Impacts of household waste compost formed in public garbage dump on the organo-mineral status and productivity of a sandy soil

The inefficient use of mineral fertilizers on sandy soils in general has led users of this type of soil in Daloa (Cocircte d#39Ivoire), especially vegetable growers, to turn to other fertilizers more readily available such as household waste composted in open air. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of the inputs of these residues on the fertility of the soils exploited by these producers. Thus, an experimental device was set up on lettuce according to farmers#39 conditions. This device consisted of four blocks each block was 21 m long. One block consisted of four elementary plots where different treatments were randomly distributed: the control did not receive compost and three additions of different compost doses (20, 40 and 60 t/ha). Some indicators of soil fertility, namely, soil organo-mineral status and the agricultural yield of the cultivation of lettuce carried out were evaluated. The results showed that the compost used had a significant positive effect on soil properties, and then, on the lettuce production when it was brought to soil at 40 and 60 t/ha. We concluded that solid waste compost can be an attractive alternative to chemical fertilizers on sandy soils

Typologie des systèmes de production camelins dans la province de Laâyoune, Maroc

Dans la province de Laâyoune au Maroc, la mortalité des jeunes dromadaires avant sevrage était importante sans qu'aucune étiologie évidente n'ait été identifiée. Afin de disposer d'une base d'échantillonage pour choisir les troupeaux qui feront l'objet d'un suivi, une typologie des éleveurs et de leurs pratiques a été réalisée par enquête transversale rétrospective auprès des éleveurs de la province de Laâyoune. Au terme de l'enquête, 170 éleveurs ont été interrogés, soit 10 % des éleveurs recensés, représentant 12 000 dromadaires, soit 44 % des dromadaires recensés dans la province de Laâyoune. L'analyse multivariée effectuée sur les données regroupées parthèmes a permis de déterminer 4 types d'organisation des éleveurs en fonction de la taille du troupeau, 4 types de stratégie de déplacement selon les conditions bioclimatiques et 3 types de pratique d'élevage. Ces trois typologies n'étaient pas corrélées. D'après la quantité d'informations obtenues, le nombre d'interlocuteurs et la variété des élevages rencontrés, la majorité des situations épidémiologiques semble avoir été abordée. La typologie des systèmes de production camelin dans la province de Laâyoune la plus pertinente était fondée sur l'organisation des hommes autour du troupeau. Mise en relation avec la mortalité des jeunes dromadaires avant sevrage, cette typologie a permis d'émettre des hypothèses de facteurs de risque, comme l'existence de toxiques alimentaires, les pratiques de traite et de sevrage, le niveau de présence du propriétaire, la délégation de la gestion du troupeau et le degré d'encadrement humain des jeunes dromadaires. De plus, cette clé de typologie, facilement identifiable sur le terrain, pourra servir de base d'échantillonnage pour des protocoles de suivis individuels ultérieurs qui permettront de préciser les différentes pratiques d'élevage encore mal déterminées et de confirmer les hypothèses de facteurs de risque de la mortalité des jeunes

Risk factors and clinical and lesion characteristics of caseous lymphadenitis or abscess disease in sheep in Morocco

The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence and risk factors of caseous lymphadenitis in sheep in the Orien­tal region in Morocco, and to determine its clinical and lesion characteristics. Surveys were conducted in different provinces of the region. They focused on 6376 animals in 107 farms. In addition, search for lesions, and lymph node and abscess collection for histopathological examination were performed in five slaughterhouses of the region. The results showed that almost 100% of the farms (106 out of 107) were affected by caseous lymphadenitis. The overall individual prevalence of the disease was 24%, and the average prevalence in farms and slaughterhouses were 28 and 16%, respectively. Besides the poor hygiene and high density of sheep in houses, use of trau­matic equipment (metal feeders, drinkers and fences) seemed to be the main factor that lead to the spread of abscesses between animals of a same herd. Superficial abscesses, open or not, surrounded by enlarged lymph nodes were present in all affected animals. The location of the lesions varied but about 79% of them were located in the head or the neck. Histopathological examination of lymph nodes revealed two types: active abscesses (87%), and lesions of diffuse and severe necrosis and suppuration of the lymphoid tissues (13%). In the lungs, abscesses were well defined and circum­scribed

Investigation of a Possible Link Between Vaccination and the 2010 Sheep Pox Epizootic in Morocco.

&lt;p&gt;Sheep pox is endemic in most parts of Northern Africa and has the potential to cause severe economic problems. Live attenuated vaccines are used in Morocco, and in many other countries, to control the disease. Sheep pox virus (SPPV) re-appeared in 2010 causing a nodular clinical form previously not observed in Morocco. The severe clinical signs observed during the course of this outbreak and initial reports citing similarity in nucleotide sequence between the Moroccan vaccine strain and field isolates warranted a more in depth analysis of this epizootic. In this study, sequence analysis showed that isolates obtained from four provinces of eastern Morocco were identical, demonstrating that a single SPPV strain was responsible for the 2010 epizootic. In addition, the genome fragments sequenced and phylogenetic analyses undertaken as part of this study showed significant differences between field isolates and the Moroccan vaccine strain. New PCR methods were developed to differentiate between wild-type isolates and vaccine strains of SPPV. Using these methods, no trace of wild-type SPPV was found in the vaccine and no evidence was found to suggest that the vaccine strain was causing clinical disease.&lt;/p&gt;</p

Development and validation of three Capripoxvirus real-time PCRs for parallel testing.

&lt;p&gt;Capripoxviruses have the potential to cause outbreaks with a severe socio-economic impact. The latter, combined with an altered virus dissemination pattern, warrants its status as an important emerging disease. Disease control or eradication programmes can only be applied successfully if the necessary diagnostic tools are available allowing clear and unequivocal identification of the pathogen. Real-time PCR combines high sensitivity/specificity with a reduced analysis time and is thus a proven useful tool for identification of many pathogens, including Capripoxviruses. In order for a real-time PCR to be used in a diagnostic capacity, the different analytical and diagnostic parameters need to be evaluated to assure data quality. The implementation of parallel testing using multiple real-time PCRs with similar characteristics can improve further Capripoxvirus diagnosis. It was therefore the purpose of this study to develop a triplet real-time PCR panel with similar high sensitivity/specificity and provide sufficient validation data regarding the performance characteristics that the panel can be used in parallel, depending on the purpose and local situation. &lt;/p&gt;</p