention of the Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT), the paediatric HIV epidemic remains worrying in Cameroon. HIV prevalence rate for the population of pregnant women was 7.6 % in 2010 in Cameroon. The extent of the paediatric HIV epidemic is needed to inform policymakers. We developed a stochastic simulation model to estimate the number of new paediatric HIV infections through MTCT based on the observed uptake of services during the different steps of the PMTCT cascade in Cameroon in 2011. Different levels of PMTCT uptake was also assessed.MethodsA discrete events computer simulation-based approach with stochastic structure was proposed to generate a cohort of pregnant women followed-up until 6 weeks post-partum, and optionally until complete breastfeeding cessation in both prevalent and incident lactating HIV-infected women. The different parameters of the simulation model were fixed using data sources available from the 2011 national registry surveys, and from external cohorts in Cameroon. Different PMTCT coverages were simulated to assess their impact on MTCT. Available data show a low coverage of PMTCT services in Cameroon in 2011.ResultsBased on a simulation approach on a population of 995, 533 pregnant women, the overall residual MTCT rate in 2011 was estimated to be 22.1 % (95 % CI: 18.6 %–25.2 %), the 6-week perinatal MTCT rate among prevalent HIV-infected mothers at delivery is estimated at 12.1 % (95 % CI: 8.1 %–15.1 %), with an additional postnatal MTCT rate estimated at 13.3 % (95 % CI: 9.3 %–17.8 %). The MTCT rate among children whose mothers seroconverted during breastfeeding was estimated at 20.8 % (95 % CI: 14.1 %–26.9 %). Overall, we estimated the number of new HIV infections in children in Cameroon to be 10, 403 (95 % CI: 9, 054–13, 345) in 2011. When PMTCT uptake have been fixed at 100 %, 90 % and 80 %, global MTCT rate failed to 0.9 % (95 % CI: 0.5 %–1.7 %), 2.0 % (95 % CI: 0.9 %–3.2 %) and 4.3 % (95 % CI: 2.4 %–6.7 %) respectively.ConclusionsThis model is helpful to provide MTCT estimates to guide the national HIV policy in Cameroon. Increasing supply and uptake of PMTCT services among prevalent HIV infected pregnant women, as well as HIV-prevention interventions including the offer and acceptance of HIV testing and counselling in lactating women could reduce significantly the residual HIV MTCT in Cameroon. A public health effort should be made to encourage health care workers and pregnant women to use PMTCT services until complete breastfeeding cessation.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-016-1336-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

IntroductionThis study aimed at assessing the prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among health care workers (HCWs) and to evaluate some risks factors for HCWs.MethodsWe conducted a cross sectional study amongst HCWs in public and private healthcare facilities within seven regions amongst the 10 found in Cameroon. We collected data from 446 HCWs within 150 healthcare facilities. We used questionnaires for interviews and biological sampling for HIV test.ResultsHIV prevalence was 2.61% (95% CI: 1.32% - 4.61%) regardless of gender and age. HCWs in private health facilities were more infected compared to those in public health facilities 5.00% vs 1.40% (p = 0.028); OR = 3.7 (95% CI: 1.01-12.90). HCWs who had never screened for HIV had a high risk of being infected OR = 7.05 (95% CI: 2.05-24.47). 44.62% of HCWs reported to have been victim of an Accidental Exposure to Blood (AEB). Amongst them, 45.80% in public HF versus 32.1% in private HF reported to have received an HIV screening and Post Exposure Prophylaxis following this incident. 4.20% of HCW victim of AEB were HIV positive, and 36.40% of HCWs had appropriate capacity training for HIV patient care.ConclusionThough the HIV prevalence in HCWs is lower than in the general population 2.61% vs 4.3%, there is a high risk of infection as we observed a relatively high percentage of AEB amongst HCWs with an HIV prevalence of 4.20%. There is thus, a need in strengthening the capacity and provide psychosocial support to HCWs.

The testing of dried blood spots (DBSs) for human immunodeficiency type 1 (HIV-1) proviral DNA by PCR is a technology that has proven to be particularly valuable in diagnosing exposed infants. We implemented this technology for HIV-1 early infant diagnosis (EID) and HIV-1 RNA viral load determination in infants born of HIV-1-seropositive mothers from remote areas in Cameroon. The samples were collected between December 2007 and September 2010. Fourteen thousand seven hundred and sixty-three (14,763) DBS samples from infants born of HIV-positive mothers in 108 sites nationwide were tested for HIV. Of these, 1452 were positive on first PCR analyses (PCR1), giving an overall infection rate of 12.30%. We received only 475 DBS specimen for a second PCR testing (PCR2); out of these, 145 were positive. The median HIV-1 RNA viral load for 169 infant DBS samples tested was 6.85 log copies/ml, with values ranging from 3.37 to 8 log copies/ml. The determination of the viral load on the same DBS as that used for PCR1 allowed us to bypass the PCR2. The viral load values were high and tend to decrease with age but with a weak slope. The high values of viral load among these infants call for early and effective administration of antiretroviral therapy (ART). The findings from this study indicate that the use of DBS provides a powerful tool for perinatal screening programs, improvement on the testing algorithm, and follow-up during treatment, and thus should be scaled up to the entire nation.

BackgroundHBV, HCV, HDV and HIV are blood borne and can be transmitted from mother-to-child. Reports of HBV infection rates show up to 11.9% in Cameroon while for HCV, the rate is less than 2%. More so, as pregnant women get enrolled in the HIV PMTCT Programme and stay in the care continuum, selection of HIV-1 drug resistant strains is evident. We sought to determine the seroprevalence of HBV, HCV, HDV and HIV among pregnant women, assess their knowledge, attitudes and practices on transmission and prevention of HBV infection, and determine HIV drug resistance profile of breastfeeding women.MethodsA serosurvey of HBV, HCV, HDV and HIV was carried out among 1005 pregnant women in Yaounde, Cameroon. In 40 HIV-infected breastfeeding women enrolled in the PMTCT Programme, HIV-1 genotypes and HIV-1 resistance to NRTIs, NNRTIs and PIs, were determined by phylogeny and the Stanford University HIV Drug Resistance interpretation tool, respectively.ResultsAmong the pregnant women, the rates of HIV-1, HBV, HCV and HDV infections were 8.5, 6.4, 0.8 and 4.0%, respectively. About 5.9% of the women knew their HBV status before pregnancy unlike 63.7% who knew their HIV status. Although 83.3% reported that vaccination against HBV infection is a method of prevention, and 47.1% knew that HBV could be transmitted from mother-to-child, only 2.5% had received the Hepatitis B vaccine. Of the 40 women on antiretroviral therapy (ART), 9 had at least one major resistance-associated mutation (RAM, 22.5%) to NRTI, NNRTI or PI. Of these M184 V (12.5%), K70R (10.0%), K103 N (12.5%), Y181C (10.0%), M46 L (2.5%) and L90 M (2.5%) were most frequently identified, suggesting resistance to lamivudine, nevirapine, efavirenz and zidovudine. Eighty four percent were infected with HIV-1 recombinant strains with CRF02_AG predominating (50%).ConclusionsThe rates of HBV and HIV-1 infections point to the need for early diagnosis of these viruses during pregnancy and referral to care services in order to minimize the risk of MTCT. Furthermore, our results would be useful for evaluating the HIV PMTCT Programme and Treatment Guidelines for Cameroon.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-018-2120-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Maternal age, type of pregnancy and twins' sets are new MTCT risk factors. Strategies to further decrease transmission through family planning, pre/post natal consultations and clinical practices are needed.

Background: In the context of scaling the viral load in resource limited settings, following HIV infected patient's adults and children with CD4+ T-lymphocyte count still very important in settings where the decentralization of treatment still has some challenges. Effective HIV monitoring in these resource-constrained settings needs affordable and reliable CD4+ T lymphocytes enumeration methods. We investigated the validity of a BD FACSPresto POC which is a dedicated system for enumeration that uses immunofluorescent technologies. In this study, we have assessed the sensitivity, specificity and correlation between most representative flow cytometry instruments present in Cameroon with more than 5000 CD4 T cells tests per year including FACSCalibur, FACSCount, and PIMA POC from Becton-Dickinson and ALERE respectively. Methods: 268 patients aged from 1 to 72 years old were enrolled and included in the study after inform consent. The BD FACSPresto POC CD4+ T cell technology was placed at CIRCB and operated by technician staff. HIV infected patients were from Chantal BIYA international reference Center (CIRCB),