Prevalence and Molecular Characterization of Mycobacterium bovis in Slaughtered Cattle Carcasses in Burkina Faso; West Africa

This cross-sectional study was conducted at the slaughterhouses/slabs of Oudalan and Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, between August and September 2013. It aimed at determining the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) suggestive lesions in slaughtered cattle carcasses and to identify and characterize the mycobacteria isolated from these lesions. A thorough postmortem examination was conducted on carcasses of a total of 2165 randomly selected cattle. The overall prevalence of bTB suggestive lesions was 2.7% (58/2165; 95% CI 2.1–3.5%). Due to the low number of positive samples, data were descriptively presented. The lesions were either observed localized in one or a few organs or generalized (i.e., miliary bTB) in 96.6% (n = 57) and 3.4% (n = 2), respectively. The identified mycobacteria were M. bovis (44.4%, n = 20), M. fortuitum (8.9%, n = 4), M. elephantis (6.7%, n = 3), M. brumae (4.4%, n = 2), M. avium (2.2%, n = 1), M. asiaticum (2.2%, n = 1), M. terrae (2.2%, n = 1), and unknown non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) (11.1%, n = 5). Moreover, eight mixed cultures with more than one Mycobacterium species growing were also observed, of which three were M. bovis and M. fortuitum and three were M. bovis and M. elephantis. In conclusion, M. bovis is the predominant causative agent of mycobacterial infections in the study area. Our study has identified a base to broaden the epidemiological knowledge on zoonotic transmission of mycobacteria in Burkina Faso by future studies investigating further samples from humans and animals, including wild animals employing molecular techniques

Knowledge, attitudes and practices about rabies prevention and control: A community survey in five health districts of Burkina Faso

Rabies is a deadly viral disease that affects humans and animals. It is transmitted by rabid animals, through bite, scratch or licking. Almost 99% of human cases are caused by dogs. In Burkina Faso, nearly 5,000 bites cases are recorded annually. This cross-sectional investigation was conducted with the objective of assessing the knowledge, attitudes and practices of people regarding rabies and preventive measures in five health districts, Burkina Faso. Using a structured questionnaire, the survey was conducted in households to capture data on participants’ knowledge, attitudes and practices of rabies control. Through a house-to-house approach, the questionnaire was administrated to 320 household members. The results indicated that 36.9% of the participants had high level knowledge of rabies, 80% perceived it as a fatal disease, 76.4% of participant’s reported attitudes were negative and 58.9% of them reported uncorrect practices. The knowledge level of rabies was significantly associated with health district, area of household location, participant’s age, their level of education, previous history with rabies and information channels used by household (p<0.05). However, the health district, the area of household location, the level of education and the knowledge level had significant association with attitudes of participants with regard to rabies (p<0.05). Concerning health behaviours, health district of respondents and their previous history with rabies showed significant association with practices regarding bite cases management (p<0.05). In addition, people health seeking behaviors were significantly associated with their levels of knowledge regarding rabies, their perceptions and attitudes towards the disease (p<0.05). National rabies control stakeholders should address the knowledge gaps through mass awareness campaigns providing key information regarding the risks of contamination and the recommended practices to prevent avoidable deaths

Melioidosis in Africa: Time to Uncover the True Disease Load

Melioidosis is an often fatal infectious disease with a protean clinical spectrum, caused by the environmental bacterial pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei. Although the disease has been reported from some African countries in the past, the present epidemiology of melioidosis in Africa is almost entirely unknown. Therefore, the common view that melioidosis is rare in Africa is not evidence-based. A recent study concludes that large parts of Africa are environmentally suitable for B. pseudomallei. Twenty-four African countries and three countries in the Middle East were predicted to be endemic, but no cases of melioidosis have been reported yet. In this study, we summarize the present fragmentary knowledge on human and animal melioidosis and environmental B. pseudomallei in Africa and the Middle East. We propose that systematic serological studies in man and animals together with environmental investigations on potential B. pseudomallei habitats are needed to identify risk areas for melioidosis. This information can subsequently be used to target raising clinical awareness and the implementation of simple laboratory algorithms for the isolation of B. pseudomallei from clinical specimens. B. pseudomallei was most likely transferred from Asia to the Americas via Africa, which is shown by phylogenetic analyses. More data on the virulence and genomic characteristics of African B. pseudomallei isolates will contribute to a better understanding of the global evolution of the pathogen and will also help to assess potential differences in disease prevalence and outcome

Molecular characterization of African Swine fever viruses in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal 1989–2016

International audienceAfrican swine fever (ASF) has been endemic in sub-Saharan Africa since the 1960s. Following its introduction in Senegal, in 1957, ASF steadily progressed through West Africa, reaching Burkina Faso in 2003, and later Mali in 2016. Despite the heavy burden of disease on pig production, little information is available on the genetic diversity of Africa swine fever virus (ASFV) in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. Here, we used real-time PCR ASFV to detect the ASFV genome in samples collected between 1989 and 2016, in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal, and conventional approaches for isolate characterization. The C-terminal end of the p72 protein gene, the full E183L gene and the central variable region (CVR) within the B602L gene in ASFV genome were sequenced and compared to publicly available sequences. ASFV genome was found in 27 samples, 19 from Burkina Faso, three from Mali and five from Senegal. The phylogenetic analyses showed that all viruses belong to genotype I, with the ASFVs from Burkina Faso and Mali grouping with genotype Ia and ASFV serogroup 4, and those from Senegal with genotype Ib and the ASFV serogroup 1. The analysis of the CVR tetrameric tandem repeat sequences (TRS) showed four TRS variants in Burkina Faso, two in Senegal and one in Mali. The three countries did not share any common TRS, and all CVRs of this study differed from previously reported CVRs in West Africa, except for Senegal. Three of the five isolates from Senegal fully matched with the CVR, p72 and p54 sequences from ASFV IC96 collected during the 1996 ASF outbreak in Ivory Coast. This study shows the spread of the same ASFV strains across countries, highlighting the importance of continuous m;onitoring of ASFV isolates. It also calls for an urgent need to establish a regional plan for the control and eradication of ASF in West Afric

Spoligotypes, MIRU-VNTR patterns and clonal complex identification of the <i>M. bovis</i> strains isolated in Burkina Faso.

1<p><b>▪</b>, presence of spacer; <b>□</b>, absence of spacer.</p>2<p>MIRU-VNTR loci: ETR A, ETR B, ETR C, ETR D, ETR E, QUB-11a, QUB-11b, QUB-3232, QUB-26, QUB-4156, MIRU 2, MIRU 10, MIRU 16, MIRU 20, MIRU 23, MIRU 24, MIRU 26, MIRU 27, MIRU 39, MIRU 40, Mtub 04, Mtub 21, Mtub 29, Mtub 30, Mtub 34, Mtub 39. NA = Not Available.</p>3<p>Af1 = African 1 clonal complex, Af5 = putative African 5 clonal complex.</p><p>Spoligotypes, MIRU-VNTR patterns and clonal complex identification of the <i>M. bovis</i> strains isolated in Burkina Faso.</p

Allelic diversity of the 26 MIRU-VNTR loci in <i>M. bovis</i> isolates from humans and livestock in Burkina Faso.^*

<p>*Excluding one strain of the putative African 5 clonal complex that hasn't MIRU-VNTR data.</p><p>Af1 = African 1 clonal complex, Af5 = putative African 5 clonal complex.</p><p>Allelic diversity of the 26 MIRU-VNTR loci in <i>M. bovis</i> isolates from humans and livestock in Burkina Faso.^{<a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003142#nt108" target="_blank">*</a>}</p

UPGMA tree based on the MIRU-VNTR (26 loci) and spoligotyping data.

<p>1, SB number = name of spoligotype based on <a href="http://www.Mbovis.org" target="_blank">http://www.Mbovis.org</a> database nomenclature; 2, RDAf1 = Genomic deletion specific to Af1 clonal complex; 3, The MIRU-VNTR patterns are detailed in <a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003142#pntd-0003142-t002" target="_blank">table 2</a>.</p

Socio-demographic informations about hosts and <i>M. bovis</i> isolates.

a<p>specific to human hosts,</p>b<p>bovine study,</p>c<p>nationwide survey,</p>d<p>regional study.</p><p>Socio-demographic informations about hosts and <i>M. bovis</i> isolates.</p