PurposeCancer of the prostate (CaP) is the leading cancer among men in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A substantial proportion of these men with CaP are diagnosed at late (usually incurable) stages, yet little is known about the etiology of CaP in SSA.MethodsWe established the Men of African Descent and Carcinoma of the Prostate Network, which includes seven SSA centers partnering with five US centers to study the genetics and epidemiology of CaP in SSA. We developed common data elements and instruments, regulatory infrastructure, and biosample collection, processing, and shipping protocols. We tested this infrastructure by collecting epidemiologic, medical record, and genomic data from a total of 311 patients with CaP and 218 matched controls recruited at the seven SSA centers. We extracted genomic DNA from whole blood, buffy coat, or buccal swabs from 265 participants and shipped it to the Center for Inherited Disease Research (Baltimore, MD) and the Centre for Proteomics and Genomics Research (Cape Town, South Africa), where genotypes were generated using the UK Biobank Axiom Array.ResultsWe used common instruments for data collection and entered data into the shared database. Double-entered data from pilot participants showed a 95% to 98% concordance rate, suggesting that data can be collected, entered, and stored with a high degree of accuracy. Genotypes were obtained from 95% of tested DNA samples (100% from blood-derived DNA samples) with high concordance across laboratories.ConclusionWe provide approaches that can produce high-quality epidemiologic and genomic data in multicenter studies of cancer in SSA.
IntroductionBrucellosis is a neglected zoonosis of public health importance. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and risk factors of brucellosis among slaughtered cattle as well as challenges to the protection of abattoir workers in Nigeria.MethodsA slaughterhouse study was conducted in a major abattoir in Ibadan from March to August, 2013. To diagnose brucellosis, serum samples from 1,241 slaughtered cattle were tested using Rose-Bengal test (RBT) and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA); again, 57 milk samples were tested with milk ring test (MRT) and indirect ELISA (iELISA). Furthermore, a survey on the usage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and challenges to its use by abattoir workers was done. Data were analysed using Stata 12.ResultsSeroprevalence by RBT was 7.8%; 77.3% (75/97) of these were corroborated by cELISA. Prevalence in milk samples by MRT and indirect ELISA were 33.3% and 3.5%, respectively. Sex (OR: 2.5; 95%CI:1.3-4.5) was the factor significantly associated with Brucella seropositivity. None of the abattoir workers used standard protective overalls; while, 99.6% of the meat handlers and 84.1% of the butchers worked barefoot. Most of the workers (75.7%) wore no protective gloves. The respondents agreed that provision of free PPE and sanctions against non-users would encourage its use.ConclusionOur findings indicate moderate prevalence (7.8%) of bovine brucellosis with sex of cattle being a risk factor. A notable barrier to better protection of abattoir workers against brucellosis is perceived inconvenience arising from use of gloves. Therefore, preventive and control measures against brucellosis must include education and use of PPE among abattoir workers.
Diarrhea is a leading cause of childhood morbidity in Africa. Outside of multi-country sentinels, of which there are none in Nigeria, few studies focus on bacterial etiology. We performed a case-control study among children under five years of age. Stool specimens were collected from 120 children with, and 357 without, diarrhea attending primary health clinics on the northern outskirts of Ibadan between November 2015 and August 2019. Up to ten E. coli isolates were obtained per specimen and at least three were whole genome-sequenced using Illumina technology. Genomes were assembled using SPAdes, quality evaluated using QUAST, and Virulencefinder was used to identify virulence genes. The microbiological quality of water from 14 wells within the study area was assessed using total and coliform counts. Diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) were isolated from 79 (65.8%) of cases and 217 (60.8%) control children. All DEC pathotypes except Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, a number of hybrid DEC pathotypes, Salmonella and Yersina spp. were detected but no pathogen showed association with disease (p>0.05). Enterotoxigenic E. coli were more commonly recovered from younger controls but exclusively detected in cases aged over nine months. Temporally-linked, highly similar enteroaggregative E. coli were isolated from children in different households in eight instances. No well water sample drawn in the study qualified as potable. Children in northern Ibadan are commonly colonized with DEC. Access to water and sanitation, and vaccines targeting the most abundant pathogens may be critical for protecting children from the less overt consequences of enteric pathogen carriage.
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