AN ASSESSMENT OF URBAN AGRICULTURAL LAND USE CHANGES USING GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION SYSTEM: A CASE STUDY OF JOS-BUKURU

The urban agricultural land use change of Jos-Bukuru between 1961 and 2002 is assessed. The aim is to generate relevant, accurate and timely data that would enhance the quality of decisions and actions in an attempt to ensure the survival, expansion and the sustainability of urban agricultural land use. A geospatial information system approach was adopted in the mapping and assessment of urban agricultural land use change in the study area Topographic map of Jos-Bukuru urban at the scale of 1:50000, Landsat TM image of 1986 and 2002 with spatial resolution of 30m, among others. Data conversion, digitizing, editing, analysis was carried out using ILWIS 3.2 and Arc-View 3.2 software. The study reveals among others that agricultural land use increased substantially between 1961 and 1986. However, between 1986 and 2002, about 63% of agricultural land was lost. Out of this, about 68% was lost to urban development. The percentage increase in urban in urban expansion was 3.5% from 1961 to 1986 and 3.8% from 1986 to 2002. While the percentage in urban agricultural land use between 1986 and 2002 was 3.9%. Overall, while urban spatial expansion is increasing agricultural land use is decreasing. The study recommends among others that urban agricultural land use should be made a legitimate in urban expansion planning; specific agricultural practices should be zoned to specific locations within the city; and, that urban farming should be incorporated into the poverty alleviation programme of the Federal governmentLand Economics/Use,

Temporal and spatial analysis of the 2014-2015 Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa

West Africa is currently witnessing the most extensive Ebola virus (EBOV) outbreak so far recorded. Until now, there have been 27,013 reported cases and 11,134 deaths. The origin of the virus is thought to have been a zoonotic transmission from a bat to a two-year-old boy in December 2013 (ref. 2). From this index case the virus was spread by human-to-human contact throughout Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. However, the origin of the particular virus in each country and time of transmission is not known and currently relies on epidemiological analysis, which may be unreliable owing to the difficulties of obtaining patient information. Here we trace the genetic evolution of EBOV in the current outbreak that has resulted in multiple lineages. Deep sequencing of 179 patient samples processed by the European Mobile Laboratory, the first diagnostics unit to be deployed to the epicentre of the outbreak in Guinea, reveals an epidemiological and evolutionary history of the epidemic from March 2014 to January 2015. Analysis of EBOV genome evolution has also benefited from a similar sequencing effort of patient samples from Sierra Leone. Our results confirm that the EBOV from Guinea moved into Sierra Leone, most likely in April or early May. The viruses of the Guinea/Sierra Leone lineage mixed around June/July 2014. Viral sequences covering August, September and October 2014 indicate that this lineage evolved independently within Guinea. These data can be used in conjunction with epidemiological information to test retrospectively the effectiveness of control measures, and provides an unprecedented window into the evolution of an ongoing viral haemorrhagic fever outbreak.status: publishe

AN ASSESSMENT OF URBAN AGRICULTURAL LAND USE CHANGES USING GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION SYSTEM: A CASE STUDY OF JOS-BUKURU

The urban agricultural land use change of Jos-Bukuru between 1961 and 2002 is assessed. The aim is to generate relevant, accurate and timely data that would enhance the quality of decisions and actions in an attempt to ensure the survival, expansion and the sustainability of urban agricultural land use. A geospatial information system approach was adopted in the mapping and assessment of urban agricultural land use change in the study area Topographic map of Jos-Bukuru urban at the scale of 1:50000, Landsat TM image of 1986 and 2002 with spatial resolution of 30m, among others. Data conversion, digitizing, editing, analysis was carried out using ILWIS 3.2 and Arc-View 3.2 software. The study reveals among others that agricultural land use increased substantially between 1961 and 1986. However, between 1986 and 2002, about 63% of agricultural land was lost. Out of this, about 68% was lost to urban development. The percentage increase in urban in urban expansion was 3.5% from 1961 to 1986 and 3.8% from 1986 to 2002. While the percentage in urban agricultural land use between 1986 and 2002 was 3.9%. Overall, while urban spatial expansion is increasing agricultural land use is decreasing. The study recommends among others that urban agricultural land use should be made a legitimate in urban expansion planning; specific agricultural practices should be zoned to specific locations within the city; and, that urban farming should be incorporated into the poverty alleviation programme of the Federal governmen

Metagenomic sequencing at the epicenter of the Nigeria 2018 Lassa fever outbreak

Supporting data associated with a paper titled "Metagenomic sequencing at the epicenter of the Nigeria 2018 Lassa fever outbreak". It contains metadata of the 120 samples sequenced (Data S1) and Identifiers and Bioproject numbers of the 2012 to 2017 LASV sequences (Data S2)

Phylogeography of Lassa Virus in Nigeria

Lassa virus is genetically diverse with several lineages circulating in West Africa. This study aimed at describing the sequence variability of Lassa virus across Nigeria and inferring its spatiotemporal evolution. We sequenced and isolated 77 Lassa virus strains from 16 Nigerian states. The final data set, including previous works, comprised metadata and sequences of 219 unique strains sampled between 1969 and 2018 in 22 states. Most of this data originated from Lassa fever patients diagnosed at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo State, Nigeria. The majority of sequences clustered with the main Nigerian lineages II and III, while a few sequences formed a new cluster related to Lassa virus strains from Hylomyscus pamfi Within lineages II and III, seven and five sublineages, respectively, were distinguishable. Phylogeographic analysis suggests an origin of lineage II in the southeastern part of the country around Ebonyi State and a main vector of dispersal toward the west across the Niger River, through Anambra, Kogi, Delta, and Edo into Ondo State. The frontline of virus dispersal appears to be in Ondo. Minor vectors are directed northeast toward Taraba and Adamawa and south toward Imo and Rivers. Lineage III might have spread from northern Plateau State into Kaduna, Nasarawa, Federal Capital Territory, and Bauchi. One sublineage moved south and crossed the Benue River into Benue State. This study provides a geographic mapping of lineages and phylogenetic clusters in Nigeria at a higher resolution. In addition, we estimated the direction and time frame of virus dispersal in the country.IMPORTANCE Lassa virus is the causative agent of Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic fever with a case fatality rate of approximately 30% in Africa. Previous studies disclosed a geographical pattern in the distribution of Lassa virus strains and a westward movement of the virus across West Africa during evolution. Our study provides a deeper understanding of the geography of genetic lineages and sublineages of the virus in Nigeria. In addition, we modeled how the virus spread in the country. This knowledge allows us to predict into which geographical areas the virus might spread in the future and prioritize areas for Lassa fever surveillance. Our study not only aimed to generate Lassa virus sequences from across Nigeria but also to isolate and conserve the respective viruses for future research. Both isolates and sequences are important for the development and evaluation of medical countermeasures to treat and prevent Lassa fever, such as diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.status: publishe