Production of animal protein in the Congo Basin, a challenge for the future of people and wildlife

peer reviewedProtein needs are considerable in the Congo Basin, a vast territory dominated by forest and inhabited by tens of millions of people. Whereas over 85% of the DRC’s population of the Basin live in the forest, the situation is different in other countries where the majority is urban (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo and Gabon). This paper presents several achievements of the Centre for Tropical Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine in Kinshasa (CAVTK), which aims since 2001 to conduct pilot projects in animal husbandry and agriculture, highlighting the skills of the Belgian universities, breeders and entrepreneurs. Different production runs are presented, going from the cattle ranching operations in Katanga, poultry breeding in Bas-Congo, through rabbits in Butembo, mini-livestock and insects

Contamination of dairy products by mycotoxins: a public health risk for sub-Saharian Africa

Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites produced by some fungi developing on several agricultural commodities. In sub-Saharan Africa, the recent changes in feeding practices increase the risk of contamination for dairy cattle and subsequently the passage of mycotoxins in the food chain. Aflatoxins are the major mycotoxins known to enter into milk and many milk-based foods. The naturally occurring aflatoxin B is (bio-) transformed by mammals into various metabolites including the aflatoxin M excreted in milk. Food processing aiming at long term food storage (sterilization, pasteurisation, freeze-drying.) do not alter, or only slightly, the toxicity of aflatoxins. The best option to reduce milk contamination is to prevent the introduction of contaminated feed in the dairy cattle diet. Very little information is available on the flux and modifications of mycotoxins (synthesis, alteration, dilution or concentration) during the processing of milk and milk-based products. Therefore this field of research is given a high priority by the scientific community

Opinion paper: the role of work in the management of medically unexplained physical symptoms

OBJECTIVES: Patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms suffer from chronic fatigue and/or pain in combination with a variety of other symptoms. A flexible, biopsychosocial approach is needed for diagnostic screening and global management. It is crucial to involve the direct patient environment, including family, friends, colleagues as well as health providers, evaluation, and reintegration sector. The aim of this paper is to review the importance of work in the management of medically unexplained physical symptoms. METHODS: In this paper, different actors involved explain their views and handling concerning work in the management of MUPS. RESULTS: Symptom severity and lack of understanding from the environment can negatively impact on earning an independent income from labor for years. Work, whether or not paid, is however, an important life domain with positive effects on physical, psychological, and social well-being. Therefore, health actors are pivotal in starting the professional reintegration process as soon as possible and should discuss this item from the early stage onward. Support services can be consulted in mutual interaction as required. A case manager, acting as a central intermediator within this multidisciplinary approach, may promote effective communication and coordination between the patients and their surrounding actors. CONCLUSION: The professional reintegration process should start as soon as possible within the management of medically unexplained physical symptoms. As such, the care sector, the evaluation sector, and the professional integration sector should collaborate and effectively communicate with each other.status: publishe

Opinion paper: the role of work in the management of medically unexplained physical symptoms

Objectives: Patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms suffer from chronic fatigue and/or pain in combination with a variety of other symptoms. A flexible, biopsychosocial approach is needed for diagnostic screening and global management. It is crucial to involve the direct patient environment, including family, friends, colleagues as well as health providers, evaluation, and reintegration sector. The aim of this paper is to review the importance of work in the management of medically unexplained physical symptoms. Methods: In this paper, different actors involved explain their views and handling concerning work in the management of MUPS. Results: Symptom severity and lack of understanding from the environment can negatively impact on earning an independent income from labor for years. Work, whether or not paid, is however, an important life domain with positive effects on physical, psychological, and social well-being. Therefore, health actors are pivotal in starting the professional reintegration process as soon as possible and should discuss this item from the early stage onward. Support services can be consulted in mutual interaction as required. A case manager, acting as a central intermediator within this multidisciplinary approach, may promote effective communication and coordination between the patients and their surrounding actors. Conclusion: The professional reintegration process should start as soon as possible within the management of medically unexplained physical symptoms. As such, the care sector, the evaluation sector, and the professional integration sector should collaborate and effectively communicate with each other

Genetic improvement of tropical breeds by local breeds of Wallonia.

As part of the genetic improvement of production, selection of breeds (purebred selection) on the one hand and crossbreeding, exploiting the complementarity between breeds and hybrid vigor or heterosis other hand, are methods choice used by animal husbandry. The pure breeding as practiced in the developed world, based on the individual performance of breeding as well as the placement of the offspring, uses expensive infrastructure and significant human resources. In addition, genetic progress is slow and must be sustained effort. For all these reasons, in the less favored regions of the world, although the intra-breed selection is operational, most stakeholders are most often uses the crossbreeding technique leading to immediate results and protecting local breeds. Thus, in dairy cattle, many countries have used the Holstein, Brown in the Alps, and the Montbéliarde Normande with varying success. In the meat sector, in cattle, swine and sheep, as well as in the area of ​​poultry meat, crossing indigenous breeds with exotic breeds imported leads to interesting results. In the Walloon Region, due to the hard work of breeders, animals have emerged exceptional and, in cattle, swine and sheep, they are in fact, more muscular animals in the world. Thus, bulls Belgian Blue reared under natural conditions, have average daily gains as high as 2000 g / d with yields close to slaughter 70% Pietrain pigs reach values ​​of the performance slaughter of around 83% and the yield values ​​as high as 59% were observed in Texel sheep. All these animals have the characteristic of being very efficient while presenting carcasses with more muscle, less fat and less bone. As for local poultry type Ardennaise, it has remarkable phenotypes leading to immediate traceability (black members), more than 150 eggs per clutch and a darker meat.The author gives in detail examples of the use of crossbreeding with cattle, sheep, pig and poultry all originated from the Walloon Region of Belgium