A Survey of Tick Infestation and Tick-Borne Piroplasm Infection of Cattle in Oudalan and Séno Provinces, Northern Burkina Faso.

In this study, cattle farms located in Oudalan and Séno, two provinces in the Sahel region, northern Burkina Faso, were surveyed. Cattle owners were interviewed, cattle were examined for tick infestation, and ticks as well as blood samples were collected during the dry season (October). Blood DNA samples were tested for and infections using nested PCRs and sequencing.

Porcine circovirus-2 in Africa: Identification of continent-specific clusters and evidence of independent viral introductions from Europe, North America and Asia.

Porcine circovirus-2 (PCV-2) is associated with several disease syndromes in domestic pigs that have a significant impact on global pig production and health. Currently, little is known about the status of PCV-2 in Africa. In this study, a total of 408 archived DNA samples collected from pigs in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia between 2000 and 2018 were screened by PCR for the presence of PCV-2.

Molecular characterization of African Swine fever viruses in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal 1989-2016: Genetic diversity of ASFV in West Africa.

African swine fever (ASF) has been endemic in sub-Saharan Africa since the 1960s. Following its introduction in Senegal, in 1957, ASF steadily progressed through West Africa, reaching Burkina Faso in 2003, and later Mali in 2016. Despite the heavy burden of disease on pig production, little information is available on the genetic diversity of Africa swine fever virus (ASFV) in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal.

Disentangling the role of Africa in the global spread of H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The role of Africa in the dynamics of the global spread of a zoonotic and economically-important virus, such as the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5Nx of the Gs/GD lineage, remains unexplored. Here we characterise the spatiotemporal patterns of virus diffusion during three HPAI H5Nx intercontinental epidemic waves and demonstrate that Africa mainly acted as an ecological sink of the HPAI H5Nx viruses. A joint analysis of host dynamics and continuous spatial diffusion indicates that poultry trade as well as wild bird migrations have contributed to the virus spreading into Africa, with West Africa acting as a crucial hotspot for virus introduction and dissemination into the continent.

Prevalence of anti-hepatitis E virus antibodies in domestic animal from three representative provinces of Burkina Faso.

Four major genotypes of Hepatitis E virus (HEV) have been documented worldwide (1-4) with genotypes 1 and 2 found in human in Sub-Saharan Africa. Human Hepatitis cases due to HEV genotype 3 and 4 are zoonotic with various animal identified as possible reservoirs. Recently, HEV genotype 3 was found in pigs and human beings in West Africa, which may change the epidemic in human.

Influenza A(H9N2) Virus, Burkina Faso.

We identified influenza A(H9N2) virus G1 lineage in poultry in Burkina Faso. Urgent actions are needed to raise awareness about the risk associated with spread of this zoonotic virus subtype in the area and to construct a strategy for effective prevention and control of influenza caused by this virus.

Genetically Different Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Viruses in West Africa, 2015.

To trace the evolution of highly pathogenic influenza A(H5N1) virus in West Africa, we sequenced genomes of 43 viruses collected during 2015 from poultry and wild birds in 5 countries. We found 2 co-circulating genetic groups within clade 2.3.

One-Step Multiplex RT-qPCR Assay for the Detection of Peste des petits ruminants virus, Capripoxvirus, Pasteurella multocida and Mycoplasma capricolum subspecies (ssp.) capripneumoniae.

Respiratory infections, although showing common clinical symptoms like pneumonia, are caused by bacterial, viral or parasitic agents. These are often reported in sheep and goats populations and cause huge economic losses to the animal owners in developing countries. Detection of these diseases is routinely done using ELISA or microbiological methods which are being reinforced or replaced by molecular based detection methods including multiplex assays, where detection of different pathogens is carried out in a single reaction.

Characterization of a genetic and antigenic variant of avian paramyxovirus 6 isolated from a migratory wild bird, the red-necked stint (Calidris ruficollis).

A hemagglutinating virus (8KS0813) was isolated from a red-necked stint. Hemagglutination inhibition and neutralization tests indicated that 8KS0813 was antigenically related to a prototype strain, APMV-6/duck/Hong Kong/18/199/77, but with an 8- and 16-fold difference, respectively, in their titers. The full genome sequence of 8KS0813 showed 98.

H4N8 subtype avian influenza virus isolated from shorebirds contains a unique PB1 gene and causes severe respiratory disease in mice.

H4N8 subtype avian influenza viruses were isolated from shorebirds in eastern Hokkaido. All the isolates shared >99.7% nucleotide homology, and all the viral genes except for PB1 were highly related to those of A/red-necked stint/Australia/1/04.

Surveillance of avian influenza virus in migratory water birds in eastern Hokkaido, Japan.

The epidemiological information has obtained on avian influenza virus (AIV) in eastern Hokkaido, Japan, where AIV surveillance has not been performed. Cloacal or fecal samples obtained from migratory water birds were screened for AIV both by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction to detect the influenza A virus matrix (M) gene and by egg inoculation. Between 2007 and 2009, a total of 2,488 samples were collected from various avian species in Abashiri, Kushiro, Nemuro and Tokachi districts of eastern Hokkaido.