Geographical Locations - Gabon

• (Statistical) Number of Inhabitants per Doctor: 2,000
• CIA World Factbook : Gabon

Organisations and Networks

UN and Multinational

• WHO
  - WHO Country Profile - Gabon
  - WHO - Tobacco Control: Country Profile - Gabon
  - WHO - Environmental Burden of Disease: Country Profile – Gabon
  - WHO - Malaria Country Profile - Gabon
• Gabon and the IMF
• PNUD au Gabon
  The UNDP's Gabon page - in French
• UNICEF at a Glance - Gabon
• UNFPA Population and Reproductive Health Profiles - Gabon

Government

Non-Government

Academic Institutions

National Policy and Related Documents

• Key Indicators: Health – A National Priority (Gabon)
  "Gabon views health as a national priority. Health forums were organized in Libreville in March 2005. Politicians, doctors, patients and financial advisors created a report on the state of public health in the country, then discussed reforms to be implemented."

Reports, Guidelines, and Projects

• Community-acquired Pneumonia in Children in Lambarene, Gabon
  Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) accounts for more than two million deaths per year in children < 5 years of age. Recognition of pathogens is vital for guiding antibiotic treatment. In Gabon, no epidemiologic data on childhood CAP were available to help guide antibiotic therapy. We conducted a prospective, hospital-based, cross-sectional survey at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Lambarene, Gabon, to assess the importance of atypical organisms (Chlamydia pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Bordetella pertussis, and Legionella pneumophila) and Streptococcus pneumoniae in the etiology of CAP in children by means of real-time polymerase chain reaction, cell culture, and serology. Collectively, atypical bacteria accounted for 11% of cases with a special emphasis on B. pertussis, accounting for 6% of cases. Clinical differentiation of atypical from typical pneumonia in children remains challenging. Molecular diagnostic methods offer fast and highly sensitive diagnostic tools and would be able to help guide antimicrobial therapy in rural areas where follow-up is difficult. [author abstract] [American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene, 79(1), 2008, pp. 109–114.]
• Differences in Presentation of Severe Malaria in Urban and Rural Gabon
  There are rare comparative studies of the clinical and laboratory features of severe and moderate malaria, including predictors of poor outcome, in rural and urban areas for regions of high malaria transmission. We therefore studied 2,235 children hospitalized for malaria in a rural (Lambaréné) and an urban (Libreville) area in Gabon between January 2001 and December 2002. From children screened, 33% and 48% were hospitalized for malaria in Libreville and Lambaréné, respectively (P < 0.001). Two malaria clinical groups were identified according to the World Health Organization 2000 classification of severe malaria. In both areas, severe malaria was characterized by a high proportion of severe anemia. The case fatality rate was 5-fold lower in Lambaréné than in Libreville (1% versus 5%; P < 0.0001). In both sites, cerebral malaria associated with respiratory distress was the most important predictor of fatal malaria (odds ratio - 10.7, 95% confidence interval - 4.8–23.8 P < 0.0001). [author abstract] [American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene, 77(6), 2007, pp. 1015–1019]
• Gabon: Chikungunya Virus in Libreville
  "For about a month now, cases of a disease unfamiliar to the Gabonese population have been registered in hospitals in Libreville and Owendo. The symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, fatigue, muscle soreness and severe joint pain, and are at times accompanied by skin disorders and digestive problems such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Samples taken from some patients were sent to Marseille, France, for laboratory analysis. The analysis revealed that the ‘unfamiliar’ disease is caused by the chikungunya virus, which is transmitted to human beings by the bite of an infected mosquito. Presently, no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for chikungunya fever is available. Treatment is symptomatic in order to relieve symptoms of the fever as well as aching. The use of an experimental vaccine cannot be seen as an element of medium-term response to a chikungunya epidemic. According to a Ministry of Health official, over 5,500 cases have been registered during the past one month in Libreville alone. There is a concern that if nothing is done fast, the larger population of Libreville and surrounding localities might get infected with the virus, whose effective treatment is yet to be found. However, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, no deaths, neuroinvasive cases, or hemorrhagic cases related to chikungunya infection have been conclusively documented in the scientific literature." [International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 17 May 2007]
• Hepatitis C virus prevalence and genetic diversity among pregnant women in Gabon, central Africa
  Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major global public health problem in both developed and developing countries. The prevalence and genetic diversity of HCV in pregnant women in Gabon, central Africa, is not known. We therefore evaluated the prevalence and the circulating genotypes of HCV in a large population cohort of pregnant women. Methods: Blood samples (947) were collected from pregnant women in the five main cities of the country. The prevalence was evaluated by two ELISA tests, and the circulating genotypes were characterized by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Results: Twenty pregnant women (2.1%) were infected with HCV. The seroprevalence differed significantly by region (p = 0.004) and increased significantly with age (p = 0.05), being 1.3% at 14–20 years, 1.1% at 21–25 years, 1.9% at 26–30 years, 4.1% at 31–35 years and 6.0% at > 35 years. Sequencing in the 5'-UTR and NS5B regions showed that the circulating strains belonged to genotypes 4 (4e and 4c). Conclusion: We found that the HCV seroprevalence in pregnant women in Gabon is almost as high as that in other African countries and increases with age. Furthermore, only genotype 4 (4e and 4c) was found. More extensive studies aiming to evaluate the prevalence and heterogeneity of HCV genotypes circulating in the general population of the country are needed. [author abstract] [BioMedCentral Infectious Diseases. 2008; 8: 82]
• Immunoglobulin G in Ebola Outbreak Survivors, Gabon
  "Three well-documented outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever occurred from 1996 through 2001 in Gabon in central Africa (1). All were caused by the highly pathogenic species Zaire ebolavirus, which is associated with an ≈80% case-fatality rate… A total of 207 human cases were recorded during these 3 outbreaks; 149 persons died… Because of the lack of available samples from survivors, little is known about the duration of IgG antibody response. However, studies of 20 survivors convalescing after the 1995 Kikwit outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) showed that Zaire ebolavirus IgG appeared 5 to 18 days after symptom onset and persisted at least 21 months." [Emerging Infectious Diseases, Volume 15, Number 7–July 2009]
• Outbreak(s) of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever, Congo and Gabon, October 2001 to July 2002
  "Congo, Gabon and others countries in Central Africa should ensure, as a priority, the design and implementation of national plans to improve preparedness for epidemic-prone diseases, including Ebola, and to strengthen an integrated disease surveillance system." [Canada Communicable Diseases Report, Volume 29-15, 1 August 2003]
• Severe falciparum malaria in Gabonese children: clinical and laboratory features
  Background: Malaria continues to claim one to two million lives a year, mainly those of children in sub-Saharan Africa. Reduction in mortality depends, in part, on improving the quality of hospital care, the training of healthcare workers and improvements in public health. This study examined the prognostic indicators of severe falciparum malaria in Gabonese children. Methods: An observational study examining the clinical presentations and laboratory features of severe malaria was conducted at the Centre Hospitalier de Libreville, Gabon over two years. Febrile children aged from 0 to 10 years with Plasmodium falciparum infection and one or more features of severe malaria were enrolled. Results: Most children presenting with severe falciparum malaria were less than 5 years (92.3% of 583 cases). Anaemia was the most frequent feature of severe malaria (67.8% of cases), followed by respiratory distress (31%), cerebral malaria (24%) hyperlactataemia (16%) and then hypoglycaemia (10%). Anaemia was more common in children under 18 months old, while cerebral malaria usually occurred in those over 18 months. The overall case fatality rate was 9%. The prognostic indicators with the highest case fatality rates were coma/seizures, hyperlactataemia and hypoglycaemia, and the highest case fatality rate was in children with all three of these features. Conclusions: Prompt and appropriate, classification and treatment of malaria helps identify the most severely ill children and aids early and appropriate management of the severely ill child. [author abstract] [Malaria Journal 2005, 4:1]
• U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Gabon 2003

Educational Resources

• CDC Travelers' Advice - Central Africa