Comparison of two polymerase chain reaction assays, DaAn Gene (DaAn Gene 2019-ncov) and Cepheid (Cepheid Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2) for Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 detection in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Background: New severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants may affect diagnostic test accuracy.

Aim: To evaluate the performance of two reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays, DaAn Gene and Cepheid, for detecting Delta and Omicron variants.

Setting: Nasopharyngeal samples were collected in Yaoundé, Cameroon, between October 2021 and December 2022.

Achieving the global agenda toward HIV cure calls for establishing a research-for-cure academy in West and Central Africa.

Despite global efforts to eliminate HIV as a public health threat, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) still harbours about the highest burden of the pandemic, home to around 70 % of people living with HIV with limited contribution in the field of HIV cure research, especially in West and Central Africa (WCA). This gap is mainly due to challenges that researchers of this region are facing in initiating and advancing HIV cure research locally, with lesser commitment from the French-speaking countries. Furthermore, capacity-building of early career scientists on HIV cure research remains constrained due to limited awareness and language barriers to existing opportunities.