This report describes the ocular manifestations in a cohort of patients with Clade I mpox evaluated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2007 to 2011, as well as the clinical course of a 3-year-old patient with mpox associated with ocular disease. Among 216 patients, ocular manifestations were observed in 8.3%, including conjunctivitis, eyelid lesions, eyelid swelling, eye pain, orbital swelling, keratitis, and corneal staphyloma. These findings highlight the broad spectrum of ocular manifestations with potentially sight-threatening consequences in patients with mpox.
Study objective: This study seeks to estimate the prevalence of anxiety and to identify its determinants among adults with epilepsy in Congolese hospital settings, with the overarching goal of enhancing integrated clinical management, reducing comorbidity related morbidity, and mitigating the combined burden imposed by epilepsy and anxiety. Materials and Methods: A 14-month cross-sectional study conducted in Kinshasa included adults with epilepsy (≥18 years). Anxiety was screened using the GAD-7 (score ≥ 7). The study examined sociodemographic and perinatal factors, family and personal history, epilepsy course: onset age, frequency, duration, treatments, types. Statistical analyses in R; group comparisons used Wilcoxon, Chi-square, Fisher tests; two-sided p<0.05; Model performance ROC/AUC; fit Hosmer–Lemeshow test. Results: Among the 292 individuals with epilepsy included, 36.6% had generalized anxiety disorder with a median GAD-7 score of 11 (IQR: 9-13), of whom 23.4% had moderate to severe forms. Among anxious epilepsy patients: 1. The median age at the onset of the first seizure was earlier (13 years, IQR: 4-48) than among non-anxious patients (20 years, IQR: 11-40; p = 0.022). 2. Focal epilepsies were more common (38%) than generalized epilepsies (19%); 43% had undetermined epilepsy. In multivariate analysis, four independent determinants were identified: age ≥ 50 years (ORa = 9.42); early onset of epilepsy (< 5 years), whereas late onset was protective; high seizure frequency, the main factor (ORa = 16.5 to 49.1); and psychiatric history (ORa = 2.84). Conclusion: Anxiety is common (1/3) among adults with epilepsy in the DRC. Systematic screening appears essential to improve integrated care.
Crimean-Congo- Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is the most widespread tick-borne disease in the world with a highly variable case fatality rate. It is caused by the CCHF virus (CCHFV). The disease, which has neither approved treatments nor vaccines, has long received very little attention until it was listed as a priority pathogen by WHO. Improving our understanding of mechanisms of host-virus interaction is essential for the development of effective therapeutic and prophylactic strategies. There is still much to be clarified to better understand how the virus interacts with its host and humans. Elucidating these mechanisms will provide insights into viral pathogenesis, immune evasion strategies, and host defense responses. As a result, this will stimulate the development of targeted interventions to mitigate disease severity and improve clinical outcomes. Better understanding of virus characteristics will also improve our surveillance capability which is critical for developing effective pandemic preparedness and outbreak response strategies. Here, we examine the existing landscape concerning the immune response and inflammatory events in CCHFV-human interaction and discuss gaps in our understanding of the disease. Such discussions allow us to highlight priority research directions for the identification of potential targets for improved mitigation approaches or specific therapeutic routes.
To improve the standardization of veterinary assessments of livestock health and welfare across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we piloted and validated the implementation of a multispecies semiquantitative six-point body condition scoring (BCS) system for use in farms, abattoirs, and free-range village herds. BCS systems indicating animal energy balance and overall systemic health are critical to rapid and accurate veterinary surveillance to prevent the spread of zoonotic disease and ensure a safe food supply, among other One Health implications. Livestock species may be intermingled in Congolese agricultural settings, requiring a standard BCS scale; we harmonized existing species-specific scales to improve traditional approaches limited to qualitative assessment only. With a team of Congolese veterinarians and technicians, we completed 124 site visits across nine provinces between June 2023 and July 2024, comparing BCS ratings with various animal health indicators to identify patterns and relationships across 1038 swine and 1157 bovine subjects. Results indicate BCS ratings varied significantly by site type (p < 0.001) and age (p < 0.001), as well as between animals with reported histories of illness (p < 0.001) and lesions at the time of sampling (p = 0.089). At selected sites, the investigation team achieved an agreement with a maximum difference of 1 score unit between raters in an assessment of inter-rater reliability (n = 36, κ = 0.47, 95 % CI: 0.22–0.73) and qualitatively reported improved assessment precision with the six-point system compared to previous unstandardized processes.
