Upscaling the surveillance of tick-borne pathogens in the French Caribbean Islands

Despite the high burden of vector-borne disease in (sub)tropical areas, few information are available regarding the diversity of tick and tick-borne pathogens circulating in the Caribbean. Management and control of vector-borne disease require actual epidemiological data to better assess and anticipate the risk of (re)emergence of tick-borne diseases in the region. To simplify and reduce the costs of such large-scale surveys, we implemented a high-throughput microfluidic real-time PCR system suitable for the screening of the main bacterial and parasitic genera involved in tick-borne disease and potentially circulating in the area. We used the new screening tool to perform an exploratory epidemiological study on 132 adult specimens of Amblyomma variegatum and 446 of Rhipicephalus microplus collected in Guadeloupe and Martinique. Not only the system was able to detect the main pathogens of the area—Ehrlichia ruminantium, Rickettsia africae, Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bigemina and Babesia bovis—but the system also provided evidence of unsuspected microorganisms in Caribbean ticks, belonging to the Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Borrelia and Leishmania genera. Our study demonstrated how high-throughput microfluidic real-time PCR technology can assist large-scale epidemiological studies, providing a rapid overview of tick-borne pathogen and microorganism diversity, and opening up new research perspectives for the epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens

Natural transformation of chlordecone into 5b-hydrochlordecone in French West Indies soils: statistical evidence for investigating long-term persistence of organic pollutants

International audienceChlordecone (CLD) was an organochlorine insecticide whose previous use resulted in an extensive pollution of the environment with severe health effects and social consequences. A closely related compound, 5b-hydrochlordecone (5b-hydroCLD), has been searched for and often detected in environmental matrices from the geographical area where CLD was applied. The current consensus considered that its presence was not the result of a biotic or abiotic dechlorination of CLD in these matrices but rather the consequence of its presence as impurity (synthesis by-product) in the CLD released into the environment. The aim of the present study was to determine if and to what extent degradation of CLD into 5b-hydroCLD occurred in the field. To test this hypothesis, the ratios of 5b-hydroCLD and CLD concentrations in a dataset of 810 soils collected between 2006 and 2012 in Martinique were compared to the ratios measured in 3 samples of the CLD dust commercial formulations applied in the banana fields of French West Indies (FWI) and 1 sample of the technical-grade CLD corresponding to the active ingredient used in such formulations. Soil data were processed with a hierarchical Bayesian model to account for random measurement errors and data censoring. Any pathway of CLD transformation into 5b-hydroCLD occurring over the long term in FWI soils would indeed change the ratio of 5b-hydroCLD/CLD compared to what it was in the initially applied formulations. Results showed a significant increase of the 5b-hydroCLD/CLD ratio in the soils-25 times greater in soil than in commercial formulations-which suggested that natural CLD transformation into 5b-hydroCLD over the long term occurred in these soils. Results from this study may impact future decisions for the remediation of the polluted areas

CRFM Consultancy Report on Review of Existing Policy, Legal and Institutional Arrangements for Governance and Management of Flyingfish Fisheries in the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem

Many of the marine resources in the Caribbean are considered to be fully or overexploited. A Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis identified three priority transboundary problems that affect the CLME: unsustainable exploitation of fish and other living resources, the degradation and modification of natural habitats, pollution and contamination. The fourwing flyingfish fishery is the single most important small pelagic fishery in the southern Lesser Antilles. It is a shared resource, which has been traditionally exploited by seven different States, i.e. Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. With expanding fleet capacity and limited cooperation among the States exploiting the flyingfish, there is concern that the resource may become overfished. While the flyingfish fishery is a directed fishery, it is at the same time part of a multi-species, multi-gear fishery, which also targets regional large pelagic species.This case study identifies and analyses the priority transboundary problems and issues. The policy, legal and institutional reforms needed to address such transboundary issues and achieve long-term conservation and sustainable use of the resources are also identified. A major and necessary component of the case study is an evaluation of the existing policy cycles and linkages among the countries and institutions involved with the flyingfish fishery

The agroecological transition of agricultural systems in the Global South

Food security, jobs, ecological transition of agricultural production models and consumption patterns... Agroecology could be one of the solutions to meet the future challenges of humanity. Part of the United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals, it requires a lasting commitment from all of us. To meet the food and economic needs of growing rural and urban communities, fulfil increasingly demanding consumer requirements, conserve natural resources and adapt to climate change, we have to find new ways of agricultural production. Over the last decade, CIRAD and AFD have conducted experiments in agroecological transitions with farmers, researchers, development agents and policymakers in many countries of the Global South. In this book, they reflect on the future of agroecology as a way for agriculture in the developing world to adapt to global changes and they examine the conditions necessary for a successful agroecological transition

Journal of African Christian Biography: v. 3, no. 1

A publication of the Dictionary of African Christian Biography with U.S. offices located at the Center for Global Christianity and Mission at Boston University. This issue focuses on: 1. “Creole Saga”: The Gambia’s Liberated African Community in the 19th Century: The Stories of J. A. B. Horton, G. C. Nicol, J. R. Maxwell, and J. D. Richards by Asi Florence Mahoney. Introduction by Gabriel Leonard Allen. 2. The Contribution of Daniel William Alexander to the Birth and Growth of Eastern Orthodoxy in East Africa. 3. Biographies by Stephan Hayes and Louise Pirouet. Introduction by Fr. Evangelos Thiani. 4. Recent Print and Digital Resources Related to Christianity in Africa

From No-Man's Land to a Congested Paradise: An Environmental History of Mauritius

This Working Paper constitutes Chapter 5 of the book manuscript, "Understanding Population-Development-Environment Interactions: A Case Study on Mauritius". The Mauritius case study was carried out by IIASA in scientific collaboration with the University of Mauritius and funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). This paper identifies long-term social, economic, and political processes that shaped natural resources and various ecological systems of Mauritius. The environmental history of the island demonstrates how various human activities transferred the landscape, fauna, and flora over the centuries. The balance of direct, local causes behind these interventions as opposed to remote and often indirect driving forces kept changing over time, but the analysis shows overall dominance of the second group. Even in the position of full political sovereignty, remote economic, political, and increasingly, environmental processes and forces tend to shape local structures. This is the main reason behind my confidence that the island's environmental history has useful lessons for the future in Mauritius and perhaps many other small islands. The analysis shows that during the 400 years history of Mauritius, various forms of natural resource exploitation and environmental transformation were to a large extent results of fluctuating opportunities in international trade, changes in economic policies of the colonial power and other important trading partners, various forms of technological change, institutional transformation, and political changes. The dynamic combination of these factors conditioned the aspirations and behaviors of various economic and social actors in Mauritius over the centuries which, in turn, profoundly transformed all components of the natural environment in Mauritius. It is possible to tell the environmental history of Mauritius and the story of the Dodo without considering the external factors, but it is impossible to understand them. It is hoped that this paper provides some of the missing explanations