Current status of Colletotrichum capsici strains, causal agents of Brown blotch disease of cowpea in Burkina Faso

Brown blotch disease, caused by Colletotrichum capsici, is an important disease of cowpea with a significant yield losses ranging from 42 to 100% in West Africa. In this study, a specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primer set CC1F1/CcapR was used to characterize and to study the phylogenetic relationship of thirty eight strains of Colletotrichum species. This primer set is capable of amplifying only C. capsici from different fungal structures and provide a powerful tool for C. capsici detection in brown blotch disease in cowpea. Phylogenetic analysis from neighbor-joining (NJ) showed a high genetic variability in the rDNA-ITS region of the isolates. The isolates formed four groups or clusters on the basis of specific fragment analysis. Groups I, II, and III consist of strains containing specific region length of twenty one nucleotides and were considered as variant 1 of C. capsici. Group IV was a heterogeneous and consists of variants 1, 2, 3, and 4 of C. capsici.Keywords: Cultivars, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence, Colletotrichum specie

Aspects épidémiologiques et étiologiques des affections pulmonaires d’origine parasitaire et fongique en milieu hospitalier à Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)

Dans le souci de déterminer l’aspect épidémiologique et étiologique des affections pulmonaires d’origines parasitaire et fongique, une étude prospective transversale a été réalisée en milieu hospitalier à Ouagadougou de novembre 2012 en mai 2013, sur 103 patients suspectés avoir la maladie. Les examens parasitologiques, mycologiques et immunologiques ont été effectués selon les indications des prescripteurs, sur des prélèvements du liquide de lavage broncho-alvéolaire, du liquide pleural, des expectorations et du sang. A l’issue de ces examens, 59,2% des patients confirmés porteurs de parasites et/ou de mycètes dans leur appareil pulmonaire avec une prédominance des cultivateurs (26,2%) ont été détectés. Les hommes étaient les plus touchés avec un sex-ratio de 1,9. Parmi les antécédents médicaux, il y a eu une fréquence élevée des sujets à sérologie VIH positive. Trois parasites et 71 souches de champignons ont été isolés dont 4 types de coinfections fongiques. Ces données de bases montrent que les parasites et les champignons provoquent une pathologie pulmonaire non spécifique sur le plan clinique, radiologique et endoscopique. Le contexte épidémiologique et biologique permet d’orienter le diagnostic. La confirmation est apportée par la mise en évidence directe ou par des arguments indirects sérologiques. Ce qui permet d’obtenir une guérison par un traitement adapté au germe en cause.Mots clés : Affection pulmonaire, parasites, champignons, Burkina Faso

Résultats De La Prise En Charge Des Urgences Chirurgicales Coliques Au Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Régional De Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso

But : Le but de cette étude était de déterminer les résultats de la prise en charge des lésions coliques au cours des urgences chirurgicales digestives. Patients etMéthode : il s’agissait d’une étude transversale descriptive sur 12 mois, réalisée de manière rétrospective entre le 1er janvier et le 31 décembre 2016 au centre hospitalier universitaire régional de Ouahigouya. Elle avait permis de colliger 34 cas de patients opérés pour une urgence chirurgicale colique présentant un syndrome occlusif ou un syndrome péritonéal et ayant un dossier clinique complet. Résultats : Les lésions coliques avaient représenté 8,65% des urgences chirurgicales digestives. Vingt-cinq patients étaient de sexe masculin et 9 de sexe féminin, soit un sex-ratio de 2,77. La moyenne d’âge était de 37 ans. Les principales étiologies étaient les volvulus coliques dans 35,3% et les tumeurs coliques dans 32,4 %. Le traitement chirurgical était fonction de la lésion retrouvée en peropératoire. Les résections coliques avec anastomose immédiate avaient représenté 67,6% des cas. Les suites opératoires avaient été simples dans 67,64%. Des complications post opératoires étaient notées dans 11 cas, soit une morbidité globale de 32,3%. La mortalité globale était de 23,5%. Conclusion : Les lésions coliques sont relativement fréquentes. Leurs étiologies restent dominées par les volvulus et les tumeurs coliques. Leur prise en charge est grevée d’une lourde mortalité imputable en grande partie à la nécrose intestinale, conséquence du retard diagnostique. L’amélioration du pronostic de ces lésions coliques repose sur une prise en charge précoce et adéquate des patients. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the results of the management of colonic lesions during digestive surgical emergencies. Patients and Method: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study over 12 months, carried out retrospectively between January1 and December 31, 2016 at the regional university hospital center of Ouahigouya. It made it possible to collect 34 cases of patients operated on for a colonic surgical emergency with occlusive syndrome or peritoneal syndrome and having a complete clinical record. Results: Colonic lesions represented 8.65% of digestive surgical emergencies. Twenty-five patients were male and 9 female, for a sex ratio of 2.77. The average age was 37 years old. The main etiologies were dominated by colonic volvulus in 35.3% and colonic tumors in 32.4%. Surgical treatment was based on the lesion found intraoperatively. Colon resections with immediate anastomosis represented 67.6% of cases. The postoperative operations were simple in 67.64%. Postoperative complications were noted in 11 cases, representing an overall morbidity of 32.3%. The overall mortality was 23.5%. Conclusion: Colonic lesions are relatively frequent. Their etiologies remain dominated by volvulus and colonic tumors. Their management is burdened with a heavy mortality largely due to intestinal necrosis, consequence of the diagnostic delay. Improving the prognosis of these colonic lesions is based on early and adequate patient management

Effect of sorghum seed treatment in Burkina Faso varies with baseline crop performance and geographical location

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a major subsistence crop throughout the region of Sahel. With the exception of seeds and labour, no agricultural inputs are in general used in sorghum production since the grain is of a relatively low commercial value and the risk of losing the crop to drought, flooding, etc. is substantial. A meta-analysis of 118 field experiments was carried out to identify conditions in which two protective seed treatments could support a yield increase of sorghum in Burkina Faso. The two treatments were: i) treatment with the pesticide Calthio C (thiram and chlorpyrifos) and ii) treatment with an aqueous extract from the plant clipta alba. Both treatments were found to produce a yield increase (Medians: Calthio C +199 kg ha-1, P<2x10-9; E. alba +90.5 kg ha-1 P<4x10-4). A strong relative effect of Calthio C on yield (+36%) was found for field experiments with a low baseline yield. A strong relative effect of E. alba extract on yield (+22%) was found for experiments with a low baseline of emergence. ANOVA of the 118 field tests showed that baseline crop performance (yield and emergence) and the effect of seed treatments were strongly linked to geographical location (twelve different villages included). Roots from sorghum in the village showing the strongest effect of both seed treatments (>40% yield increase) were found to carry a comparatively high load of the infectious ascomycetes: Fusarium equiseti, Macrophomina phaseolina and Curvularia lunata.Key Words: Curvularia lunata, Fusarium equiseti, Macrophomina phaseolina, Sorghum bicolo

Formulation of a Robust National Rural Sector Program in Burkina Faso: What new themes have emerged from the socio-economic and climate scenarios process?

Under the partnership initiated in 2015 between the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Permanent Secretariat for Coordination of Agricultural Sector Policies (SP-CPSA), in collaboration with other CGIAR research programs and centers, an analysis of the National Rural Sector Program (PNSR) based on the CCAFS socio-economic and climate scenarios was conducted with the effective participation of rural sector stakeholders in Burkina Faso. Twenty-two (22) recommendations were made to allow for the effective mainstreaming of plausible socio-economic, environmental and climatic factors in the near and distant future, that will make PNSR II more robust to face future uncertainties related to climate change, global dynamics, socio-economic changes, changes in norms and values, etc. In addition, an exercise with all the stakeholders helped in translating the said recommendations into new actions and themes to be taken into account when formulating PNSR II. Discussions between the stakeholders also underscored the need for crosscutting involvement of research in the implementation of the activities of PNSR II

Formulation d’un Programme National du Secteur Rural robuste au Burkina Faso : Quelles thématiques nouvelles issues du processus des scénarios socio- économiques et climatiques?

Dans le cadre du partenariat initié en 2015 entre le Programme de recherche du CGIAR sur le Changement Climatique, l’Agriculture et la Sécurité Alimentaire (CCAFS) et le Secrétariat Permanent de la Coordination des Politiques Sectorielles Agricoles (SP-CPSA), en collaboration avec d’autres programmes et centres de recherche du CGIAR, une analyse du Programme National du Secteur Rural (PNSR) fondée sur les scénarios socio-économiques et climatiques du CCAFS a pu être menée avec la participation effective des parties prenantes du secteur rural du Burkina Faso. Les 22 recommandations qui en sont issues devraient permettre une prise en compte effective des facteurs socio- économiques, environnementaux et climatiques plausibles dans le futur proche et lointain, et ainsi aider à rendre le PNSR II plus robuste face aux incertitudes futures liées au changement climatique, aux dynamiques mondiales, aux évolutions socioéconomiques, aux changements des normes et valeurs, etc. En outre, un exercice avec l’ensemble des acteurs impliqués a consisté à traduire lesdites recommandations en actions et thématiques nouvelles à prendre en compte lors de la formulation du PNSR II. Les échanges entre acteurs ont également fait ressortir la nécessité d’une implication transversale de la recherche dans la mise en œuvre des activités de cet important outil politique qu’est le PNSR I

Shea (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn.) – a peripheral empire commodity in French West Africa, 1894–1960

Burkinabé women have traded shea kernels and shea butter in periodic local markets, and on a regional scale with the densely-populated West African littoral, for centuries. This paper traces the origins of French colonial efforts to develop shea as a commodity of empire from the 1890s to independence in 1960. Colonial effo rts to incorporate Upper Volta, a French colonial backwater, into the world economy was drawn out, heterogenous, and messy. The colonial state assumed erroneously that little shea trade existed, and that producers would respond positively to market incentives. Yet, we suggest that French colonial policies failed due to a composite of factors including the limited investment in either the colony or shea as an oilseed crop, adaptation by women shea producers to the extraction of male labour and the trade opportunities created by new international borders, and the ‘blindness’ of colonial officials to the economic, social and cultural functions of periodic local markets used by women shea traders. The historical trajectory of the shea trade continues to have implications for current-day shea markets and their actors

EFFECT OF SORGHUM SEED TREATMENT IN BURKINA FASO VARIES WITH BASELINE CROP PERFORMANCE AND GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

Sorghum [ Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a major subsistence crop throughout the region of Sahel. With the exception of seeds and labour, no agricultural inputs are in general used in sorghum production since the grain is of a relatively low commercial value and the risk of losing the crop to drought, flooding, etc. is substantial. A meta-analysis of 118 field experiments was carried out to identify conditions in which two protective seed treatments could support a yield increase of sorghum in Burkina Faso. The two treatments were: i) treatment with the pesticide Calthio C (thiram and chlorpyrifos) and ii) treatment with an aqueous extract from the plant Eclipta alba . Both treatments were found to produce a yield increase (Medians: Calthio C +199 kg ha-1, P<2x10-9; E. alba +90.5 kg ha-1 P<4x10-4). A strong relative effect of Calthio C on yield (+36%) was found for field experiments with a low baseline yield. A strong relative effect of E. alba extract on yield (+22%) was found for experiments with a low baseline of emergence. ANOVA of the 118 field tests showed that baseline crop performance (yield and emergence) and the effect of seed treatments were strongly linked to geographical location (twelve different villages included). Roots from sorghum in the village showing the strongest effect of both seed treatments (>40% yield increase) were found to carry a comparatively high load of the infectious ascomycetes: Fusarium equiseti , Macrophomina phaseolina and Curvularia lunata .Le sorgho [ Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] est une culture de subsistance de premi\ue8re importance dans toute la r\ue9gion du Sahel. Exception faite des semences et de la main-d\u2019oeuvre, aucun intrant agricole n\u2019est en g\ue9n\ue9ral utilis\ue9 dans la production \ue9tant donn\ue9 que le grain a une valeur commerciale relativement faible et le risque de perte de culture par la s\ue8cheresse, les inondations, etc. est \ue9lev\ue9. Une macro-analyse portant sur 118 essais au champ a \ue9t\ue9 effectu\ue9e pour d\ue9terminer les conditions selon lesquelles deux traitements de protection de semences pourraient soutenir une augmentation de rendement du sorgho au Burkina Faso. Les deux traitements ont \ue9t\ue9: 1) saupoudrage de semences avec le pesticide Calthio C (thirame et chlorpyrifos) et 2) trempage des semences dans un extrait aqueux de la plante Eclipta alba . Les deux traitements ont occasionn\ue9 un accroissement du rendement (valeurs m\ue9dianes: Calthio C +199 kg ha-1, P<2x10-9; E. alba +90.5 kg ha-1, P<4x10-4). Un effet relatif \ue9lev\ue9 du Calthio C sur le rendement (+36%) a \ue9t\ue9 not\ue9 pour les champs exp\ue9rimentaux ayant un rendement initial faible. Un effet relatif \ue9lev\ue9 de l\u2019extrait de E. alba sur le rendement (+22%) a \ue9t\ue9 not\ue9 pour les exp\ue9rimentations ayant une \ue9mergence initiale faible. L\u2019analyse de variance des 118 tests a montr\ue9 que la performance de la culture (rendement et \ue9mergence) et l\u2019effet du traitement des semences \ue9taient fortement li\ue9s \ue0 la localisation g\ue9ographique (12 villages diff\ue9rents impliqu\ue9s). Les racines des plantes dans le village ayant montr\ue9 le plus fort effet des deux traitements de semences (accroissement de rendement > 40%) portaient une charge relativement \ue9lev\ue9e d\u2019Ascomyc\ue8tes infectieux : Fusarium equiseti , Macrophomina phaseolina et Curvularia lunata

PLoS One

Objectives Mental health is a largely neglected issue among in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially among key populations at risk for HIV. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of psychological distress (PD) and to assess the factors associated among males who have sex with males (MSM), female sex workers (FSW) and drug users (DU) in Togo in 2017. Study design A cross-sectional bio-behavioral study was conducted in August and September 2017 using a respondent-driven sampling (RDS) method, in eight cities in Togo. Methods A standardized questionnaire was used to record sociodemographic characteristics and sexual behaviors. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and a subset of questions from the Tobacco Questions for Survey were used to assess alcohol and tobacco consumption respectively. PD was assessed with the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. A blood sample was taken to test for HIV. Descriptive statistics, univariable and multivariable ordinal regression models were used for analysis. Results A total of 2044 key populations including 449 DU, 952 FSW and 643 MSM with a median age of 25 years, interquartile range (IQR) [21–32] were recruited. The overall prevalence of mild PD among the three populations was 19.9% (95%CI = [18.3–21.8]) and was 19.2% (95%CI = [17.5–20.9]) for severe/moderate PD. HIV prevalence was 13.7% (95%CI = [12.2–15.2]). High age (≥ 25 years) [aOR = 1.24 (95% CI: 1.02–1.50)], being HIV positive [aOR = 1.80 (95% CI: 1.31–2.48)] and hazardous alcohol consumption [aOR = 1.52 (95% CI: 1.22–1.87)] were risk factors for PD. Secondary [aOR = 0.52 (95% CI: 0.42–0.64)] or higher [aOR = 0.46 (95% CI: 0.32–0.64)] education levels were protective factors associated with PD. FSW [OR = 0.55 (95% CI: 0.43–0.68)] and MSM [OR = 0.33 (95% CI: 0.24–0.44)] were less likely to report PD compared with DU. Conclusion and recommendations This is the first study conducted among a large, nationally representative sample of key populations in Togo. The prevalence of PD is high among these populations in Togo and was associated to HIV infection. The present study indicates that mental health care must be integrated within health programs in Togo with a special focus to key populations through interventions such as social support groups