Effets du remplacement de la farine de poisson par les termites (Macrotermes Sp.) sur l’evolution ponderale et les caracteristiques de carcasse de la volaille locale au Burkina Faso

The high cost and the accessibility of animal protein sources is a major issue in poultry farming in Burkina Faso. The present study aimed to assess the suitability of two termite species as feed for traditional chicken (Gallus domesticus) and guinea fowl (Numida meleagris), comparatively to commercial fishmeal available in this country. The study was carried out during eight weeks in Burkina Faso on ninety chickens and ninety guinea fowls, sixteen weeks old. Two termite species (dry Macrotermes subhyalinus and fresh Macrotermes bellicosus) and commercial fishmeal for poultry feed formulation that is available in the country were used as animal protein ingredients in three feeding management regimes. The birds were allocated to the three feeding treatments, with two replicates per treatment: i) treatment 1 (R1) with a diet including 2.5% of dried termites; ii) treatment 2 (R2) diet with no animal protein ingredient included, but with fresh termites given separately and the amount was depending on the daily capture; iii) treatment 3 (R3) diet including 2.5% of fishmeal. The results showed an average daily feed consumption of 65.5 g per bird. Average daily gain (ADG) for chickens was 7.7 g, 7.8 g and 7.5 g for treatment R1, R2 and R3, respectively. ADG for guinea fowl was 5.64g, 5.34 g and 5.35 g for R1, R2 and R3, respectively. Carcass characteristics studied on male guinea fowl showed a mean carcass percentage of 66.4%. Data on the taste and tenderness showed that R1 and R2 gave a better taste to guinea fowl meat, while R3 and R2 gave more tender meat. Average dry matter contents of the thighs were 42.4%, 41.8% and 40.6% for the groups R1, R2 and R3, respectively. No significant difference (p>0.05) was observed between treatments for all the parameters. Thus, dry and fresh Macrotermes spp. can be suitable animal protein ingredients that can substitute fishmeal in traditional chickens and guinea fowl feeding in rural area.Keywords: termites, fishmeal, feeding, local poultry, live weight performances, Burkina Fas

Diversité faunique et distribution des activités de braconnage dans la Réserve de Biosphère de la Mare aux Hippopotames au Burkina Faso

La faune sauvage dans la Réserve de Biosphère de la Mare aux Hippopotames du Burkina Faso est très peu connue. Cette étude vise à inventorier les différentes espèces de mammifères sauvages et à recenser les activités de braconnage rencontrées dans cette réserve. Des dénombrements pédestres ont été réalisés en 2004, 2005, 2006 et 2007 suivant la méthode de transect linéaire à largeur variable. Ils ont consisté à suivre l’évolution de l’effectif des mammifères sauvages selon les contacts et les indices de présence ainsi que les activités de braconnage dans la réserve. 24 espèces de mammifères dont les patas (Erythrocebus patas), les babouins (Papio anubis), les éléphants (Loxodonta africana), les hippotragues (Hippotragus equinus), les phacochères (Phacochoerus africanus) et les civettes (Civettictis civetta) ont été recensées dans la réserve. Les contacts avec ces mammifères sont passés de 17 en 2004 à 28 contacts en 2007 pour un effectif de 94 individus toutes espèces confondues. Les activités de braconnage ont connu une baisse d’intensité entre 2005 et 2007 car le taux de braconnage s’est réduit de 58,4%. L’accroissement de l’effectif des espèces de mammifères et la diminution du braconnage peuvent s’expliquer par la surveillance continue de la réserve.Mots clés : Mammifères sauvages, Indices de présence, Dénombrements pédestres, Réserve de Biosphère, Burkina Fas

Profil hormonal féminin et pronostic de la réponse à la stimulation ovarienne au cours de l’Assistance Médicale à la Procréation: Expérience du Burkina Faso

Après une année de fonctionnement de la première unité d’Assistance Médicale à la Procréation (AMP) du Burkina Faso, ce travail avait pour objectif d’analyser les résultats préliminaires. Un échantillon de 50 femmes âgées de 24 à 50 ans avec une moyenne 36 ± 5 ans ayant pris part à au moins un cycle de Fécondation in vitro (FIV), a bénéficié de dosages hormonaux à J3 et la réponse ovarienne appréciée par le nombre de follicules matures ponctionnés, le nombre d’ovocytes et d’embryons obtenus. Les anomalies hormonales les plus fréquentes étaient l’hyperoestradiolémie avec 30%, l’hyperprolactinémie avec 24%, l’élévation du taux de FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormon) avec 10% et la baisse du taux de LH plasmatique (Luteinising Hormon) avec 28%. Le résultat de l’AMP après une année est de 9 grossesses sur 50 soit 18%. Les femmes avec un taux de FSH à J3 inférieur à 12 mUI/mL étaient moins âgées, avaient plus de follicules antraux. Après stimulation ovarienne, elles ont aussi obtenu plus de follicules, d’ovocytes et d’embryons que les femmes ayant un taux de FSH >12 mUI/mL. Le taux de grossesse était plus bas (12,5 contre 19,04) lorsque le taux de FSH était au dessus de 12 mUI/mL et aucune femme n’était enceinte lorsque ce taux excédait 24 mUI/ml. De même, le taux de grossesse était nul lorsque le rapport FSH/LH était supérieur à 2. L’analyse de la réponse ovarienne en fonction du profil hormonal des patientes à J3 du cycle menstruel confirme l’intérêt de ces paramètres dans la sélection des patientes aux chances raisonnables de réussite.Mots Clés: Hypofertilité féminine, hormones, ovaires, FI

Limitations of self-reported estimates of functional capacity using the Walking Impairment Questionnaire

OBJECTIVE: A potential issue with the Walking Impairment Questionnaire (WIQ) is that it is relatively complex. We estimated the number of errors made by patients when self-completing the WIQ, and assessed the benefit of correcting missing, duplicate or paradoxical (i.e., reported lower difficulty for a higher-intensity task) answers.DESIGN: Prospective non-interventional study. MATERIALS: All consecutive new patients with claudication over a 3-month period. METHODS: The WIQ was self-completed before patients performed a constant-load treadmill walking test (maximised to 750 m). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: We analysed the coefficient of determination of the linear relationship between overall WIQ score (mean of the available subscales when at least two subscales are available) and treadmill maximal walking distance (MWD), before and after correction of errors. RESULTS: We studied 73 patients. Thirty-seven questionnaires had to be corrected for one or more errors. The coefficient of determination between the overall WIQ score and MWD was R(2) = 0.391 (n = 56) and R(2) = 0.426 (n = 73) before and after correction, respectively. CONCLUSION: Supervision of self-completed WIQs detects errors in almost half of the questionnaires, resulting in a missing overall WIQ score in 23% of cases among uncorrected questionnaires. The overall WIQ score correlates only moderately with MWD, even after correction

Predicting mosquito infection from Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte density and estimating the reservoir of infection

Transmission reduction is a key component of global efforts to control and eliminate malaria; yet, it is unclear how the density of transmission stages (gametocytes) influences infection (proportion of mosquitoes infected). Human to mosquito transmission was assessed using 171 direct mosquito feeding assays conducted in Burkina Faso and Kenya. Plasmodium falciparum infects Anopheles gambiae efficiently at low densities (4% mosquitoes at 1/µl blood), although substantially more (>200/µl) are required to increase infection further. In a site in Burkina Faso, children harbour more gametocytes than adults though the non-linear relationship between gametocyte density and mosquito infection means that (per person) they only contribute slightly more to transmission. This method can be used to determine the reservoir of infection in different endemic settings. Interventions reducing gametocyte density need to be highly effective in order to halt human-mosquito transmission, although their use can be optimised by targeting those contributing the most to transmission. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00626.001

Importance of the confirmatory assay for the detection of the HBsAg in the epidemiological studies and in the diagnosis of the viral Hepatitis B

Several epidemiological studies have reported high prevalence of HBsAg among pregnant women in Burkina Faso. They used various algorithms, as it is also done for the routine diagnostic. Knowing this antigen carriage rate in such a population or in other clinic attendees is important for the implementation of a national immunisation programme and the monitoring of patients with hepatitis B. Often, the screening tests were not confirmed in spite of the existence of known false positive and false negative results. The aim of this study was to determine a more accurate prevalence of HBsAg, among the pregnant women in Burkina Faso. From October 2006 to January 2007, blood samples were collected from 1139 pregnant women. Each sample was analyzed for HBsAg, using two assays and according to manufacturers’ instructions vis, Hepanostika®HBsAg Uniform II B9 (Bio-Mérieux; France) and HBsAg (V2) Abbott AxSYM® system (Abbott Diagnostics). All the positive samples were tested with a confirmatory neutralization assay- Hepanostika®HBsAg Uniform II B9 Confirmatory (Bio-Merieux). The mean age of the pregnant women was 24.85years [range: 15-45years] and the age range of 20-24 (37%) and 25-29 (25.4%) years were the most represented. The overall rate of HBsAg-positive pregnant women with the two screening assays was 20.9%. The HBsAg detection rate was significantly higher with Hepanostika® UniformII B9 (16.9%) than with HBsAg (V2) AxSYM system assay (12.1%), with