Micronutrient Deficiencies, Nutritional Status and the Determinants of Anemia in Children 0-59 Months of Age and Non-Pregnant Women of Reproductive Age in The Gambia.

Data on micronutrient deficiency prevalence, nutrition status, and risk factors of anemia in The Gambia is scanty. To fill this data gap, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1354 children (0-59 months), 1703 non-pregnant women (NPW; 15-49 years), and 158 pregnant women (PW). The survey assessed the prevalence of under and overnutrition, anemia, iron deficiency (ID), iron deficiency anemia (IDA), vitamin A deficiency (VAD), and urinary iodine concentration (UIC). Multivariate analysis was used to assess risk factors of anemia. Among children, prevalence of anemia, ID, IDA, and VAD was 50.4%, 59.0%, 38.2%, and 18.3%, respectively. Nearly 40% of anemia was attributable to ID. Prevalence of stunting, underweight, wasting, and small head circumference was 15.7%, 10.6%, 5.8%, and 7.4%, respectively. Among NPW, prevalence of anemia, ID, IDA and VAD was 50.9%, 41.4%, 28.0% and 1.8%, respectively. Anemia was significantly associated with ID and vitamin A insufficiency. Median UIC in NPW and PW was 143.1 µg/L and 113.5 ug/L, respectively. Overall, 18.3% of NPW were overweight, 11.1% obese, and 15.4% underweight. Anemia is mainly caused by ID and poses a severe public health problem. To tackle both anemia and ID, programs such as fortification or supplementation should be intensified

Prevalence and co-existence of cardiometabolic risk factors and associations with nutrition-related and socioeconomic indicators in a national sample of Gambian women.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are on the rise in Sub-Saharan Africa, and a large proportion of the adult population is thought to suffer from at least one cardiometabolic risk factor. This study assessed cardiometabolic risk factors and the contribution of nutrition-related indicators in Gambian women. The prevalence and co-existence of diabetes (elevated glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c ≥ 6.5%) or prediabetes (HbA1c ≥ 5.7% to  3 mg/L or alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) > 1 g/L) and the contribution of nutrition related and socioeconomic indicators were measured in non-pregnant women 15-49 years of age in the Gambia using data from a nationally representative cross-sectional stratified survey. Nationally, 54.5% (95% CI: 47.4, 61.4) of 1407 women had elevated HbA1c. Of these, 14.9% were diabetic and 85.1% were prediabetic. Moreover, 20.8% (95% CI 17.8, 20.0) of 1685 women had hypertension, 11.1% (95% CI 9.0, 13.7) of 1651 were obese and 17.2% (95% CI 5.1, 19.6) of 1401 had inflammation. At least one of the aforementioned cardiometabolic risk factor was present in 68.3% (95% CI 63.0, 73.1) of women. Obesity increased the risk of hypertension (aRR 1.84; 95% CI 1.40, 2.41), diabetes (aRR 1.91; 95% CI 1.29, 2.84), elevated HbA1c (aRR 1.31; 95% CI 1.14, 1.51) and inflammation (aRR 3.47; 95% CI 2.61, 4.61). Inflammation increased the risk of hypertension (aRR 1.42; 95% CI 1.14, 1.78). Aging increased the risk of hypertension, obesity and inflammation. Further, inadequate sanitation increased the risk for diabetes (aRR 1.65; 95% CI 1.17, 2.34) and iron deficiency increased the risk of elevated HbA1c (aRR 1.21; 95% CI 1.09, 1.33). The high prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors and their co-existence in Gambian women is concerning. Although controlling obesity seems to be key, multifaceted strategies to tackle the risk factors separately are warranted to reduce the prevalence or minimize the risk of CVD

The role of cultivated versus wild seeds in the diet of European turtle doves (Streptopelia turtur) across European breeding and African wintering grounds

Agricultural intensification is a major driver in species declines, with changes in land use resulting in widespread alteration of resource availability. An increase in anthropogenic food resources, alongside decreasing natural resources, has resulted in species undergoing dietary changes that can have important ecological consequences, particularly for declining species. Here we use high-throughput sequencing to analyze the diet of the migrant European turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur), a species that has experienced significant population decline throughout its European range. We analyze the diet of this species on both breeding and wintering grounds to gain an understanding of resource use throughout the annual cycle and compare areas of more and less intensive agriculture in western and eastern Europe, respectively. We examine associations with body condition, spatiotemporal variation and the source of food (wild or cultivated). We identified 121 taxonomic units in the diet, with significant variation across sampling seasons, and very little overlap between the breeding and wintering seasons, as well as high levels of cultivated food resources in the diet of turtle doves in both breeding and wintering grounds, with the highest proportion of wild seeds in the diet occurring in birds caught in Hungary, where agricultural intensity was lowest. We detected no association between body condition and the consumption of cultivated food resources. We demonstrate the importance of wild resources in birds on the wintering grounds as they approach migration, where body condition increased as the season progressed, concurrent with an increased consumption of wild seeds. These findings indicate the importance of habitats rich in wild seeds and the need to consider food availability on the wintering grounds, as well as the breeding grounds in turtle dove conservation strategies

Influenza-like illnesses in senegal: not only focus on influenza viruses.

International audienceInfluenza surveillance in African countries was initially restricted to the identification of circulating strains. In Senegal, the network has recently been enhanced (i) to include epidemiological data from Dakar and other regions and (ii) to extend virological surveillance to other respiratory viruses. Epidemiological data from the sentinel sites is transmitted daily by mobile phone. The data include those for other febrile syndromes similar to influenza-like illnesses (ILI), corresponding to integrated approach. Also, clinical samples are randomly selected and analyzed for influenza and other respiratory viruses. There were 101,640 declared visits to the 11 sentinel sites between week 11-2012 and week 35-2013; 22% of the visits were for fever syndromes and 23% of the cases of fever syndrome were ILI. Influenza viruses were the second most frequent cause of ILI (20%), after adenoviruses (21%) and before rhinoviruses (18%) and enteroviruses (15%). Co-circulation and co-infection were frequent and were responsible for ILI peaks. The first months of implementation of the enhanced surveillance system confirmed that viruses other the influenza make large contributions to influenza-like illnesses. It is therefore important to consider these etiologies in the development of strategies to reduce respiratory infections. More informative tools and research studies are required to assess the burden of respiratory infections in developing countries

Virus co-infections between week 11-2012 and week 35-2013 in Senegal.

<p>Virus co-infections between week 11-2012 and week 35-2013 in Senegal.</p

Distribution of the visits and syndromes counts and percentage, by sentinel sites, from opening date to week 35-2013 included.

<p>* number of visit by sentinel site reported to the number of all the visits.</p><p>** number of syndromes reported to the number of visits by sentinel site.</p><p>*** number of syndromes reported to the number of febril syndromes by sentinel site.</p><p># number of confirmed malaria cases reported to the number of the suspected malaria cases by sentinel site.</p

Data from Dakar by week, 2012–2013.

<p>Data from Dakar by week, 2012–2013.</p

Location of the sentinel sites in Senegal 2013.

<p>Location of the sentinel sites in Senegal 2013.</p

Mean daily visit counts in the sentinel surveillance network in Senegal and daily sentinel surveillance time series plots (%) of total visits for fever, daily visit counts and total ILI for daily total fever syndromes with the moving average (over 10 days – red curve), from Week 11-2012 to Week 35-2013.

<p>Mean daily visit counts in the sentinel surveillance network in Senegal and daily sentinel surveillance time series plots (%) of total visits for fever, daily visit counts and total ILI for daily total fever syndromes with the moving average (over 10 days – red curve), from Week 11-2012 to Week 35-2013.</p

Virus distribution according with sentinel sites between week 11-2012 and week 35-2013 in Senegal.

<p>Virus distribution according with sentinel sites between week 11-2012 and week 35-2013 in Senegal.</p