scholarly journals Establishment of a Genetically Confirmed Breeding Colony of Mastomys natalensis from Wild-Caught Founders from West Africa

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 590
Author(s):  
David Safronetz ◽  
Kyle Rosenke ◽  
Robert J. Fischer ◽  
Rachel A. LaCasse ◽  
Dana P. Scott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Lassa Fever ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Microbial Pathogens ◽  
Lassa Virus ◽  
Mastomys Natalensis ◽  
Emerging Pathogens ◽  
Breeding Colony ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Laboratory Breeding

Mastomys natalensis are a ubiquitous and often dominant rodent across sub-Saharan Africa. Importantly, they are a natural reservoir for microbial pathogens including Lassa virus (LASV), the etiological agent of Lassa fever in humans. Lassa-infected rodents have been documented across West Africa and coincide with regions where annual outbreaks occur. Zoonotic transmission to humans most often occurs directly from infected rodents. Little is known about LASV infection kinetics and transmissibility in M.natalensis, primarily due to available animals. Here, we describe the establishment of a laboratory breeding colony of genetically confirmed M.natalensis from wild-captured rodents. This colony will provide a convenient source of animals to study LASV and other emerging pathogens that utilize M. natalensis in their enzootic lifecycles.

Faith Tabernacle Congregation, the 1918–19 Influenza Pandemic and Classical Pentecostalism in Colonial West Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-238
Author(s):  
Adam Mohr
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Assemblies Of God ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Orthodox Medicine ◽  
Massive Growth ◽  
Small Branch ◽  
Pentecostal Churches ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Apostolic Church

The 1918–19 influenza pandemic killed between 30 and 50 million people worldwide. In Sub-Saharan Africa, as Terence Ranger points out, the pandemic left an indelible mark, including the unforeseen emergence of anti-medical religious movements. None were as significant as Faith Tabernacle Congregation, the Philadelphia-based divine-healing church that spurred a massive revival in West Africa – and a network stretching from Ivory Coast to Nigeria – without ever sending missionaries. They evangelised through personal letters exchanged across the Atlantic, and Faith Tabernacle literature sent from Philadelphia to various leaders in West Africa. The 1918–19 influenza pandemic was the spark that led to the church's massive growth, from one small branch before the pandemic began in 1918 to 10,500 members and nearly 250 branches of Faith Tabernacle in West Africa at its zenith in 1926. After the church's rapid demise between 1926 and 1929, leaders of Faith Tabernacle established most of the oldest Pentecostal Churches in the Gold Coast and Nigeria – such as the Apostolic Faith, the Apostolic Church, the Christ Apostolic Church and the Assemblies of God (Nigeria). Classical Pentecostalism, therefore, is Faith Tabernacle's legacy in West Africa, while abstinence from orthodox medicine continued to be debated within these Pentecostal circles.

scholarly journals Wealth-related inequalities in demand for family planning satisfied among married and unmarried adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin K. Mutua ◽  
Yohannes D. Wado ◽  
Monica Malata ◽  
Caroline W. Kabiru ◽  
Elsie Akwara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
Sexually Active ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background The use of modern contraception has increased in much of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the extent to which changes have occurred across the wealth spectrum among adolescents is not well known. We examine poor-rich gaps in demand for family planning satisfied by modern methods (DFPSm) among sexually active adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) using data from national household surveys. Methods We used recent Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys to describe levels of wealth-related inequalities in DFPSm among sexually active AGYW using an asset index as an indicator of wealth. Further, we used data from countries with more than one survey conducted from 2000 to assess DFPSm trends. We fitted linear models to estimate annual average rate of change (AARC) by country. We fitted random effects regression models to estimate regional AARC in DFPSm. All analysis were stratified by marital status. Results Overall, there was significant wealth-related disparities in DFPSm in West Africa only (17.8 percentage points (pp)) among married AGYW. The disparities were significant in 5 out of 10 countries in Eastern, 2 out of 6 in Central, and 7 out of 12 in West among married AGYW and in 2 out of 6 in Central and 2 out of 9 in West Africa among unmarried AGYW. Overall, DFPSm among married AGYW increased over time in both poorest (AARC = 1.6%, p < 0.001) and richest (AARC = 1.4%, p < 0.001) households and among unmarried AGYW from poorest households (AARC = 0.8%, p = 0.045). DPFSm increased over time among married and unmarried AGYW from poorest households in Eastern (AARC = 2.4%, p < 0.001) and Southern sub-regions (AARC = 2.1%, p = 0.030) respectively. Rwanda and Liberia had the largest increases in DPFSm among married AGYW from poorest (AARC = 5.2%, p < 0.001) and richest (AARC = 5.3%, p < 0.001) households respectively. There were decreasing DFPSm trends among both married (AARC = − 1.7%, p < 0.001) and unmarried (AARC = − 4.7%, p < 0.001) AGYW from poorest households in Mozambique. Conclusion Despite rapid improvements in DFPSm among married AGYW from the poorest households in many SSA countries there have been only modest reductions in wealth-related inequalities. Significant inequalities remain, especially among married AGYW. DFPSm stalled in most sub-regions among unmarried AGYW.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Potential of Underdeveloped Land for Rice Production in Sub-Saharan Africa — A Case Study of Floodplains in the Northern Region of Ghana, West Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-84
Author(s):  
Keiichi HAYASHI ◽  
Yasuhiro TSUJIMOTO ◽  
Tamao HATTA ◽  
Yukiyo YAMAMOTO ◽  
Jun-Ichi SAKAGAMI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Rice Production ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan

An Historical Assessment and Analysis of Economic Imperialism in West Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Ayokunle Olumuyiwa Omobowale ◽  
Natewinde Sawadogo
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
National Development ◽  
West African ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
The West ◽  
West African Coast ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Economic Imperialism

Abstract The West African political economy has been shaped by the policies, decisions and actions of dominant European imperialist countries since about over 500 years. Starting with imperial merchant capitalism along the West African coast in the 16th Century and French gradual acquisition of Senegal as a colony as from 1677, West Africa has remained under the imperialist hold. West Africa remains economically dependent on its former colonial masters despite more than 60 years since the countries started gaining independence. The consequences of economic imperialism on West Africa have included exploitative resource extraction, proxy and resource influenced civil wars, illegal trade in natural resources, mass poverty, and external migration of skilled workers necessary for national development. The world sees and broadcasts poverty, starvation, conflict and Saharan migration in the West African sub-continent, but hardly reports the exploitative imperialistic processes that have produced poverty and misery in West Africa in particular and across sub-Saharan Africa in general.

scholarly journals Three arenaviruses in three subspecific natal multimammate mouse taxa in Tanzania: same host specificity, but different spatial genetic structure?

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura N Cuypers ◽  
Stuart J E Baird ◽  
Alexandra Hánová ◽  
Tatjana Locus ◽  
Abdul S Katakweba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Spatial Genetic Structure ◽  
First Record ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Lassa Virus ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Morogoro Virus ◽  
Test Specificity ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Mastomys natalensis is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa and hosts several arenavirus species, including the pathogenic zoonotic Lassa virus in West Africa. Mitochondrial lineages sub-divide the range of M. natalensis and have been associated with cryptic structure within the species. To test specificity of arenaviruses to hosts carrying these lineages, we screened 1772 M. natalensis in a large area of Tanzania where three mitochondrial lineages meet. We detected fifty-two individuals that were positive for one of three arenaviruses: Gairo, Morogoro, and Luna virus. This is the first record of Luna virus in Tanzania. We confirmed the specificity of each arenavirus to a distinct host mitochondrial lineage except for three cases in one locality at the centre of a host hybrid zone. No arenaviruses were detected in a large part of the study area. Morogoro and Gairo virus showed differences in prevalence (Morogoro virus lower than Gairo virus) and in genetic structure (Morogoro virus more structured than Gairo virus). However, both viruses have genetic neighbourhood size estimates of the same order of magnitude as Lassa virus. While differences in arenavirus and/or host evolutionary and ecological dynamics may exist, Tanzanian arenaviruses could be suited to model Lassa virus dynamics in M. natalensis.

Beyond Jihad: The Pacifist Tradition in West African Islam

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-369
Author(s):  
John Azumah
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Eleventh Century ◽  
West African ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Political Office ◽  
Sub Saharan

Lamin Sanneh’s book Beyond Jihad deals with the peaceful transmission of Islam in West Africa by a pacifist clerical group. The author challenges the claim that the old African kingdom of Ghana was conquered by the militant Berber Almoravids in the eleventh century. Islam was not introduced into sub-Saharan Africa through militant jihad, as generally believed. The principal agents for the dissemination of Islam in West Africa were local clerics, who used the peaceful means of accommodation and adaptation. The clerical tradition was pacifist, emphasizing learning and teaching, not war and political office.

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