The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in urban Bo, Sierra Leone, and in the 16 countries of the West Africa region.

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to measure the prevalence of diabetes among adults in urban Bo, Sierra Leone, and to compare the new results to the diabetes prevalence rates reported from studies across West Africa. METHODS: A total of 694 outpatients ages 18 and older at Bo Government Hospital were tested for diabetes between January 2012 and December 2014. Diabetes was defined as a fasting blood sugar level of ≥126 mg/dL (≥7.0 mmol/L). RESULTS: The overall prevalence of diabetes was 6.2% (43/694). Diabetes prevalence increased from 0.8% (2/256) among patients ages 18 to 29 years to 3.9% (8/204) among patients ages 30 to 39, 8.4% (11/131) among patients ages 40 to 49, 19.0% (12/63) among patients ages 50 to 59, and 25.0% (10/40) among patients ages 60 and older. The prevalence of diabetes was 5.2% among females and 7.4% among males. After adjusting the study population to the age and sex distribution of the national population, the standardized prevalence of diabetes was 7.0%. The only previously published study of diabetes in Sierra Leone found a much lower 2.4% prevalence rate in 1997. A comprehensive literature search identified studies from across West Africa (including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo) that illustrate an increasing rate of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in the region. CONCLUSIONS: It is important for hospitals and clinics across West Africa to increase their ability to diagnose, monitor, and treat type 2 diabetes in urban and rural areas.

Syndromic surveillance of peste des petits ruminants and other animal diseases in Koinadugu district, Sierra Leone, 2011-2012.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to conduct syndromic surveillance for important veterinary diseases in Koinadugu district, Northern Province, Sierra Leone. METHODS: This study examined all veterinary syndromic surveillance reports submitted to the district veterinary office from January 2011 through December 2012. RESULTS: In total, 5679 case reports were submitted, including 2394 fatalities. The most common syndrome reported was consistent with peste de petits ruminants (PPR) in goats (n = 1649). PPR cases were reported from eight of 11 chiefdoms in the district, with a 42 per 1000 reported incidence rate and a 48 % case fatality rate. Other syndromes reported were consistent with trypanosomiasis in cattle (n = 1402), Newcastle disease in poultry (n = 911), black quarter in cattle (n = 691), and haemorrhagic septicaemia in cattle (n = 542). CONCLUSIONS: Expanded use of the PPR virus vaccine may be required to help control the spread of the infection. Improved community-based prevention efforts may be effective for better control of trypanosomiasis and all these conditions.

Home birth and hospital birth trends in Bo, Sierra Leone.

As of April 2010, all maternity care at government healthcare facilities in Sierra Leone is provided at no cost to patients. In late 2010, we conducted a community health census of 18 sections of the city of Bo (selected via randomized cluster sampling from 68 total sections). Among the 3421 women with a history of pregnancy who participated in the study, older women most often reported having a history of both home and hospital deliveries, while younger women showed a preference for hospital births. The proportion of lastborn children delivered at a healthcare facility increased from 71.8% of offspring 10-14 years old to 81.1% of those one to nine years old and 87.3% of infants born after April 2010. These findings suggest that the new maternal healthcare initiative has accelerated an existing trend toward a preference for healthcare facility births, at least in some urban parts of Sierra Leone.

Enabling methods for community health mapping in developing countries.

BACKGROUND: Spatial epidemiology is useful but difficult to apply in developing countries due to the low availability of digitized maps and address systems, accurate population distributions, and computational tools. A community-based mapping approach was used to demonstrate that participatory geographic information system (PGIS) techniques can provide information helpful for health and community development. RESULTS: The PGIS process allowed for the rapid determination of sectional (neighborhood) boundaries within the city of Bo, Sierra Leone. When combined with data about hospital laboratory visits, a catchment area for one hospital in Bo could be established. A survey of households from within the catchment area determined that the average population per household (about 6 individuals) was similar to that found in the 2004 census. However, we also found that the average house was inhabited by more than one household, for an average of 17.5 inhabitants per residential building, which is critical information to know when estimating population size using remote imagery that can detect and enumerate buildings. CONCLUSIONS: The methods developed in this paper serve as a model for the involvement of communities in the generation of municipal maps and their application to community and health concerns.

Effect of three bean species on the development and reproduction of a population of the parasitoid, Encarsia bimaculata, on the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci.

Developmental time, parasitism, emergence, longevity, fecundity and demographic parameters of population of Encarsia bimaculata Heraty and Polaszek (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), a parasitoid attacking Bemisia tabaci (biotype B) (Gennadius) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) infesting soybean, Glyine max L. (Merr), cowpea, Vigna unguiulata L. and garden bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L. (Fabeles: Fabaceae) were quantified and compared. Encarsia bimaculata was able to complete its life cycle independent of the B. tabaci instar parasitized. However, parasitoid development was significantly slower when first (19 d), second (15 d) instars or pharate adults (14 d) were parasitized compared to the third (13 d) or fourth (13 d) instars. Consequently, percent parasitism was higher when the third (51%) or fourth (46%) instars were parasitized compared to the first (22%), second (25%) instars or pharate adults (36%) of B. tabaci. Similarly, percent parasitoid emergence was significantly higher when third (83%) or fourth (76%) instars were parasitized compared to when the first (34%), second (64%) or pharate adults (54%) were parasitized. Host plant species significantly influenced egg to adult developmental time, percent parasitism and the day on which E. bimaculata nymphs hatching from eggs was first observed. More nymphs were parasitized on cowpea (40%) followed by garden bean (36%) and soybean (32%), while percent hatching was significantly higher on soybean (76%) followed by cowpea (68%) and garden bean (42%). Adult parasitoid females lived an average of 6.7 d on soybean, 7.6 d on cowpea and 7.2 d on garden bean and laid a lifetime average of 27 eggs on soybean, 31 eggs on cowpea and 30 eggs on garden bean. The daily mean fecundity of E. bimaculata was not significantly different on the three bean species. Life table parameters showed that the net reproductive rate (R(o)) was 14.50, generation time (T(c)) was 17.16, intrinsic rate of natural increase (r(m)) was 0.16, finite rate of growth (lambda) was 1.17 and doubling time (T(d)) was 4.44 for parasitoids on soybean. On cowpea, R(o) was 15.32, T(c) was 18.59, r(m) was 0.15, lambda was 1.16 and T(d) was 4.72, while, on garden bean, R(o) was 8.95, T(c) was 19.28, r(m) was 0.11, lambda was 1.12 and T(d) was 6.08. Given these life table parameters, higher population build up of the parasitoid will be expected on cowpea and soybean, respectively, compared to garden bean. Thus, for an effective augmentative release program involving E. bimaculata for the control of B. tabaci, it is important to take into consideration both the host stage of B. tabaci and the nature of the host plant on which it is developing.

Oviposition, development and survivorship of the sweetpotato whitefly Bemisia tabaci on soybean, glycine max, and the garden bean, Phaseolus vulgaris.

Abstract Oviposition, development and survivorship of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) were evaluated on soybean and garden bean under laboratory conditions of 26.0 +/- 0.5 degrees C, 70 - 80% RH and a photoperiod of 14:10 (L:D). B. tabaci deposited more eggs and survivorship of nymphs was significantly greater in a choice-test on soybean, Glycine max L. (Merr.) (Fabeles: Fabaceae), compared to the garden bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L. Overall developmental time from egg to adult eclosion was longer on garden bean than on soybean. Also, B. tabaci was more fecund and long-lived on soybean compared to garden bean. Demographic parameters calculated from life tables on the two bean species indicate that soybean is a better host plant for B. tabaci than garden bean.

Habitat preferences of butterflies in the Bumbuna Forest, Northern Sierra Leone.

The habitat preferences of the butterfly fauna were studied in the Bumbuna Forest Reserve in northern Sierra Leone. The intact forest reserve and a secondary forest regrowth, disturbed as a result of slash-and-burn agriculture, were compared to savanna habitats. Of the 290 specimens collected, 195 butterfly species were included, of which significant proportion were Nymphalidae. Of the 147 forest species, 111 (75.5%) showed preferences for the forest habitats, while 70 (47.6%) and 34 (23.1%) preferred disturbed and savannah habitats, respectively. Numerically, a comparable proportion of savannah species were recorded in the 18 disturbed (73.9%) and 16 savannah habitats (63.2%). Accumulated species richness and diversity indices were lower in the disturbed habitats compared to the forest reserve, but lowest in the savanna habitats. However, a large proportion of forest species, especially those with either a more restricted geographic range or species for which no information on geographic distribution was available, were exclusively captured in the forest patches. The survey indicated the presence of a rich butterfly fauna, which should be systematically collected for further research and study in order to build a good taxonomic database for Sierra Leone.