Peste Des Petits Ruminants in Benin: Persistence of a Single Virus Genotype in the Country for Over 42 Years.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a contagious and often fatal disease affecting sheep and goats. Currently, it is endemic in Africa, the Middle and Near East, the Indian subcontinent and China. Understanding the molecular epidemiology and evolution of PPR virus (PPRV) can assist in the control of the transboundary spread of this economically important disease. We isolated PPRV from pathological and swab samples collected 42 years apart (1969 and 2011) in Benin, West Africa, and sequenced the full genome of two isolates (Benin/B1/1969 and Benin/10/2011). Phylogenetic analysis showed that all of the characterized isolates clustered within viral lineage II and that the 2011 isolates fell into two distinct subgroups. Comparison of the full genome sequences revealed a 95.3% identity at the nucleotide level, while at the protein level, the matrix protein was the most conserved between the two viruses with an identity of 99.7% and only one amino acid substitution over the 42-year sampling period. An analysis of specific amino acid residues of known or putative function did not identify any significant changes between the two viruses. A molecular clock analysis of complete PPRV genomes revealed that the lineage II viruses sampled here arose in the early 1960s and that these viruses have likely persisted in Benin since this time.

African and classical swine fever situation in Ivory-Coast and neighboring countries, 2008-2013.

This study was conducted from 2008 to 2013 to determine the animal health status of Ivory Coast and neighboring countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo and Benin) for African swine fever (ASF) and classical swine fever (CSF), and to assess the risk factors for ASF introduction in Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast had probably been free from ASF from 1998 to 2014 when it was re-introduced in this country. However, the ASF virus was found in all neighboring countries. In contrast, no evidence of CSF infection was found so far in Ivory Coast and neighboring countries. To assess the risk of ASF reintroduction in Ivory Coast, we surveyed 59 modern pig farms, and 169 pig owners in 19 villages and in two towns. For the village livestock, the major risk factor was the high frequency of pig exchanges with Burkinabe villages. In the commercial sector, many inadequate management practices were observed with respect to ASF. Their identification should enable farmers and other stakeholders to implement a training and prevention program to reduce the introduction risk of ASF in their farms.

Avian influenza surveillance in Central and West Africa, 2010-2014.

Avian influenza virus (AIV) is an important zoonotic pathogen, resulting in global human morbidity and mortality and substantial economic losses to the poultry industry. Poultry and wild birds have transmitted AIV to humans, most frequently subtypes H5 and H7, but also different strains and subtypes of H6, H9, and H10. Determining which birds are AIV reservoirs can help identify human populations that have a high risk of infection with these viruses due to occupational or recreational exposure to the reservoir species. To assess the prevalence of AIV in tropical birds, from 2010 to 2014, we sampled 40 099 birds at 32 sites in Central Africa (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon) and West Africa (Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo). In Central Africa, detection rates by real-time RT-PCR were 16·6% in songbirds (eight passerine families, n = 1257), 16·4% in kingfishers (family Alcedinidae, n = 73), 8·2% in ducks (family Anatidae, n = 564), and 3·65% in chickens (family Phasianidae, n = 1042). Public health authorities should educate human cohorts that have high exposure to these bird populations about AIV and assess their adherence to biosecurity practices, including Cameroonian farmers who raise small backyard flocks.

[Retrospective study of foot and mouth disease in West Africa from 1970 to 2003]. / Etude rétrospective de la fièvre aphteuse en Afrique de l'Ouest de 1970 à 2003.

A retrospective study of foot and mouth disease in seven West African countries was conducted for the period 1970 to 2003. The study included three cattle-exporting Sahel countries (Burkina-Faso, Mali and Niger) and four cattle-importing coastal countries (Benin, Côte d'lvoire, Ghana and Togo). Foot and mouth disease has been enzootic in these countries since 1990/1991. Four of the seven serotypes are regularly notified (O, A, SAT 1 and SAT 2). In the seven countries as a whole, 198 biological samples from identified foot and mouth disease outbreaks confirmed the involvement of the following serotypes: O (62 outbreaks); A (32 outbreaks); SAT 1 (18 outbreaks); SAT 2 (86 outbreaks). This result, which is largely underestimated, clearly demonstrates the seriousness of foot and mouth disease in West Africa, whose livestock production system characterised by continual uncontrolled animal movements facilitates the spread of the disease. Unlike in Southern Africa, for foot and mouth disease to be controlled in West Africa it is necessary immediately to introduce a regional strategy involving all countries which takes into account the real situation in the field: transhumance, nomadism and live-animal imports by coastal countries.