Investigation of caliciviruses and astroviruses in Gabonese rodents: A possible influence of national and international trade on the spread of enteric viruses.

Caliciviruses (Caliciviridae) and astroviruses (Astroviridae) are among the leading cause of non-bacterial foodborne disease and gastroenteritis in human. These non-enveloped RNA viruses infect a wide range of vertebrate species including rodents. Rodents are among the most important hosts of infectious diseases globally and are responsible for over 80 zoonotic pathogens that affect humans. Therefore, screening pathogens in rodents will be is necessary to prevent cross-species transmission to prevent zoonotic outbreaks. In the present study, we screened caliciviruses and astroviruses in order to describe their diversity and whether they harbor strains that can infect humans. RNA was then extracted from intestine samples of 245 rodents and retrotranscribed in cDNA to screen caliciviruses and astroviruses by PCRs. All the samples tested negative for caliciviruses and while astroviruses were detected in 18 (7.3%) samples of Rattus rattus species. Phylogenetic analyses based on the RdRp gene showed that all the sequences belonged to Mamastrovirus genus in which they were genetically related to R. rattus related AstVs previously detected in Gabon or in Rattus spp. AstV from Kenya and Asia. These findings suggested that transportation such as land and railway, as well national and international trade, are likely to facilitate spread of AstVs by the dissemination of rodents

Approche holistique dans l’implantation d’un sanctuaire de chimpanzés (Pan troglodytes) au Gabon

Dans le cadre du respect des normes éthiques internationales, le Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF) a décidé il y a plusieurs années d’améliorer les conditions de vie de ses grands singes, gorilles et chimpanzés, en les plaçant dans des sanctuaires au Gabon. Les gorilles ont déjà tous rejoint le Projet Gorille Fernan Vaz (Ogooué Maritime). Les chimpanzés iront dans un sanctuaire dans la région de Gamba (Ogooué Maritime). Une ONG de droit gabonais, indépendante du CIRMF, est en cours de création et les chimpanzés du CIRMF lui seront confiés. Cette ONG se chargera de toute la gestion du projet sur le long terme. L’impact d’un tel projet doit largement dépasser l’objectif de l’amélioration des conditions de vie des chimpanzés. Son développement doit se faire de manière transversale, c’est-à-dire qu’il doit permettre la mise en place d’activités annexes comme le tourisme de vision et l’agriculture dont la production servira à nourrir les chimpanzés, mais également à approvisionner les marchés locaux en fruits et légumes. Les communautés locales sont, en effet, d’autant plus réceptives aux exigences de conservation qu’elles peuvent bénéficier d’une partie des revenus tirés du tourisme et de l’agriculture et c’est donc ce modèle de gestion intégrée où la communauté prend part au projet qui nous donne un gage de succès et de pérennité. Le tourisme de vision s’intègre parfaitement dans cette région du Gabon connue sous le nom de Complexe d’Aires Protégées de Gamba (CAPG) puisqu’elle se situe entre deux parcs nationaux : le parc national de Loango, le joyau des parcs nationaux du Gabon et celui de Moukalaba Doudou, dont la richesse écosystémique présente également un intérêt touristique évident. Non loin de Gamba se situe également la lagune du Fernan Vaz et c’est cet ensemble qui permet d’inscrire notre futur projet dans un circuit touristique cohérent. L’impact du projet agricole sur l’environnement doit être minime et l’approche classique de l’agriculture locale qui consiste à défricher la forêt et brûler les terres pour cultiver doit être évitée. C’est pourquoi nous planifions de développer, en partenariat avec l’Institut Gabonais d’Appui au Développement (IGAD), un projet d’agroécologie de manière à optimiser et pérenniser l’utilisation des terres exploitées. Les défis à relever pour ce projet d’agroécologie sont doubles. Ils tiennent d’abord au fait que ce projet sera implanté dans une région majoritairement sablonneuse où les sols sont pauvres et où des connaissances spécifiques d’agronomie doivent permettre de limiter l’utilisation d’intrants phytosanitaires. D’autre part, la région de Gamba est fortement pourvue en éléphants. Il s’agira alors d’être capable d’éviter les destructions des plantations par ces pachydermes. Montrer qu’il est possible de gérer le conflit hommes/éléphants par la protection efficace des plantations avec des mesures novatrices et la mutualisation des moyens constituera une solution encourageante pour tous les paysans de la sous-région d’Afrique Centrale et un signal très fort pour le milieu de la conservation. En définitive, la valeur intrinsèque de ce projet réside non seulement dans l’amélioration des conditions de vie des chimpanzés du CIRMF, mais également dans la création d’emplois locaux, dans le renforcement de l’offre touristique, dans l’initiation d’un projet agricole dans une région jusque-là peu tournée vers la culture vivrière, et dans l’apport de solutions novatrices pour l’exploitation des terres et la gestion du conflit hommes/éléphants. Nous espérons que cette approche holistique entrainera une adhésion forte de la population locale dont le libre arbitre permettra certainement d’avoir une visibilité sur le long terme dans la gouvernance de ce projet.Je souhaite remercier l’ensemble des personnes qui ont contribué ou qui participent à ce projet et plus particulièrement Anaïs Herbert, Sébastien Koumba de l’Institut Gabonais d’Appui au Développement (IGAD), Debby Cox de Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), Pierre Brice Maganga de World Wide Fund (WWF), Lee Ann Rottman de Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, Angélique Todd et Dr Aurélie Flore Koumba Pambo de l’Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux (ANPN) et Laura Darby de Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP)

Rodent malaria in Gabon: Diversity and host range

International audienceMalaria parasites infect a wide range of vertebrate hosts, such as reptiles, birds and mammals (i.e., primates, ungulates, bats, and rodents). Four Plasmodium species and their subspecies infect African Muridae. Since their discoveries in the 1940s, these rodent Plasmodium species have served as biological models to explore many aspects of the biology of malaria agents and their interactions with their hosts. Despite that, surprisingly, little is known about their ecology, natural history and evolution. Most field studies on these parasites, performed from the 1940s to the early 1980s, showed that all rodent Plasmodium species infect only one main host species, the thicket rat. In the present study, we re-explored the diversity of Plasmodium parasites infecting rodent species living in peridomestic habitats in Gabon, Central Africa. Using molecular approaches, we found that at least two Plasmodium species (Plasmodium vinckei and Plasmodium yoelii) circulated among five rodent species (including the invasive species Mus musculus). This suggests that the host range of these parasites might be larger than previously considered. Our results also showed that the diversity of these parasites could be higher than currently recognized, with the discovery of a new phylogenetic lineage that could represent a new species of rodent Plasmodium

Dental microstructure records life history events: A histological study of mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) from Gabon

Accentuated lines in dental microstructure are hypothesized to correlate with potentially stressful life history events, but our understanding of when, how and why such accentuated lines form in relation to stressful events is limited. We examined accentuated line formation and life history events in the teeth of three naturally deceased mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx, Cercopithecidae), for whom we had detailed life history information. We determined the ages at formation of accentuated lines in histological tooth sections and used dates of birth and death to calibrate dental histology to calendar time and individual age. We found accentuated lines that matched their mother's resumption of sexual cycles in two individuals, and possibly in the third individual. The subjects also formed lines when their mothers were mate-guarded by males or wounded. Accentuated lines matched the birth of the next sibling in one of two cases. Both females formed accentuated lines when they experienced their own sexual swelling cycles, but lines did not match all sexual swelling cycles. Mate-guarding matched an accentuated line in one case, but not in another. Lines matched all three parturitions in the two females. Changes in alpha male and captures did not consistently coincide with accentuated line formation, but repeated captures were associated with lines. Using simulated data, we show that the observed number of matches between lines and events would be very unlikely under a null hypothesis of random line formation. Our results support the hypothesis that some life history events are physiologically stressful enough to cause accentuated line formation in teeth. They contribute to our understanding of how primate life histories are recorded during dental development and enhance our ability to use teeth to reconstruct life history in the absence of direct observation

A new species of sucking louse from the mandrill from Gabon with a review of host associations and geographical distributions, and identification keys to members of the genus Pedicinus (Phthiraptera: Anoplura: Pedicinidae)

Members of the sucking louse genus Pedicinus are ectoparasites of cercopithecid primates in Africa, Asia, and Gibraltar. Pedicinus gabonensis n. sp. is described based on adult male and female specimens collected from the mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) in Gabon. The new species is compared morphologically with other members of the genus Pedicinus, and a nuclear elongation factor 1 alpha gene sequence is provided. Host associations and geographical distributions of the 18 previously recognized species of the genus, and of Pedicinus gabonensis n. sp., are reviewed. Updated identification keys are provided for males and females of all known valid species of Pedicinus

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice during the COVID-19 Pandemic in South-East Gabon

COVID-19 is an emerging respiratory disease; it was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. This survey aimed to describe the knowledge, attitudes, perception and practices of the Gabonese public towards COVID-19. This study was performed on 1016 participants. All participants filled in the questionnaire voluntarily, reporting demographic characteristics and answering questions assessing their level of knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and practice towards COVID-19. Among participants, there were 535 men and 476 women. The mean age of the participants was 33.2 ± 16.7 years old. Almost all participants (98.1%) said that they had heard about COVID-19 but only 2.8% knew the pathogenic agent responsible for COVID-19. More than 80% knew that the disease could be transmitted by greeting infected people (87.3%), kissing an infected person (90.0%), touching an infected doorknob (83.5%) and attending meetings (83.9%). The mean knowledge score was higher among younger than older participants, higher among participants living in urban areas than those living in rural areas and higher among participants with higher levels of education than those with lower levels of education. In general, respondents had good knowledge of COVID-19 and a positive attitude towards using protective measures; however, there were differences according to gender, age group, place of residence, professional group and level of education