Analyse de la prise en charge du nouveau-né dans le cadre de la stratégie nationale de subvention des accouchements et des soins obstétricaux et néonatals d’urgence au Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pédiatrique Charles de Gaulle, Ouagadougou (Burkina Fa

Introduction: il s'agit d'analyser la prise en charge du nouveau-né dans le cadre de la stratégie na-tionale de subvention des accouchements etdes soins obstétricaux et néonatals d'urgence mis en place par le  gouvernement du Burkina Faso en 2006. Méthodes: nous avons menée une étude à visée descriptive et analytique comportant un volet  ré-trospectif du 01 janvier 2006 au 31 décembre 2010 portant sur les paramètres épidémiologiques, cliniques des nouveau-nés hospitalisés et un volet prospectif du 3 octobre 2011 au 29 février 2012 par une entrevue des accompagnateurs des nouveau-nés et des prestataires des services de santé. Résultats: les hospitalisations ont augmenté de 43,65% entre 2006à 2010 Le taux de mortalité néo-natale hospitalière qui était de 11,04% a connu une réduction moyenne annuelle de 3,95%. L'entrevue a porté sur 110 accompagnateurs et 76 prestataires. La majorité des prestataires (97,44%) et des ac-compagnateurs (88,18%) étaient informés de la  stratégie mais n'avait pas une connaissance exacte de sa définition. Les prestataires (94,74%) ont signalé des ruptures de médicaments,   consommables médicaux et des pannes d' appareils de laboratoire et  d'imagerie. Parmi les accompagnateurs (89%) disaient être satisfaits desservices offerts et (72,89%) trouvaient les coûts abordables mais   évoquaient les difficultés du transport. Conclusion : La subvention a amélioré la prise en charge du nou-veau-né mais son optimisation  nécessiterait une meilleur information et implication de tous les acteurs

Livestock keepers’ attitudes: Keystone of effective community-based breeding programs

Livestock keepers in southwestern Burkina Faso hold the local Lobi taurine breed, local Zebu cattle, and their crosses. Some communities in the region have begun to implement community-based cattle breeding programs (CBBPs), which involve animal tagging and recording and, potentially, also bull sharing. Based on the hypothesis that the participation of livestock keepers in CBBPs depends on their attitudes towards these programs, we used questionnaires to survey the attitudes of 125 farmers towards cattle breeding strategies and tools. Results were analyzed using principal component analysis. Farmers showed a highly positive attitude towards maintaining the features of their preferred cattle breed, but their attitudes varied substantially towards crossbreeding for breed improvement. Farmers generally agreed that performance was more important than animal appearance, and most of them were willing to cooperate with breeders’ associations but were skeptical about sharing their bulls with other farmers. The majority was reluctant to record performance data, which may be due to a capacity deficit and their confidence in being able to select the best animals based purely on phenotype. Our analysis suggests that breeders’ associations, as a key component of CBBPs, should lay down clear rules and obligations for their members from the outset. Timely consideration of farmers’ attitudes towards different breeding tools may improve their uptake and guarantee the sustainability of CBBPs

Disease Progression in MRL/lpr Lupus-Prone Mice Is Reduced by NCS 613, a Specific Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterase Type 4 (PDE4) Inhibitor

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a polymorphic and multigenic inflammatory autoimmune disease. Cyclic AMP (cAMP) modulates inflammation and the inhibition of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE4), which specifically hydrolyzes cAMP, inhibits TNFα secretion. This study was aimed at investigating the evolution of PDE activity and expression levels during the course of the disease in MRL/lpr lupus-prone mice, and to evaluate in these mice the biological and clinical effects of treatments with pentoxifylline, denbufylline and NCS 613 PDE inhibitors. This study reveals that compared to CBA/J control mice, kidney PDE4 activity of MRL/lpr mice increases with the disease progression. Furthermore, it showed that the most potent and selective PDE4 inhibitor NCS 613 is also the most effective molecule in decreasing proteinuria and increasing survival rate of MRL/lpr mice. NCS 613 is a potent inhibitor, which is more selective for the PDE4C subtype (IC50 = 1.4 nM) than the other subtypes (PDE4A, IC50 = 44 nM; PDE4B, IC50 = 48 nM; and PDE4D, IC50 = 14 nM). Interestingly, its affinity for the High Affinity Rolipram Binding Site is relatively low (Ki = 148 nM) in comparison to rolipram (Ki = 3 nM). Finally, as also observed using MRL/lpr peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs), NCS 613 inhibits basal and LPS-induced TNFα secretion from PBLs of lupus patients, suggesting a therapeutic potential of NCS 613 in systemic lupus. This study reveals that PDE4 represent a potential therapeutic target in lupus disease

Assessing knowledge, beliefs and practices related to the consumption of sheep and goat meat in Senegal

A Rapid Integrated Assessment (RIA) of nutrition and health risks and benefits was carried out in 2013 in sheep and goat agri-food systems in urban and rural Senegal. This included: i) testing small ruminants (n = 384) for brucellosis, ii) focus group discussions of mothers covering knowledge, attitude and practices related to preparation and consumption of animal source food. No antibodies to Brucella melitensis, the presumed priority zoonotic pathogen, were found. Comparing the more traditional, livestock-keeping community with the urban, less livestock-dependent community, we found: urban diets were more diverse, relied more on fish versus livestock products, and used modern products such as yoghurts. Attitudes and beliefs around nutrition and health, strongly shaped the consumption of animal source foods in these contexts

Implementation of community-based cattle breeding programs in Burkina Faso

Community-based breeding programs (CBBP), are being implemented in the South-West of Burkina Faso. CBBP are participatory programs that involve all local stakeholders in all steps, from designing and planning of the breeding program, all the way to the selection of the breeding stock. They aim to improve local cattle breeds. The breeding program has been implemented in three sites. Cattle types included in the program are the pure Lobi (Baoulé) cattle in one site and Lobi x Zebu crossbreds in the other two. The program pursues the main interest of farmers to have bigger animals which are tolerant to trypanosomosis. In the he first round of selection, young bulls, aged three to five years, were recorded twice, at an interval of 6 months. The project team grouped bulls into three groups (top, medium, inferior) based on an index combining current body weight and growth. Selection committees consisting of male and female cattle owners made their choice of best young bulls based on this information and their own criteria. The three best bulls selected by the committees were only partly from the top groups based on preliminary grouping of the project team. Decision was taken by the farmers which bulls to keep for breeding and which ones to castrate or sell out, to avoid undesired mating. Joint use of bulls and bull exchange are still being negotiated by farmers, as it is not a customary practice in the region. Farmers were open and appreciated the concept very much. They understood that CBBP are long term and committed their efforts and participation

Values and beliefs that shape cattle breeding in southwestern Burkina Faso

Cattle production in southwestern Burkina Faso is under pressure because of resource scarcity, changing climate, and cattle diseases. Well-adapted local breeds, such as Lobi taurine cattle, are increasingly replaced by more productive exotic breeds. Community-based breeding programs (CBBPs) could be a viable option for preserving the breed and improving its productivity. Presuming that CBBPs would succeed only if they align with producers’ beliefs and values, we relied on a combination of conceptual frameworks (theory of basic values, rural livelihood transitions) to explore the values and beliefs of cattle producers. Security was the respondents’ dominant value in their aim to mitigate threats to livelihood, and it was closely linked to achievement in terms of harvest and animal quantity. Livestock-oriented respondents particularly valued conformity with accepted social roles, while achievement and power were more pronounced among crop-oriented respondents. We conclude that CBBPs, to be successful, will need to reduce threats to participants’ livelihood and make benefits of participation immediately visible. We consider the emergence of trusted leadership from the community to be pivotal for creating momentum for novel arrangements in cattle keeping and feeding

Genetic improvement of local cattle breeds in West Africa: A review of breeding programs

Cattle are one of the most important livestock species in West Africa, providing multiple services to farmers and contributing to national economies. Various breeding strategies have been implemented to enhance their productivity and have improved farmer livelihoods. This review describes cattle breeding experiences across West Africa, spanning the N’Dama breed in Mali, Senegal, and The Gambia to the breeds Azawak Zebu, Fulani Zebu, and taurine Baoulé in Burkina Faso. The main objectives of most breeding programs have been to optimize meat and milk performance of taurine and Zebu cattle as well as trypanotolerance of taurine cattle. In some cases, “closed nucleus” schemes have proven limited and so have evolved into “open nucleus” schemes. Recent community-based breeding programs have shown promise. The major challenges of breeding programs remain defining realistic breeding objectives and securing the involvement of stakeholders. All the strategies reviewed here have been funded externally within development or research projects that are often too short to yield tangible genetic improvement, and whether they will continue beyond those projects is uncertain. This review highlights the need for continuing government support to ensure the sustainability of local cattle breeding programs

Genome-wide association study of trypanosome prevalence and morphometric traits in purebred and crossbred Baoulé cattle of Burkina Faso

In this study, single-SNP GWAS analyses were conducted to find regions affecting tolerance against trypanosomosis and morphometrics traits in purebred and crossbred Baoulé cattle of Burkina Faso. The trypanosomosis status (positive and negative) and a wide set of morphological traits were recorded for purebred Baoulé and crossbred Zebu x Baoulé cattle, and genotyped with the Illumina Bovine SNP50 BeadChip. After quality control, 36,203 SNPs and 619 animals including 343 purebred Baoulé and 279 crossbreds were used for the GWAS analyses. Several important genes were found that can influence morphological parameters. Although there were no genes identified with a reported strong connection to size traits, many of them were previously identified in various growth-related studies. A re-occurring theme for the genes residing in the regions identified by the most significant SNPs was pleiotropic effect on growth of the body and the cardiovascular system. Regarding trypanosomosis tolerance, two potentially important regions were identified in purebred Baoulé on chromosomes 16 and 24, containing the CFH, CRBN, TRNT1 and, IL5RA genes, and one additional genomic region in Baoulé, x Zebu crossbreds on chromosome 5, containing MGAT4C and NTS. Almost all of these regions and genes were previously related to the trait of interest, while the CRBN gene was to our knowledge presented in the context of trypanosomiasis tolerance for the first time