Irène Pegha Moukandja is a biomedical scientist specializing in tropical infectious diseases. She holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences, focusing on the molecular epidemiology of Plasmodium falciparum infection. Her research has contributed significantly to understanding malaria transmission dynamics in rural Gabon, resulting in multiple scientific publications.
Beyond malaria research, Irène has worked on infection screening in pregnant women and participated in the development of a serological test for Hepatitis C, collaborating with teams from Gabon, Canada, and Denmark. She has also played a key role in the fight against COVID-19, managing diagnostics and data for SARS-CoV-2 infection in Gabon.
In 2018, her personal battle with endometriosis led her to co-found an association to raise awareness about the condition in Gabon. She has since been involved in research on gynecological diseases, publishing studies on endometriosis and advocating for better diagnosis and treatment.
Irène has extensive experience in molecular biology, epidemiology, and biostatistics, with expertise in managing scientific projects and medical data. She has participated in numerous training programs and international conferences, sharing her knowledge on public health challenges. Currently, she serves as a Research Officer at CAMES (African and Malagasy Council for Higher Education) while continuing her scientific contributions to infectious diseases and women's health.
Tropical infectious diseases, molecular epidemiology, and women's health.
Endometriosis in Gabon : A Study on Prevalence and Cultural Recognition
Endometriosis is a gynecological pathology affecting from 10 to 20% women in reproductive age. However, its prevalence remains inadequately documented in Gabon, thereby perpetuating the hypothesis of its non-existence in the country. To correct this gap, our research team initiated a study comprising two components with two epidemiological axes :
Prevalence survey
Cultural recognition survey with the identification of traditional remedies proposed against symptoms referring to endometriosis
Methods : A retrospective observational study was conducted using medical records of women whose surgical specimens were analyzed between 1987 and 2022 at the Pathological Anatomy Laboratory (LAP) of the University of Health Sciences (USS) in Libreville. Established in 1978, LAP/USS was the only public laboratory processing surgical specimens from across Gabon until 2009, that is wy we selected this site. Additionally, a descriptive ethnobotanical survey was conducted from March 25 to May 1, 2024 across two regions of Gabon.
Results: Between 1987 and 2022, a total of 6,666 medical records were analyzed, revealing a prevalence of 7.3% among the patients. The average age of the patients was 38.1 years, with a significantly higher prevalence observed in those aged 36 to 50 years (10.8%) and those aged 51 years and older (9.6%). The uterus was the most frequently resected organ (40.3%) and was also the most affected by endometriosis (72.6%). The predominant pathologies included malignant tumors (23.9%) and benign tumors (51.4%), with leiomyomas constituting 29.6% of the benign tumors. Identified risk factors for endometriosis included age (particularly in the 35-50 and 51-89 age groups), salpingitis, and the presence of benign tumors.
The ethnobotanical survey involved 65 informants, primarily traditional practitioners (75%), with an average age of 53 years. Among these informants, 53.8% were women, and 10.8% were non-gabonese. A significant majority of informants (93.8%) had never heard about endometriosis. They reported treating various female pathologies such as dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain, infertility, metrorrhagia, and dyspareunia, predominantly in patients aged 20 to 50 years.
A total of 63 plants from 51 species were documented: 34 (66.7%) were trees, and 11 (21.6%) were herbaceous plants. A total of 49 genera belonging to 33 botanical families were identified. The most represented families were Annonaceae and Asteraceae, each contributing five species, while Fabaceae had four recorded species. The parts of plant used included barks, leaves, fruits, flowers, stems, and roots, with some plants being used in their entirety. The species most frequently mentioned by traditional practitioners and herbalists in their recipes included: Baillonella toxisperma (9 mentions), Costus lucanusianus (6 mentions), Cola acuminata (5 mentions), Guibourtia tessmannii and Aframomum melegueta (4 mentions each), as well as Annickia chlorantha, Alchornea cordifolia, and Xylopia hypolampra (3 mentions each).
Conclusion : This study demonstrates that endometriosis is indeed prevalent among women of reproductive age in Gabon, although awareness of the condition among traditional practitioners and herbalists remains limited. Numerous plants are employed to alleviate the symptoms associated with this condition ; however, further research is warranted to comprehensively characterize endometriosis in this country. We recommend conducting prospective studies, including Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice (KAP), and exploring the chemical constituents of the mentioned plants.