Military affected by the first wave of COVID-19 in Senegal: stress and resilience factors during care.

COVID-19 had a psychological impact on the population, particularly those affected. Our objective was to investigate stress and resilience factors in the Senegalese soldiers affected during the first wave of COVID-19. Our retrospective and qualitative study included military personnel listed as contacts, suspects, or positive cases and supported by the Armed Forces Psychological Support Program during the period of isolation. The stress factors were health-related, sociological, and occupational. The conditions and the experience of isolation, stigmatization, and suspension of their professional projects were concerns for the soldiers. They had relied on personal, familial, and professional resources to cultivate resilience during the quarantine. Isolation during the pandemic showed psychological consequences, the foundations of which have been found in our study.

Brucellosis in dairy herds: Farm characteristics and practices in relation to likely adoption of three potential private-public partnership (PPP) vaccination control strategies in West and Central Africa.

Brucellosis is regarded as one of the highest burden zoonotic diseases to persist in many regions globally. While sustained vaccination against B. abortus in an endemic setting can markedly reduce the prevalence of large ruminant and human brucellosis and benefit local livelihoods, the implementation of effective and sustainable control programmes has often failed in the worst affected areas. In a cross-sectional study of 728 peri-urban dairy farmers in nine areas of six West and Central African countries, levels of commercialization and farm characteristics were examined alongside B. abortus seroprevalence estimates to hypothesize the most appropriate model for brucellosis vaccination delivery in each country. Demographic and economic data were collated and used to describe the farming systems currently in place. Furthermore, these data were utilized in a likelihood assessment to generate a quantitative score to hypothesize which of three private-public partnership (PPP) vaccine delivery models, that is 1) transformative, 2) transactional or 3) collaborative, would be most appropriate in each setting. The study sites had substantial differences in their levels of dairy commercialization and the farming practices employed; the heterogeneity across the study sites was evident in the conclusions of which models would be appropriate for vaccination delivery. While Lomé (Togo) had a strong indication for a transformative PPP model, Burkina Faso had strong indication for the collaborative PPP model. Of the remaining study sites, the scores were less dominant for any one model with Cameroon and Ivory Coast sites only just scoring highest on the transformative model and Senegal and Mali sites only just scoring highest on the collaborative model. Interestingly, none of the countries included in the study scored highest on the transactional model which currently is the most commonplace delivery model in the majority of sub-Saharan African countries.

Population structure and transmission of Mycobacterium bovis in Ethiopia.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is endemic in cattle in Ethiopia, a country that hosts the largest national cattle herd in Africa. The intensive dairy sector, most of which is peri-urban, has the highest prevalence of disease. Previous studies in Ethiopia have demonstrated that the main cause is Mycobacterium bovis, which has been investigated using conventional molecular tools including deletion typing, spoligotyping and Mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR). Here we use whole-genome sequencing to examine the population structure of M. bovis in Ethiopia. A total of 134 M. bovis isolates were sequenced including 128 genomes from 85 mainly dairy cattle and six genomes isolated from humans, originating from 12 study sites across Ethiopia. These genomes provided a good representation of the previously described population structure of M. bovis, based on spoligotyping and demonstrated that the population is dominated by the clonal complexes African 2 (Af2) and European 3 (Eu3). A range of within-host diversity was observed amongst the isolates and evidence was found for both short- and long-distance transmission. Detailed analysis of available genomes from the Eu3 clonal complex combined with previously published genomes revealed two distinct introductions of this clonal complex into Ethiopia between 1950 and 1987, likely from Europe. This work is important to help better understand bTB transmission in cattle in Ethiopia and can potentially inform national strategies for bTB control in Ethiopia and beyond.

Brucellosis in dairy herds: A public health concern in the milk supply chains of West and Central Africa.

Ten herd-level cross-sectional studies were conducted in peri-urban dairy production areas of seven West and Central African countries (Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo). The objectives were to estimate herd level Brucella spp. seroprevalence and identify risk factors for seropositivity. In each of the ten study areas, herds (between 52 and 142 per area, total = 965) were selected probabilistically and a structured questionnaire was administered to gather information on their structure and management. A bulk milk sample from each herd was tested by indirect ELISA for Brucella spp. For each area, herd seroprevalence estimates were obtained after adjusting for the assumed performance of the diagnostic test. Herd level risk factors for Brucella spp. seropositivity were identified by means of stratified logistic regression, with each peri-urban zone as a stratum. Area-specific models were also explored. Estimated herd seroprevalences were: Lomé (Togo) 62.0% (95% CI:55.0-69.0), Bamako (Mali) 32.5% (95% CI:28.0-37.0), Bujumbura (Burundi) 14.7% (95%CI:9.4-20.8), Bamenda (Cameroon) 12.6% (95% CI:7.6-21.9), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) 3.0% (95% CI:1.0-9.1), Ngaoundere (Cameroon) 2.3% (95% CI:1.0-7.0), Thies (Senegal) 1.3% (95% CI:0.1, 5.3), Niamey (Niger) 1.2% (95% CI:0.08-5.3), Dakar (Senegal) 0.2% (95% CI:0.01-1.7) and Niakhar (Senegal) <0.04%. Logistic regression modelling revealed transhumant herds to be at lower risk of infection (adjusted OR: 0.25, 95% CI: 0.13 - 0.5) and in one of the areas (Bamenda), regular purchase of new animals was found to be strongly associated with Brucella spp. seropositivity (adjusted OR = 5.3, 95% CI: 1.4-25.9). Our findings confirm that Brucella spp. circulates among dairy cattle supplying milk to urban consumers in West and Central Africa, posing a serious public health concern. Control programs are urgently needed in areas such as Lomé or Bamako, where more than 30% of the herds show evidence of infection.

Molecular characterisation of Mycobacterium bovis isolated from cattle slaughtered at the Bamako abattoir in Mali.

BACKGROUND: Mali is one of the most important livestock producers of the Sahel region of Africa. A high frequency of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) has been reported but surveillance and control schemes are restricted to abattoir inspections only. The objective of this study was to conduct, for the first time, molecular characterisation of Mycobacterium bovis strains isolated from cattle slaughtered at the Bamako abattoir. Of 3330 animals screened only 60 exhibited gross visible lesions. From these animals, twenty strains of M. bovis were isolated and characterised by spoligotyping. RESULTS: Organ lesions typical of BTB were most often detected in the liver, followed by the lung and the peritoneum. M. bovis was isolated from 20 animals and 7 different spoligotypes were observed among these 20 strains; three of the patterns had not been previously reported. Spoligotype patterns from thirteen of the strains lacked spacer 30, a characteristic common in strains of M. bovis found in Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria. However, unlike the other three Central African countries, the majority of spoligotype patterns observed in Mali also lacked spacer 6. Of the remaining seven strains, six had spoligotype patterns identical to strains commonly isolated in France and Spain. CONCLUSION: Two groups of M. bovis were detected in cattle slaughtered at the Bamako abattoir. The spoligotype pattern of the first group has similarities to strains previously observed in Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria. The additional absence of spacer 6 in the majority of these strains suggests a Mali specific clone. The spoligotype patterns of the remaining strains suggest that they may have been of European origin.