Optimisation de la production de biométhane à partir des déchets organiques municipaux

La gestion des déchets municipaux est devenue une préoccupation majeure dans les pays en développement, due au manque de politique et de stratégie adaptées. L’étude réalisée a porté sur la valorisation biotechnologique de la fraction biodégradable des déchets au Burkina Faso. Une analyse physico-chimique des déchets échantillonnés dans trois (3) centres de précollecte de déchets municipaux de Ouagadougou a été réalisée. L’influence du type d’inoculum (eaux usées, bouse bovine, flux de broyat de termites et une mixture de ces 3 inocula) et de la charge en substrat (déchets organiques) a été évaluée au cours d’essais de fermentation méthanique. Les résultats obtenus ont montré que les déchets organiques municipaux constituent un substrat de prédilection pour la méthanisation avec un ratio C/N de 31,65. Les essais de fermentation ont permis de noter que la bouse bovine comme inoculum avec une charge en déchets municipaux de 2% donnait la meilleure production de biométhane (297,65 l CH4 / Kg MSV). Il ressort de cette étude que les déchets municipaux peuvent être traités par la voie de la biométhanisation car présentant un potentiel de bioconversion intéressant.© 2015 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Mots clés: Déchets organiques, digestion anaérobie, biométhane, environnement, Burkina FasoEnglish Title: Optimization of biomethane production from municipal solid organic wastesEnglish AbstractMunicipal solid organic wastes management became a major preoccupation. The achieved study focuses the biotechnological valorization of the biodegradable fraction of solid organic wastes in Burkina Faso.  Physicochemical characterization analysis of solid wastes sampled in 03 Ouagadougou’s centers of municipal wastes deposits was achieved. The influence of inoculum source (wastewater, bovine dung, termites’ homogenate and mixture) and substrate concentration (municipal solid waste) were evaluated during biomethane production tests. Results showed that organic fraction of solid wastes represent a source of predilection for methanization with 31.65 C/N cow. Fermentation tests showed that bovine dung used as inoculum in 2% of municipal solid waste gave the highest rate of biomethane production (297.65 l CH4 / Kg vs). The results demonstrate that municipal wastes can be valorized by biomethanization way because presenting interesting bioconversion potential.© 2015 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Organic wastes, anaerobic digestion, biomethane, environment, Burkina Fas

Contribution à la biométhanisation de la biomasse végétale: cas des résidus de légumes au Burkina Faso

La matière organique constitue une source de bioénergie par la voie de la digestion anaérobie. Le but de cette étude est de déterminer les paramètres physico-chimiques et les effets de l’inoculation ainsi que de la température sur la biométhanisation des résidus de légumes. Des échantillons de résidus de légumes collectés dans des localités différentes (restaurants universitaires et marchés de légumes) à Ouagadougou ont servi de substrat. L’étude des paramètres physico-chimiques a été réalisé à l’aide des méthodes standard (AOAC, APHA) et le biogaz produit a été analysé par chromatographie en phase gazeuse. Le pH, la matière sèche, la matière sèche volatile, les cendres, le carbone organique, les protéines, les lipides et les carbohydrates totaux ont été respectivement de 5,87; 11,78%; 80,46%; 1,3%; 46,68%; 10,02%; 9,95%; 60,67%. La composition en minéraux exprimée en mg/g de matière sèche était de 12,69 (Ca2+) ; 19,44 (Ka+) ; 11,05 (Na+) ; 1,608 (N) ; 3,92 (p) ; 0,97 (SO4 2-). L’effet de l’inoculum a été mis en évidence par une production nulle de CH4 à partir d’un temoin non inoculé. La température optimale de production de biométhane a été de 44 °C avec un rendement de 238 ml CH4/g de MS.© 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Mots clés: Déchets, légume, valorisation, biogaz, Burkina FasoEnglish Title: Contribution to the biometanation of plant biomass: case of vegetable residues in Burkina FasoEnglish AbstractOrganic material is a source of bioenergy through anaerobic digestion. The purpose of this study is to determine the physico-chemical parameters and the effects of inoculation as well as temperature on biomethanation of vegetable wastes. Samples of vegetable residues collected in different localities (canteens  and vegetable markets) in Ouagadougou were used as substrate. The study of physico-chemical parameters was performed using standard methods (AOAC, APHA) and biogas produced was analyzed by gas chromatography. pH, solids , volatile solids , ash, organic carbon , proteins , lipids and total carbohydrates were respectively 5.87 ; 11.78% ; 80.46 % ; 1.3% ; 46.68 % ; 10.02% ; 9.95% ; 60.67 %. The mineral composition expressed as mg/g dry matter was 12.69 (Ca2+); 19.44 (K+) ; 11.05 (Na+); 1.608 (N); 3.92 (p); 0.97 (SO42-). Inoculum effect was evidenced by no production of CH4 using an uninoculated control. The optimum temperature for biogas production was 44 °C in a yield of 238 ml CH4/g DM.© 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Waste, vegetables, valorization, Biogas, Burkina Fas

Comparison of the microbial composition of African fermented foods using amplicon sequencing

Fermented foods play a major role in the diet of people in Africa, where a wide variety of raw materials are fermented. Understanding the microbial populations of these products would help in the design of specific starter cultures to produce standardized and safer foods. In this study, the bacterial diversity of African fermented foods produced from several raw materials (cereals, milk, cassava, honey, palm sap, and locust beans) under different conditions (household, small commercial producers or laboratory) in 8 African countries was analysed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing during the Workshop “Analysis of the Microbiomes of Naturally Fermented Foods Training Course”. Results show that lactobacilli were less abundant in fermentations performed under laboratory conditions compared to artisanal or commercial fermentations. Excluding the samples produced under laboratory conditions, lactobacilli is one of the dominant groups in all the remaining samples. Genera within the order Lactobacillales dominated dairy, cereal and cassava fermentations. Genera within the order Lactobacillales, and genera Zymomonas and Bacillus were predominant in alcoholic beverages, whereas Bacillus and Lactobacillus were the dominant genera in the locust bean sample. The genus Zymomonas was reported for the first time in dairy, cereal, cassava and locust bean fermentations

Trends in Prevalence of Advanced HIV Disease at Antiretroviral Therapy Enrollment - 10 Countries, 2004-2015.

Monitoring prevalence of advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease (i.e., CD4+ T-cell count <200 cells/μL) among persons starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) is important to understand ART program outcomes, inform HIV prevention strategy, and forecast need for adjunctive therapies.*,†,§ To assess trends in prevalence of advanced disease at ART initiation in 10 high-burden countries during 2004-2015, records of 694,138 ART enrollees aged ≥15 years from 797 ART facilities were analyzed. Availability of national electronic medical record systems allowed up-to-date evaluation of trends in Haiti (2004-2015), Mozambique (2004-2014), and Namibia (2004-2012), where prevalence of advanced disease at ART initiation declined from 75% to 34% (p<0.001), 73% to 37% (p<0.001), and 80% to 41% (p<0.001), respectively. Significant declines in prevalence of advanced disease during 2004-2011 were observed in Nigeria, Swaziland, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. The encouraging declines in prevalence of advanced disease at ART enrollment are likely due to scale-up of testing and treatment services and ART-eligibility guidelines encouraging earlier ART initiation. However, in 2015, approximately a third of new ART patients still initiated ART with advanced HIV disease. To reduce prevalence of advanced disease at ART initiation, adoption of World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended "treat-all" guidelines and strategies to facilitate earlier HIV testing and treatment are needed to reduce HIV-related mortality and HIV incidence

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

Long-term cellular immunity of vaccines for Zaire Ebola Virus Diseases

Recent Ebola outbreaks underscore the importance of continuous prevention and disease control efforts. Authorized vaccines include Merck’s Ervebo (rVSV-ZEBOV) and Johnson & Johnson’s two-dose combination (Ad26.ZEBOV/MVA-BN-Filo). Here, in a five-year follow-up of the PREVAC randomized trial (NCT02876328), we report the results of the immunology ancillary study of the trial. The primary endpoint is to evaluate long-term memory T-cell responses induced by three vaccine regimens: Ad26–MVA, rVSV, and rVSV–booster. Polyfunctional EBOV-specific CD4+ T-cell responses increase after Ad26 priming and are further boosted by MVA, whereas minimal responses are observed in the rVSV groups, declining after one year. In-vitro expansion for eight days show sustained EBOV-specific T-cell responses for up to 60 months post-prime vaccination with both Ad26-MVA and rVSV, with no decline. Cytokine production analysis identify shared biomarkers between the Ad26-MVA and rVSV groups. In secondary endpoint, we observed an elevation of pro-inflammatory cytokines at Day 7 in the rVSV group. Finally, we establish a correlation between EBOV-specific T-cell responses and anti-EBOV IgG responses. Our findings can guide booster vaccination recommendations and help identify populations likely to benefit from revaccination