Characterization of Vaginal Escherichia coli Isolated from Pregnant Women in Two Different African Sites

The relevance of vaginal colonization of pregnant women by Escherichia coli is poorly understood, despite these strains sharing a similar virulence profile with other extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli producing severe obstetric and neonatal infections. We characterized the epidemiology, antimicrobial susceptibility and virulence profiles of 84 vaginal E. coli isolates from pregnant women from Rabat (Morocco) and Manhica (Mozambique), two very distinct epidemiological settings. Low levels of antimicrobial resistance were observed to all drugs tested, except for trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in Manhica, where this drug is extensively used as prophylaxis for opportunistic HIV infections. The most prevalent virulence factors were related to iron acquisition systems. Phylogroup A was the most common in Rabat, while phylogroups E and non-typeable were the most frequent in Manhica. Regardless of the apparently "low virulence" of these isolates, the frequency of infections is higher and the outcomes more devastating in constrained-resources conditions, especially among pregnant women and newborns

Immunodéficience combinée chez le poulain Arabe

L'immunodéfience combinée a été diagnostiquée chez trois poulains pur-sang Arabe nés au Maroc. Cliniquement, ces animaux ont présenté une pneumonie chronique rebelle à une antibiothérapie intense. Sur le plan histopathologique, une sévère hypoplasie lymphoïde a été notée au niveau des organes lymphoïdes en association avec des pneumopathies à adénovirus

Dominantes pathologiques chez les caprins du Nord Marocain: cas de la région de Tétouan

Dans le but de caractériser les dominantes pathologiques des caprins dans la province de Tetouan, un suivi clinique a porté sur 13 élevages caprins de décembre 1993 à mai 1994. En plus, une étude lésionnelle macroscopique et microscopique a été réalisée sur 400 carcasses de caprins au niveau de 2 abattoirs ruraux. La fréquence de mortalité moyenne dans les élevages suivis était de 22,4% et la mortalité a touché plus les chevreaux de moins d’un mois d’âge (82,5%). Les fréquences d’avortements variaient de 5,3% à 13.3% avec une fréquence moyenne de 7,2% et affectaient beaucoup plus les chèvres primipares (60%). Les diarrhées des chevreaux ont été notées dans 38% des élevages avec une fréquence moyenne de morbidité de 22,4% et elles étaient responsables de 45% des mortalités des chevreaux. La phtiriose a été observée dans 100% des élevages avec une fréquence moyenne de morbidité de 13%. Les abcès ganglionnaires (lymphadénite caséeuse) ont été observés dans 38% des élevages. Sur les carcasses examinées à l’abattage, les broncho-pneumonies vermineuses étaient les plus fréquentes (49%) suivies des kystes hydatiques pulmonaires et/ou hépatiques (9%), des hépato-cholangites (7%) et la cysticercose hépato-péritonéale (6%). D’autres lésions comme l’ictère, l’adénomatose et la lymphdénite caséeuse ont été relevées mais avec une fréquence moindre. Au total 160 poumons (80% des organes porteurs de lésions) et 30 foies (55%) ont été saisis totalement contre 41 poumons (20%) et 22 foies (45%) saisis partiellement. Ces résultats montrent l’importance des pertes économiques dues aux problèmes pathologiques que subit l’élevage caprin de la région de Tétouan en l’absence de toute intervention technique

Actinobacillose (Shigellose) équine: à propos des premiers cas observés au Maroc

La septicémie néonatale due àActinobacillus equ uli (Actinobacillose, Shigellose) a été diagnostiquée chez deux poulains. Cliniquement, les animaux étaient faibles et refusaient de téter. Histo-pathlogiquement, de multiples micro-abcès ont été observés au niveau des reins, du foie, des glandes surrénales et du poumon. Actinobacillus equuli a été isolé à partir de certains organes.Equine actinobaciIIosis (Shigellosis): report of first cases in MoroccoN eonatal septicemia caused by Actinobacillus equuli (Actinobacillosis, Shigellosis) was diagnosed in two foals. Clinically the animaIs were weak, depressed and refused to nurse. Pathologically, multiple microabceses were observed in kidneys, adrenals, liver and lungs. Actinobacillus equuli was isolated from several organs

Prevalence, antimicrobial resistance and serotype distribution of group B streptococcus isolated among pregnant women and newborns in Rabat, Morocco

PURPOSE: Group B streptococcus (GBS) is an important cause of neonatal sepsis worldwide. Data on the prevalence of maternal GBS colonization, risk factors for carriage, antibiotic susceptibility and circulating serotypes are necessary to tailor adequate locally relevant public health policies. METHODOLOGY: A prospective study including pregnant women and their newborns was conducted between March and July 2013 in Morocco. We collected clinical data and vagino-rectal and urine samples from the recruited pregnant women, together with the clinical characteristics of, and body surface samples from, their newborns. Additionally, the first three newborns admitted every day with suspected invasive infection were recruited for a thorough screening for neonatal sepsis. Serotypes were characterized by molecular testing. RESULTS: A total of 350 pregnant women and 139 of their newborns were recruited. The prevalence of pregnant women colonized by GBS was 24 %. In 5/160 additional sick newborns recruited with suspected sepsis, the blood cultures were positive for GBS. Gestational hypertension and vaginal pruritus were significantly associated with a vagino-rectal GBS colonization in univariate analyses. All of the strains were susceptible to penicillin, while 7 % were resistant to clindamycin and 12 % were resistant to erythromycin. The most common GBS serotypes detected included V, II and III. CONCLUSION: In Morocco, maternal GBS colonization is high. Penicillin can continue to be the cornerstone of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis. A pentavalent GBS vaccine (Ia, Ib, II, III and V) would have been effective against the majority of the colonizing cases in this setting, but a trivalent one (Ia, Ib and III) would only prevent 28 % of the cases

Deep Learning Based Non-invasive Meningitis Screening Using High-Resolution Ultrasound in Neonates and Infants from Mozambique, Spain and Morocco

1st MICCAI Meets Africa Workshop, MImA 2024 and 1st MICCAI Student Board Workshop on Empowering Medical Information Computing and Research through Early-Career Expertise, EMERGE 2024, Held in Conjunction with MICCAI 2024. Medical Information Computing. MImA EMERGE 2024 2024. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 2240.Meningitis is a life-threatening disease, resulting in severe neurological damage or death if not treated in time. The standard diagnostic method is an invasive lumbar puncture (LP), not exempt of complications and not always feasible, especially in resource-poor settings. To overcome these challenges, we developed Neosonics®, a novel non-invasive high-resolution ultrasound (HRUS) technology that detects backscatter signals from white blood cells (WBCs) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) below the infant fontanel. Using deep learning (DL) for image analysis, this technology classifies patients based on WBC levels, providing a rapid, non-invasive screening method for infant meningitis and with this, limiting indications for LPs for positive cases only, if not contraindicated. A convolutional neural network was trained and validated using CSF HRUS patient data gathered from cohorts from three different countries, Mozambique, Spain and Morocco. Then, a soft voting ensemble-learning technique was applied to give a classification on a patient-level. The DL model showed on a single-image level a sensitivity (SE) and specificity (SP) of 71.1% and 87.0% for the Mozambican cohort, SE = 73.3% and SP = 75.5% for the Spanish cohort, and SE = 72.0% and SP = 88.7% for the Moroccan cohort. On a patient-level, the overall SE and SP was 94.4% and 94.8%, respectively. We demonstrate in this study the significance of combining HRUS and DL for the non-invasive detection of infant meningitis, offering an efficient, cost-effective solution suitable also for limited resource settings and remote areas.Kriba acknowledges support from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, project code 190155553 - NEOSONICS. All authors with ISGlobal affiliation acknowledge support from the grant CEX2018-000806-S funded by MCIN/AEI/ https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033, and support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program. Mozambique: This work was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation INV-048197. Morocco: This project was supported in part by Spanish Agency of Cooperation (AECID) under the reference number 2019/ACDE/001196. Project PI16/01822 from PI ENRIQUE BASSAT ORELLANA and project PI16/00738 funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III, co-funded by the European Union (FEDER) “Una manera de hacer Europa”.Peer reviewe