Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) is endemic in Africa, although studies of this infection are rare in Congo. We evaluated seroprevalence and HHV-8 diversity among people living with HIV. We included 353 patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy. Antibodies against HHV-8 latency-associated nuclear antigen were detected by indirect immunofluorescence. In HHV-8 positive patients, we performed HHV-8 quantification in blood and saliva by real-time PCR and typing by Sanger sequencing of K1 open reading frame. HHV-8 seroprevalence was 19%, being male (odd ratio [OR] = 1.741, [95% Confidence interval {CI}, 0.97–3.07];p = 0.0581) and having multiple sex partners before HIV diagnosis (OR = 1.682, [CI 95%, 0.97–2.92];p = 0.0629) tended to be associated with HHV-8 seropositivity. Of the 64 HHV-8 seropositive patients, HHV-8 DNA was detected in 10 (16%) in saliva, 6 (9%) in whole-blood and in 2 (3%) in both whole-blood and saliva. Three out of 6 HHV-8 strains were subtypes A5, 2 subtype B1 and 1 subtype C. HHV-8 seroprevalence was relatively low with more frequent carriage in men, associated with asymptomatic oral excretion and a predominance of subtype A5. These data tend to support the hypothesis of horizontal transmission in people living with HIV in Brazzaville.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is the causative agent of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), a highly contagious and potentially fatal emerging disease. We assessed CCHFV seroprevalence by conducting a serological survey of two cohorts from Brazzaville, Congo and Bamako, Mali. We retrospectively screened 581 sera samples, including 352 from monitoring centers for people living with HIV (PLWH) in Brazzaville and 229 provided by the Blood Transfusion Center at Gabriel Touré Hospital in Bamako. An ELISA kit (ID Screen® CCHF Double Antigen Multi-species, Innovative Diagnostics) was used to detect total anti-CCHFV antibodies in serum. CCHFV seroprevalence was 0.6% in the PLWH cohort in Brazzaville, all in a peri‑urban area near livestock/agriculture, and 1.75% in a cohort of blood donors in Bamako, half living in a peri‑urban area near livestock/agriculture and the others performing risk-exposure activities, such as working as a butcher or with frequent rural travels. PLWH from Brazzaville were mostly female, older, and more highly educated, with a tertiary sector activity and living in an urban biotope without livestock/agricultural activities in the surroundings, in contrast to the blood donors of Bamako, who were younger and more likely to live in peri‑urban/rural areas with livestock/agricultural activities in the surroundings. Despite a low CCHFV seroprevalence, our study indicates human contact with CCHFV in sub-urban areas of the capital cities of Congo and Mali associated with previously described CCHFV risk factors.

Introduction: Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with a variety of morphological, molecular, treatment response and clinical outcome characteristics. The objective of this work was to assess the epidemiological, histological, immunohistochemical and molecular subtypes of breast cancer in women in the Republic of Congo. Material and Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional descriptive study which took place from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2020. The study focused on 150 cases of breast cancer in patients diagnosed at the University Hospital of Brazzaville (CHU-B). The epidemiological, clinical, histological, immunohistochemical and molecular subtypes were the variables studied. Results: The mean age was 48.09 ± 13.87 years with the extremes of 22 years and 80 years. The study of the profession; the most represented in our study was that of the cultivator 20.67%. A predominance of breast cancer localization was observed in the left breast in 47.33%. The frequency of a family history was 7.33% or 11 cases. The most frequently represented histologic type was 62% invasive non-specific type carcinoma (CITNS). The most represented histological grade was Scarff Bloom Richardson grade II (51.33%), followed by grade III 24% and grade I in 12% of cases. Regarding the results of IHC; of the 150 cases, 102 (68%) had positive hormone receptors (HR +). The ORs were positive in 102 cases (68%) while the PRs were positive in 98 cases (65.33%). The Her2 oncogene was over expressed in 38 cases (25.3%). The Ki-67 proliferation index was known for the 150 cases, including 77 (51.33%) less than 15% and 73 (48.67%) greater than or equal to 15%. The distribution of molecular subtypes was 46% luminal A, 22% triple negative, 17% luminal B and 10% Her2 +. Tumors of unknown molecular profile were 5%. The correlation was found between molecular subtype and histological type. This result was statistically significant (p 0.05). The correlation was found between molecular subtype and histological type. This result was statistically significant (p 0.05). The correlation was found between molecular subtype and histological type. This result was statistically significant (p 0.05). Conclusion: It should be noted that the association between histological and immunohistochemical diagnosis can help determine the phenotype of breast cancer, with the aim of guiding treatment and therefore improving response to treatment. Key words: Epidemiology, Histology, Immunohistochemistry, molecular subtypes, breast cancer, Republic of Congo.

We compared 2 human papillomavirus (HPV) assays to detect the 14 high-risk HPV (hrHPV) genotypes in self-collected anal samples. We found a good agreement and similar performance to detect HPV-16, HPV-18, and the 12 other hrHPV genotypes. The global performance to detect the 14 hrHPV genotypes was not significantly different between the 2 assays.

Objectives. Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) is rarely studied in Congo, despite its prevalence in Africa. Among healthy individuals, HHV-8 does not always lead to a life-threatening infection; however, in immunocompromised individuals, it could lead to more severe disease. The distribution of HHV-8 genotypes varies depending on ethnicity and geographic region. Method. A prospective cross-sectional study included 265 samples from healthy blood donors from the National Blood Transfusion Center in Brazzaville, with an average age of 35 years, with extremes ranging from 18 to 60 years. After DNA extraction, a nested PCR was carried out for molecular detection, followed by genotyping by amplification of specific primers. Result. In this study, 4.9% were positive for molecular detection of HHV-8 DNA. All HHV-8 positive DNA samples that were subjected to genotyping by amplification with specific primers allowing discrimination of two major genotypes (A and B). Genotype A was identified in 5 (1.9%) samples and genotype B in 2 (0.7%) samples, indicating that both genotypes were predominant. The remaining viral DNA samples not identified as the major genotypes were classified as «indeterminate» and consisted of 6 (2.3%) samples. Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that Congo is an area where HHV-8 infection is endemic.