A survey to document toxic hazards in the zone surrounding volcanoes national park, a habitat for mountain gorillas, an endangered wildlife species in Rwanda

IntroductionIn recent years, Volcanoes National Park has seen a rise in its wildlife population, primarily due to the diligent efforts of the Rwandan government in safeguarding endangered species, notably the mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei spp. beringei). This population growth has led to a pressing need for more expansive habitats, ensuring these creatures have ample space, sustenance, and shelter for their wellbeing. Consequently, there are planned park expansion activities on the horizon. However, before initiating this expansion, a critical prelude involves identifying potential threats, particularly toxic substances stemming from agricultural activities in the surrounding environment of Volcanoes National Park.MethodsTo address this concern, a comprehensive study was conducted, aimed at pinpointing potential toxic hazards and assessing the awareness of the local population regarding the harm these hazards pose to wildlife species. Data was collected from individuals with no prior knowledge of the study using a pre-tested questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: socio-demographic issues, potential toxic hazards assessment, and a section to determine awareness and risk of potential toxic hazards to humans, animals, and the environment. Respondents were selected based on specific criteria, which included being 18 years or older and residing within the National Volcano Park (NVP) area.ResultsThe study's findings revealed four main categories of potential toxic hazards, which include household chemicals, pharmaceutical products, agricultural pesticides, and poisonous plants. These hazards could jeopardize the health and survival of wildlife species if they consume or come into contact with them. Furthermore, the study exposed an inadequacy in the knowledge and skills of the local community in preventing these toxic hazards, which can result in death of wildlife species and ecosystem contamination and degradation.ConclusionStudy results also underscored the significance of education and training in enhancing the awareness of local communities concerning these toxic threats. Therefore, it is imperative to implement immediate measures to mitigate the adverse effects of these toxic hazards on wildlife species, especially in light of the planned park expansion

Cost-utility analysis of four WHO-recommended sofosbuvir-based regimens for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in sub-Saharan Africa

Background Although direct-acting antivirals (DAA) have become standard care for patients with chronic hepatitis C worldwide, there is no evidence for their value for money in sub-Saharan Africa. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of four sofosbuvir-based regimens recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. Methods Using modelling, we simulated chronic hepatitis C progression with and without treatment in hypothetical cohorts of patients infected with the country’s predominant genotypes (1, 2 and 4) and without other viral coinfections, history of liver complication or hepatocellular carcinoma. Using the status-quo ‘no DAA treatment’ as a comparator, we assessed four regimens: sofosbuvir-ribavirin, sofosbuvir-ledipasvir (both recommended in WHO 2016 guidelines and assessed in the TAC pilot trial conducted in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal), sofosbuvir-daclatasvir and sofosbuvir-ledipasvir (two pangenotypic regimens recommended in WHO 2018 guidelines). DAA effectiveness, costs and utilities were mainly estimated using data from the TAC pilot trial. Secondary data from the literature was used to estimate disease progression probabilities with and without treatment. We considered two DAA pricing scenarios: S1) originator prices; S2) generic prices. Uncertainty was addressed using probabilistic and deterministic sensitivity analyses and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. Results With slightly higher effectiveness and significantly lower costs, sofosbuvir/velpatasvir was the preferred DAA regimen in S1 with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) ranging from US$526 to US$632/QALY. At the cost-effectiveness threshold (CET) of 0.5 times the 2017 country’s per-capita gross domestic product (GDP), sofosbuvir/velpatasvir was only cost-effective in Senegal (probability > 95%). In S2 at generic prices, sofosbuvir/daclatasvir was the preferred regimen due to significantly lower costs. ICERs ranged from US$139 to US$216/QALY according to country i.e. a 95% probability of being cost-effective. Furthermore, this regimen was cost-effective (probability> 95%) for all CET higher than US$281/QALY, US$223/QALY and US$195/QALY in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, respectively, corresponding to 0.14 (Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal) and 0.2 (Cameroon) times the country’s per-capita GDP. Conclusions Generic sofosbuvir/daclatasvir is very cost-effective for treating chronic hepatitis C in sub-Saharan Africa. Large-scale use of generics and an increase in national and international funding for hepatitis C treatment must be priorities for the HCV elimination agenda

A survey to document toxic hazards in the zone surrounding volcanoes national park, a habitat for mountain gorillas, an endangered wildlife species in Rwanda

IntroductionIn recent years, Volcanoes National Park has seen a rise in its wildlife population, primarily due to the diligent efforts of the Rwandan government in safeguarding endangered species, notably the mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei spp. beringei). This population growth has led to a pressing need for more expansive habitats, ensuring these creatures have ample space, sustenance, and shelter for their wellbeing. Consequently, there are planned park expansion activities on the horizon. However, before initiating this expansion, a critical prelude involves identifying potential threats, particularly toxic substances stemming from agricultural activities in the surrounding environment of Volcanoes National Park.MethodsTo address this concern, a comprehensive study was conducted, aimed at pinpointing potential toxic hazards and assessing the awareness of the local population regarding the harm these hazards pose to wildlife species. Data was collected from individuals with no prior knowledge of the study using a pre-tested questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: socio-demographic issues, potential toxic hazards assessment, and a section to determine awareness and risk of potential toxic hazards to humans, animals, and the environment. Respondents were selected based on specific criteria, which included being 18 years or older and residing within the National Volcano Park (NVP) area.ResultsThe study's findings revealed four main categories of potential toxic hazards, which include household chemicals, pharmaceutical products, agricultural pesticides, and poisonous plants. These hazards could jeopardize the health and survival of wildlife species if they consume or come into contact with them. Furthermore, the study exposed an inadequacy in the knowledge and skills of the local community in preventing these toxic hazards, which can result in death of wildlife species and ecosystem contamination and degradation.ConclusionStudy results also underscored the significance of education and training in enhancing the awareness of local communities concerning these toxic threats. Therefore, it is imperative to implement immediate measures to mitigate the adverse effects of these toxic hazards on wildlife species, especially in light of the planned park expansion

No food security without food safety: Lessons from livestock related research

Foodborne disease poses several major threats toward attaining sustainable improvements in food and nutrition security (FNS), on a global scale. These threats have numerous rippling effects on public health, economic growth, and country development. This article—based on a review of literature and experience from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems (LSIL) research activities—seeks to explore and summarize current and ongoing efforts to improve safety of animal-source foods, as well as to identify the interconnected elements of food safety and FNS. This article focuses on emerging evidence for the disease and economic burdens of foodborne disease; source attribution; previous investments in food safety; and current challenges and opportunities

Genetic diversity and population structure of indigenous chicken in Rwanda using microsatellite markers

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225084.]

Genetic diversity and population structure of indigenous chicken in Rwanda using microsatellite markers

Rwanda has about 4.5 million of indigenous chicken (IC) that are very low in productivity. To initiate any genetic improvement programme, IC needs to be accurately characterized. The key purpose of this study was to ascertain the genetic diversity of IC in Rwanda using microsatellite markers. Blood samples of IC sampled from 5 agro-ecological zones were collected from which DNA was extracted, amplified by PCR and genotyped using 28 microsatellite markers. A total of 325 (313 indigenous and 12 exotic) chickens were genotyped and revealed a total number of 305 alleles varying between 2 and 22 with a mean of 10.89 per locus. One hundred eighty-six (186) distinct alleles and 60 private alleles were also observed. The frequency of private alleles was highest in samples from the Eastern region, whereas those from the North West had the lowest. The influx of genes was lower in the Eastern agro-ecological zone than the North West. The mean observed heterozygosity was 0.6155, whereas the average expected heterozygosity was 0.688. The overall inbreeding coefficient among the population was 0.040. Divergence from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was significant (p<0.05) in 90% of loci in all the populations. The analysis of molecular variance revealed that about 92% of the total variation originated from variation within populations. Additionally, the study demonstrated that IC in Rwanda could be clustered into four gene groups. In conclusion, there was considerable genetic diversity in IC in Rwanda, which represents a crucial genetic resource that can be conserved or optimized through genetic improvement

Long-term effectiveness of Sofosbuvir-based hepatitis C regimens in Central and West Africa (ANRS 12342)

International Liver Congress (ILC), Paris, FRANCE, APR 11-15, 201

Bioconversion of aflatoxin-contaminated agri-food by-products with fly larvae into animal feed

Bioconversion of aflatoxin-contaminated agri-food by-products with fly larvae into animal fee