Microbiological and Physicochemical Characterization of Irrigation Water in Market Gardening in Korhogo.

Several sources of water are used by farmers without concern for quality, which can have consequences on the health of the consumer of market garden products. The aim of this study is to evaluate the microbiological and physicochemical qualities of irrigation water. Microorganisms were counted using the membrane filtration and incorporation into the agar methods. The physicochemical parameters were measured using multiparameter and spectrophotometric methods. The average values of the physicochemical parameters are between 6.46 and 6.9 (pH), 27.15 and 29.9°C (temperature), 170 and 760 µS/cm (electrical conductivity), 70 and 380 mg/L (total dissolved solids), 3.85 and 77.59 mg/L (nitrates), and between 0.13 and 2.35 mg/L for ammonium. Irrigation water in market gardening is highly contaminated by microorganisms. Loads ranging from 3.64 to 4.35 log10 cfu/100 mL, 2.44 to 3.31 log10 cfu/100 mL, 2.44 to 2.9 log10 cfu/100 mL, and 2.07 to 3.63 log10 cfu/100 mL were obtained for total coliforms, E. coli, fecal enterococci, and sulphite-reducing clostridia, respectively. Mean loadings ranging from 4.95 to 5.98 log10 cfu/100 mL, 1.8 to 2.08 log10 cfu/100 mL, and 1.5 to 1.98 log10 cfu/100 mL were obtained for mesophilic aerobic germs, moulds, and yeasts, respectively. Four different mould strains were identified in irrigation water. These strains belong to the genus Aspergillus. Shallows water was more contaminated with microorganisms. These results show that water should be treated before being used for irrigation; market garden products must be properly washed and disinfected before consumption.

Microbiological and Physicochemical Variations during Spontaneous Fermentation of Plantain Must.

Major losses are recorded every year in the plantain production sector in Côte d'Ivoire. These losses are mainly due to poor harvesting, transport, and storage conditions. Local processing of this food crop into other products could help limit postharvest losses. The aim of this study was to evaluate some microbiological and physicochemical parameters during the fermentation of plantain must for the production of an alcoholic beverage. Physicochemical parameters such as pH, titratable acidity, and reducing sugars were measured using a pH meter by titration and the Bernfeld method, respectively. Refractometric dry extract and alcohol content were measured using a refractometer. Loads of mesophilic aerobic germs, total coliforms, streptococci, and yeasts were determined by standard microbiological methods. Values for refractometric dry extract (10°B-4.5°B), reducing sugars (8.25-0 mg/mL), and pH (4.37-3.36) decrease during fermentation. The highest alcohol content (11%) is obtained after four days of fermentation of plantain must. In contrast to total coliforms (5.27-3.61 log10 cfu/mL), loads of mesophilic aerobic germs (4.84-9.8 log10 cfu/mL) increase during fermentation. Yeast and streptococci loads reach their peaks at 7.81 log10 cfu/mL and 8.15 log10 cfu/mL, respectively, after six (6) days of fermentation before dropping off. Plantain must could be used to produce distilled alcoholic beverages.

CocoaMFDB: A dataset of cocoa pod maturity and families in an uncontrolled environment in Côte d'Ivoire.

Cocoa cultivation is the basis for chocolate production; it has a unique aroma that makes it useful in the production of snacks and usable for cooking or baking. The maximum harvest period of cocoa is normally once or twice a year and spread over several months, depending on the country. Determining the best harvesting period for cocoa pods plays a major role in the export process and the pods quality. The degree of ripening of the pods affects the quality of the resulting beans. Also, unripe pods do not have enough sugar and may prevent proper bean fermentation. As for too-mature pods, they are usually dry, and their beans may germinate inside the pods, or they may develop a fungal disease and cannot be used. Computer-based determination of the ripeness of cocoa pods throughout image analysis could facilitate massive cocoa ripeness detection. Recent technological advances in computing power, communication systems, and machine learning techniques provide opportunities for agricultural engineering and computer scientists to meet the demands of the manual. The need for diverse and representative sets of pod images is essential for developing and testing automatic cocoa pod maturity detection systems. In this perspective, we collected images of cocoa pods to set up a database of cocoa pods of the Côte d'Ivoire named CocoaMFDB. We performed a pre-processing step using the CLAHE algorithm to improve the quality of the images since the effect of the light was not controlled on our data set. CocoaMFDB allows the characterization of cocoa pods according to their maturity level and provides information on the pod family for each image. Our dataset comprises three large families, namely Amelonado, Angoleta, and Guiana, grouped into two maturity categories: the ripe and unripe pods. It is, therefore, perfect for developing and evaluating image analysis algorithms for future research.

Exploring Alternative Care Platforms for Symptomatic People in the Fight against the Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak.

Treatment centers (TCs) are the only locations designed to care for people with Ebola virus disease (EVD) symptoms. These people and their families are held at a TC as soon as they arrive at an Ebola treatment center (ETC); however, some people escape from TCs. This paper explored alternative care platforms for symptomatic people in the fight against the EVD outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Eight hundred randomly selected adults aged 18 years and above were surveyed with a uniform set of structured questionnaires. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 community/opinion leaders, while focus group discussions were held with community members who were not involved in the questionnaire study. Our findings demonstrated that people who were suspected of having EVD preferred to be treated discreetly and at home, and were more willing to be tested at home than at a TC. People were afraid of being stigmatized if the TC exposed their admittance to the general public. This article proposes an alternative to the TCs. We suggest a temporary containment facility within the community, such as a room in the suspected person's home. However, this requires negotiation between the response team and community members, with the latter having a significant responsibility in caring for their symptomatic relatives. The place or room for domestic temporary isolation should be chosen discreetly and placed far from the view of others. Community members will, thus, bear more responsibility for what happens while the patient is in isolation. The temporary containment area will assist in decentralizing the treatment of those with EVD symptoms. Its implementation will contribute to greater accountability of community members in the fight against EVD.

Microbiological and Physicochemical Characteristics of Three Types of "Soumbara" from Seeds of African Locust Bean in Korhogo Markets, Côte d'Ivoire.

"Soumbara" is a fermented product sold in the markets of several West African countries. In the markets, it is sold in several formats (granulated, powder, and paste). The objective of this study was to evaluate the microbiological and physicochemical characteristics of these three types of "Soumbara" sold in the Korhogo markets. For this purpose, a preliminary survey followed by a sampling of 54 samples of "Soumbara" was carried out. The microorganism load count was carried out according to microbiological standards. The pH, titratable acidity, and moisture content were measured, respectively, with a pH meter, by dosing with sodium hydroxide solution and by differential weighing after passing the sample through the oven. The pH of the different samples is around 6. The moisture content is higher in "Soumbara" paste (20-24.7%) than in powdered (7.3-9.3%) and granulated (8.6-10.7%) "Soumbara." The acidity rates are between 0.07 and 0.13%, 0.2 and 0.3%, and 0.08 and 0.1%, respectively, for the granulated, powder, and paste types. Mesophilic aerobic germ loads (6.17-8.38 log10 cfu/g) for all three types of "Soumbara" are above the standard. Total coliform (1.13-2.96 log10 cfu/g), mould (0.86-2.52 log10 cfu/g), and yeast (0.33-1.53 log10 cfu/g) loads are below standard. The microbiological quality of the three types of "Soumbara" is unsatisfactory. Overall, "Soumbara" powder is the most contaminated, followed by granulated and paste "Soumbara." "Soumbara" must be added during culinary preparations in order to avoid possible public health problems.

Prevalence of Virulence Genes Associated with Diarrheagenic Pathotypes of Escherichia coli Isolates from Water, Sediment, Fish, and Crab in Aby Lagoon, Côte d'Ivoire.

This study was conducted to characterize virulence genes of Escherichia coli isolates from water, sediment, fish, and crab in Aby Lagoon. Serogrouping was performed by EPEC antisera in 113 E. coli strains. The presence of diarrhea-associated genes (eae, stx, AggR, elt, and est) was assessed by multiplex PCR using specific primers. Based on the multiplex PCR, sixty-two isolates (42 from water, 19 from sediment, and 1 from crab) were positive for virulence genes, including 34 positive for elt (ETEC), 46 positive for est (ETEC), 24 positive for both elt and est, 6 positive for stx (EHEC), 1 positive for both stx + est, and 1 positive for both stx + elt. Genes eae (EPEC) and AggR (EAEC) were not detected. Nine serogroups (O114, O127, O55, O111, O86, O119, O126, O128, and O142) were identified. This study revealed the presence of diarrheagenic and nondiarrheagenic E. coli and potential public health risks if fishery products are not appropriately cooked.