Malaria epidemiological research in the Republic of Congo

Abstract

BackgroundReliable and comprehensive information on the burden of malaria is critical for guiding national and international efforts in malaria control. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of published data and available information on malaria resulting from field studies/investigations conducted in the Republic of Congo (RoC) from 1992 to 2015, as baseline for assisting public health authorities and researchers to define future research priorities as well as interventions.MethodsThis review considers data from peer-reviewed articles and information from the National Malaria Control Programme reports, based on field investigations or samples collected from 1992 to 2015. Peer-reviewed papers were searched throughout online bibliographic databases PubMed, HINARI and Google Scholar using the following terms: “malaria”, “Congo”, “Brazzaville”, “prevalence”, “antimalarial”, “efficacy”, “falciparum”, “genetic”, “diversity”. Original articles and reviews were included and selection of relevant papers was made.ResultsTwenty-eight published articles were included in this review and two additional records from the National Malaria Control Programme were also considered. The majority of studies were conducted in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire.ConclusionThe present systematic review reveals that number of studies have been conducted in the RoC with regard to malaria. However, their results cannot formally be generalized at the country level. This suggests a need for implementing regular multisite investigations and surveys that may be representative of the country, calling for the support and lead of the Ministry of Health.

Molecular characterization of norovirus infection responsible for acute diarrhea in Congolese hospitalized children under five years old in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

“…The rainy season, which lasts 9 months, has two rainfall maxima: one in March-May and another in September-November (Samba et al, 2008). The dry season is from June to August (Koukouikila- Koussounda and Ntoumi, 2016). This study was conducted within the framework of the gastroenteritis surveillance organized by the Ministry of Health in Brazzaville before the initiation of the rotavirus vaccination program.…”

Genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum infection among children with uncomplicated malaria living in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo

“…In the Republic of Congo, malaria is still the leading cause of attendance in health facilities. The latest estimations from the National Malaria Control Program indicate that clinical malaria account for 47.9% of all outpatient consultations in public hospitals, 64.8% of hospital admissions and 18.4% of deaths [2]. The high levels of resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to chloroquine as well as the inefficacy of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine and amodiaquine either singly or in combination for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria have been well documented [3-6].…”

Beyond genome-wide scan: Association of a cis-regulatory NCR3 variant with mild malaria in a population living in the Republic of Congo

“…Also, we hypothesized that the rs2736191-C allele associated with mild malaria in Burkina Faso binds less efficiently transcription factors recruited to the promoter, and that it diminishes the expression of its target gene. Here we investigated the cis-regulatory effect of rs2736191, and its association with mild malaria in a population living in the Republic of Congo, where there are limited human genetic data in relation with infectious diseases [ 36 ].…”