On-Farm Evaluation on Yield and Economic Performance of Cereal-Cowpea Intercropping to Support the Smallholder Farming System in the Soudano-Sahelian Zone of Mali

Cereal-cowpea intercropping has become an integral part of the farming system in Mali. Still, information is lacking regarding integrated benefits of the whole system, including valuing of the biomass for facing the constraints of animal feedings. We used farmers’ learning networks to evaluate performance of intercropping systems of millet-cowpea and sorghum-cowpea in southern Mali. Our results showed that under intercropping, the grain yield obtained with the wilibali (short maturing duration) variety was significantly higher than the yield obtained with the sangaranka (long maturing duration) variety whether with millet (36%) or sorghum (48%), corresponding, respectively, to an economic gain of XOF (West African CFA franc) 125 282/ha and XOF 142 640/ha. While for biomass, the yield obtained with the sangaranka variety was significantly higher by 50% and 60% to that of wilibali with an economic gain of XOF 286 526/ha (with millet) and XOF 278 516/ha (with sorghum). Total gain obtained with the millet-cowpea system was significantly greater than that obtained with the sorghum-cowpea system by 14%, and this stands irrespective of the type of cowpea variety. Farmers prefer the grain for satisfying immediate food needs instead of economic gains. These results represent an indication for farmer’s decision-making regarding cowpea varieties selection especially for addressing household food security issues or feeding animals

No evidence for association with APOL1 kidney disease risk alleles and Human African Trypanosomiasis in two Ugandan populations:

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) manifests as an acute form caused by Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (Tbr) and a chronic form caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (Tbg). Previous studies have suggested a host genetic role in infection outcomes, particularly for APOL1. We have undertaken a candidate gene association studies (CGAS) in a Ugandan Tbr and a Tbg HAT endemic area, to determine whether polymorphisms in IL10, IL8, IL4, HLAG, TNFA, TNX4LB, IL6, IFNG, MIF, APOL1, HLAA, IL1B, IL4R, IL12B, IL12R, HP, HPR, and CFH have a role in HAT

Untreated Human Infections by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense Are Not 100% Fatal

The final outcome of infection by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, the main agent of sleeping sickness, has always been considered as invariably fatal. While scarce and old reports have mentioned cases of self-cure in untreated patients, these studies suffered from the lack of accurate diagnostic tools available at that time. Here, using the most specific and sensitive tools available to date, we report on a long-term follow-up (15 years) of a cohort of 50 human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) patients from the Ivory Coast among whom 11 refused treatment after their initial diagnosis. In 10 out of 11 subjects who continued to refuse treatment despite repeated visits, parasite clearance was observed using both microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Most of these subjects (7/10) also displayed decreasing serological responses, becoming progressively negative to trypanosome variable antigens (LiTat 1.3, 1.5 and 1.6). Hence, in addition to the “classic” lethal outcome of HAT, we show that alternative natural progressions of HAT may occur: progression to an apparently aparasitaemic and asymptomatic infection associated with strong long-lasting serological responses and progression to an apparently spontaneous resolution of infection (with negative results in parasitological tests and PCR) associated with a progressive drop in antibody titres as observed in treated cases. While this study does not precisely estimate the frequency of the alternative courses for this infection, it is noteworthy that in the field national control programs encounter a significant proportion of subjects displaying positive serologic test results but negative results in parasitological testing. These findings demonstrate that a number of these subjects display such infection courses. From our point of view, recognising that trypanotolerance exists in humans, as is now widely accepted for animals, is a major step forward for future research in the field of HAT

Professions and the social order: some lessons from Burkina Faso?

The study of professions has been dominated by Anglo-American models, with their focus on a small group of legally-licensed occupations. The field has recently shifted, mainly through studies of European experience, to a wider examination of the social management of expert workers. Very little has been written about developments in Africa and their implications for the way in which we might think about professions. This paper presents a case study of the role and practices of the medical profession in Burkina Faso, which has a relatively open market for the supply of healing services and limited regulation of the suppliers, whether physicians or traditional practitioners. The study returns to classic questions about the extent to which practice is shaped by the nature of occupational niches within the division of labour or to the development of a distinctive moral character among the workers within that niche

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Determinants and causes of mortality in HIV-infected patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in Burkina Faso: a five-year retrospective cohort study.

In this study, we investigated the causes of death and the factors associated with mortality in a cohort of patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Burkina Faso, an African country with limited resources. This retrospective cohort study included patients aged 15 years and older who started HAART for the first time between January 2003 and December 2008 in 14 health districts. We used survival analyses, including the Kaplan-Meier method, to examine potential predictors of death and two Cox proportional hazard models to estimate hazard ratios for death, first from baseline covariates and then from time-dependent covariates. A total of 6641 patients initiated HAART during this period; of these, 5608 were included in the analysis. By the end of the study period, 4310 of those patients were still receiving HAART, 690 had died, 207 had been transferred and 401 were lost to follow-up. The median duration of follow-up was 23.2 months [interquartile range (IQR): 12.4-36.9], and the overall incidence of mortality was 6 per 100 person-years. The clinical stage, CD4 count, body mass index (BMI), haemoglobin level, HAART regimen, gender, age, profession and year of initiation were the primary risk factors associated with death. In the multivariate analysis, BMI, clinical stage, treatment regimen and CD4 count remained significantly associated with death. The most frequent causes of death were wasting syndrome, tuberculosis and anaemia. This result highlights the already advanced stage of immunodeficiency among patients in Burkina Faso when they start HAART. Testing patients for HIV and starting antiretroviral therapy earlier are necessary to further reduce the mortality of patients living with HIV. This study provides a solid evidence base with which future evaluations of HAART in Burkina Faso can be compared.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Musculoskeletal disorders in the elderly in rheumatology practice in Burkina Faso

Objective: To study the frequency of musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders in the elderly in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Patients and methods: A retrospective study was conducted from February 2006 to March 2011 in the University Hospital Yalgado Ouédraogo in Burkina Faso. All patients aged over 65 years seen at the Department of Rheumatology were included. Results: Four hundred and twenty-four patients (11.85%) aged over 65 years were identified among the total of 4084. The mean age was 70.15± 23.26 years with a range of 65-95 (mode: 70 years, median 69 years). There were 336 (69.4%) women and 148 men (30.6%). Rheumatic diseases were dominated by osteoarthritis(OA) and degenerative disease: low back pain / sciatica: 117 (24.17%) cases, OA of the knee: 111 (22.93%), tendinitis of the shoulder: 52 (10.74%), several OA (6%). Polymyalgia rheumatica was diagnosed in 15 (3%) patients. Only two cases of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and one case of ankylosing spondylitis were noted. Osteoporosis was reported in three patients. Fifty-five (11.36%) had diabetes mellitus (type 2), 221 (45.66%) had hypertension and 15 (3%) heart disease. Conclusion: The elderly have an important place in rheumatology practice in Ouagadougou. Osteoarthritis and degenerative MSK disorders are common and osteoporosis, chondrocalcinosis and RA rare. Polymyalgia rheumatica was the most common inflammatory disorder. Comorbidities were dominated by hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Keywords: Musculoskeletal diseases; Elderly; Osteoarthritis; Low back pai

Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in children: a qualitative study of community perceptions and recommendations in Burkina Faso and Mali.

BACKGROUND: Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in children (IPTc) is a highly efficacious method of malaria control where malaria transmission is highly seasonal. However, no studies published to date have examined community perceptions of IPTc. METHODS: A qualitative study was undertaken in parallel with a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of IPTc conducted in Mali and Burkina Faso in 2008-2009 to assess community perceptions of and recommendations for IPTc. Caregivers and community health workers (CHWs) were purposively sampled. Seventy-two in-depth individual interviews and 23 focus group discussions were conducted. FINDINGS: Widespread perceptions of health benefits for children led to enthusiasm for the trial and for IPTc specifically. Trust in and respect for those providing the tablets and a sense of obligation to the community to participate in sanctioned activities favoured initial adoption. IPTc fits in well with existing understandings of childhood illness. Participants did not express concerns about the specific drugs used for IPTc or about providing tablets to children without symptoms of malaria. There was no evidence that IPTc was perceived as a substitute for bed net usage, nor did it inhibit care seeking. Participants recommended that distribution be "closer to the population", but expressed concern over caregivers' ability to administer tablets at home. CONCLUSIONS: The trial context mediated perceptions of IPTc. Nonetheless, the results indicate that community perceptions of IPTc in the settings studied were largely favourable and that the delivery strategy rather than the tablets themselves presented the main areas of concern for caregivers and CHWs. The study identifies a number of key questions to consider in planning an IPTc distribution strategy. Single-dose formulations could increase the success of IPTc implementation, as could integration of IPTc within a package of activities, such as bed net distribution and free curative care, for which demand is already high

Apport de l’échographie cervicale chez le patient hémodialysé : évaluation des carotides et des parathyroïdes

Il s’agit d’une étude transversale durant le mois de janvier 2010 qui a concerné 48 patients hémodialysés chroniques au centre hospitalier universitaire Yalgado Ouédraogo. Les taux sériques des marqueurs biologiques du métabolisme phosphocalcique et la parathormone (PTH) sanguine ont été mesurés. L’échographie de la région cervicale recherchait une hypertrophie des glandes parathyroïdes et évaluait les artères carotides sur 3 paramètres (l’échostructure, la fonction et la présence de calcifications vasculaires). Ainsi, on notait chez 15 patients (31,3 %) une augmentation de l’épaisseur intima-media (EIM) des carotides et chez 8 (17,5 %) des calcifications de ces artères. Tous les patients présentaient une anomalie de la distensibilité carotidienne et 29 (60,4 %) d’entre eux avaient une augmentation de la rigidité carotidienne. Cinq patients (10,41 %) avaient une glande parathyroïde agrandie et on notait une moyenne de parathormone (PTH) sanguine de 934 ± 887,39 pg/mL. Les troubles du métabolisme phosphocalcique étaient accrus chez le patient hémodialysé chronique, grevant les facteurs de risque cardiovasculaires traditionnels. Ces facteurs prédisaient une rigidité et une distensibilité carotidienne anormales, alors que la PTH sanguine élevée était un facteur indépendant prédisposant à la rigidité carotidienne.Mots clés : hémodialyse, échographie, distensibilité, carotide, parathyroïdes