Central Angola Research Articles

Tapping into technology and the biodiversity informatics revolution: updated terrestrial mammal list of Angola, with new records from the Okavango Basin.

Using various sources, including the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), published literature, recent (2015–2017) collections, as well as bat detector and camera trap surveys with opportunistic sightings and live capture in the upper Okavango catchment in central Angola, we present an updated mammal checklist of 275 species from 15 different orders for Angola (including the Cabinda region). Recent surveys (captures and bat detectors) of small mammals from the upper Okavango catchment yielded 46 species (33 species of bats, ten species of rodents and three species of shrews). One bat (Pipistrellusrusticus, rusty pipistrelle); two rodents (Mussetzeri, Setzer’s mouse and Zelotomyswoosnami, Woosnam’s broad-faced mouse) and one shrew (Suncusvarilla, lesser dwarf shrew) were captured for the first time, in Angola. While our species lists of bats conformed to predicted totals, terrestrial small mammals were under sampled, with only 13 species recorded by our trapping survey compared to a total of 42 shrew and rodent species expected based on GBIF records for the central Angolan highlands. Seven terrestrial small mammal species (one shrew and six rodents) are endemic to the central and western Angolan highlands but none of these were captured in our survey. The bat detector surveys added three further bat species to the country list: Pipistrellushesperidus, Kerivoulaargentata, and Mopsmidas. Camera trap surveys and opportunistic sightings in the upper Okavango catchment in 2016 yielded a total of 35 species of medium-large mammals, from 17 families, although all of these had been reported previously in Angola. GBIF proved to be an excellent source of biodiversity data for Angolan mammals, most importantly for documenting dramatic historical range changes of larger mammals such as the sable (Hippotragusnigerniger), Kirk’s sable (H.nigerkirkii) and the giant sable (H.nigervariani).

Field and laboratory comparative evaluation of a LAMP assay for the diagnosis of urogenital schistosomiasis in Cubal, Central Angola.

To evaluate the performance of Rapid-Heat LAMPellet assay in field conditions for diagnosis of urogenital schistosomiasis in an endemic area in Cubal, Angola, and to assess the reproducibility in a reference laboratory. A total of 172 urine samples from school-age children were tested for microhaematuria, microscopic detection of Schistosoma haematobium eggs and LAMP for DNA detection. Urine samples were stored in a basic equipped laboratory. Field-LAMP tests were performed with and without prior DNA extraction from urine samples, and the results were read by turbidity and by colour change. When field procedures were finished, samples were sent to a reference laboratory to be reanalysed by LAMP. A total of 83 of 172 (48.3%) were positive for microhaematuria, 87/172 (50.6%) were microscopy-positive for S.haematobium eggs detection, and 127/172 (73.8%) showed LAMP-positive results for detecting S.haematobium using purified DNA and 109/172 (63.4%) without prior DNA extraction. MacNemar's test showed a statistical significant relation between LAMP results and microscopy-detected S.haematobium infections and microhaematuria (P<0.001 in both cases), respectively. When samples of purified DNA were reanalysed in a reference laboratory in Spain using the same LAMP methodology, the overall reproducibility achieved 72.1%. The ease of use, simplicity and feasibility demonstrated by LAMP assay in field conditions together with the acceptable level of reproducibility achieved in a reference laboratory support the use of LAMP assay as an effective test for molecular diagnosis of urogenital schistosomiasis in endemic remote areas.

Two new deep-water species of the genus Thorogobius (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from the upper continental slope of the Eastern Central Atlantic.

Two new gobiid species, Thorogobius alvheimi sp. nov. and Thorogobius laureatus sp. nov. (Teleostei: Gobiiformes: Gobiidae), are described from the outer continental shelf and upper slope of the Eastern Central Atlantic off Angola, Ghana and São Tomé and Príncipe. The specimens were trawled from depths between 57 and 208m. The new species are most similar to Thorogobius angolensis. Thorogobius alvheimi sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners in the combination of following characters. Fins: first dorsal fin with the second and third spines distinctly elongated; pectoral fin ray count 20-21; pelvic disc complete and short with well-developed anterior membrane (frenum) and pointed lateral lobes. Scales: nape and predorsal area naked; no scales on opercle; scales in longitudinal series 27-31. Pattern of free neuromasts: supratemporal rows tr and trp developed, extending transversally between pores H and K; longitudinal row g short, not passing row m posteriorly and distinctly distant from row h; infraorbital row 6 long, ventrally extending to lower margin of preopercle, its ventral section 6i originating anterior to its dorsal section 6s; posterior lateral row h reaching anteriorly above posterior third of opercle. Coloration: body uniformly pale fawn and brown; margin of scale pockets dark brown pigmented, yielding a reticulated pattern; pale spots on nape and predorsal area; caudal fin uniformly dusky greyish. Thorogobius laureatus sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners in the combination of following characters. Fins: first dorsal fin the second and third spines distinctly elongated; pectoral fin ray count 19-22; pelvic disc complete, short, with well-developed anterior membrane (frenum) with pointed lateral lobes. Scales: scales on sides of predorsal area and midline mostly naked; no scales on opercle; scales in longitudinal series 24-27. Pattern of free neuromasts (sensory papillae): supratemporal rows tr and trp developed, extending transversally between pores H and K; longitudinal row g long, passing row m posteriorly and relatively close to row h; infraorbital row 6 long, ventrally extending to lower margin of preopercle, its ventral (6i) and dorsal (6s) originating opposite to each other; posterior lateral rows: row h long, reaching anteriorly above middle of opercle. Coloration: body pale fawn and brownish; margin of scale pockets dark brown pigmented, yielding a reticulated pattern; five brown blotches on flanks in lateral midline from below first dorsal fin to caudal peduncle; caudal fin with six or seven distinct dark vertical bands.

Global Ideologies, Local Politics: The Cold War as Seen from Central Angola

I acknowledge the financial support that I received from the ORISHA fund, the Department of Politics and International Relations at Oxford, and St Antony’s College. I am currently supported by a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship, research grant number 74978.

Global Ideologies, Local Politics: The Cold War as Seen from Central Angola

International rivalry in the Cold War has dominated scholarship on the post-independence war in Angola, but little research has been done on how foreign support for the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) had an impact on political mobilisation inside Angola. This article draws upon interviews with people who remembered the conflicts of the 1970s and 1980s in the Angolan Central Highlands, the area in which UNITA made its strongest identity-based claims against the MPLA state, and which was fiercely contested during the war. It compares these with memoirs and other secondary material that record elite perspectives on the war. I argue that ideologies espoused by the external players in Angola had little direct impact on the political affiliations of people in the contested area. Nevertheless, external support for rival movements in Angola indirectly shaped and polarised popular attitudes towards the movements, notably by providing the MPLA and UNITA with the capacity to present themselves as state-like.

Evaluating the trade-off between food and timber resulting from the conversion of Miombo forests to agricultural land in Angola using multi-temporal Landsat data

The repopulation of abandoned areas in Angola after 27years of civil war led to a fast and extensive expansion of agricultural fields to meet the rising food demand. Yet, the increase in crop production at the expense of natural resources carries an inherent potential for conflicts since the demand for timber and wood extraction are also supposed to rise.We use the concept of ecosystem services to evaluate the trade-off between food and woody biomass. Our study area is located in central Angola, in the highlands of the upper Okavango catchment. We used Landsat data (spatial resolution: 30×30m) with a bi-temporal and multi-seasonal change detection approach for five time steps between 1989 and 2013 to estimate the conversion area from woodland to agriculture. Overall accuracy is 95%, user's accuracy varies from 89–95% and producer's accuracy ranges between 92–99%. To quantify the trade-off between woody biomass and the amount of food, this information was combined with indicator values and we furthermore assessed biomass regrowth on fallows.Our results reveal a constant rise in agricultural expansion from 1989–2013 with the mean annual deforestation rate increasing from roughly 5300ha up to about 12,000ha. Overall, 5.6% of the forested areas were converted to agriculture, whereas the FAO states a national deforestation rate for Angola of 5% from 1990–2010 (FAO, 2010). In the last time step 961,000t per year of woodland were cleared to potentially produce 1240t per year of maize. Current global agro-economical projections forecast increasing pressure on tropical dry forests from large-scale agriculture schemes (Gasparri et al., 2015; Searchinger and Heimlich, 2015). Our study underlines the importance of considering subsistence-related change processes, which may contribute significantly to negative effects associated with deforestation and degradation of these forest ecosystems.

Epidemiology of Schistosomiasis and Usefulness of Indirect Diagnostic Tests in School-Age Children in Cubal, Central Angola.

IntroductionSchistosomiasis remains a public health major problem and little is known in many areas, mainly in Sub-Saharan AfricaObjectivesTo assess the burden and risk factors of schistosomiasis and intestinal parasitic helminthes in the children of Cubal, Angola, and to compare different diagnostic approaches for urinary schistosomiasis under field conditions.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted. Urine and faeces samples of school children were microscopically studied. A random sample of children was obtained from an alphabetically arranged list of children, taking one of two children. Urine dipstick, colorimetric test and macrohaematuria were considered as indirect diagnostic methods and compared to direct urine examination. Possible risk factors for the infection were sex, age, distance to the river and previous treatment with praziquantel; the assessment was performed using Chi-square test.ResultsA total of 785 (61.18%) children showed S. haematobium eggs in urine; children living within 500 meters from the river had a higher odds for infection: Odds ratio 1.97 (1.45–2.7 CI 95%); urine dipstick showed sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 61.3%, with a positive predictive value; colorimetric test showed sensitivity of 52.5%, specificity of 74.6% and a positive predictive value of 77%. Proteinuria was present in 653 (51.1%) children, being more frequent in children with S. haematobium in urine (75.2%); 32 of 191 stool samples (16%) showed the presence of other intestinal parasites and 8 (4%) for S. haematobium.ConclusionsPrevalence of urinary schistosomiasis in our study area is much higher than the national average, considering it as a high-risk community. Proximity to a source of water was a risk factor for the infection. Indirect tests, as urine dipstick and colorimetric test, were useful tools for diagnosis, due to ease of use and low cost. Proteinuria was a common finding, probably showing an early structural damage due to schistosomiasis in this group of children.

Molecular epidemiology of drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum in Benguela province, Angola.

BackgroundThe malaria situation has been worsening in Angola, partly due to armed conflict until the recent past and drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria transmission is heterogeneous within the country, and data on drug-resistant malaria in different parts of the country are incomplete. The aim of the present study was to evaluate resistance to 4-aminoquinolines and antifolate drugs in P. falciparum isolates collected in Benguela province, central Angola, using molecular markers.MethodsFingerprick capillary blood was collected from asymptomatic children aged less than 15 years old during a household survey in and around Balombo town in 2010–2011. Samples were screened for P. falciparum by nested PCR. Molecular markers (P. falciparum dihydrofolate reductase [pfdhfr], P. falciparum dihydropteroate synthase [pfdhps], P. falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter [pfcrt], and P. falciparum multidrug-resistance gene 1 [pfmdr1]) were sequenced to determine the key codons associated with drug resistance.ResultsA total of 60 blood samples were positive for P. falciparum. Most isolates with successful PCR amplification had mutant pfdhfr alleles, with either double mutant AICNI (69%) or triple mutant AIRNI (21%) haplotypes. A16V, S108T, and I164L substitutions were not found. Many of the isolates were carriers of either SGKAA (60%) or AGKAA (27%) pfdhps haplotype. K540E substitution was absent. There were only two pfcrt haplotypes: wild-type CVMNK (11%) and mutant CVIET (89%). Wild-type pfmdr1 NYSND haplotype was found in 19% of the isolates, whereas single mutant pfmdr1 YYSND and NFSND haplotypes occurred in 48% and 11%, respectively. Double mutant pfmdr1 haplotypes (YFSND and YYSNY) occurred rarely.ConclusionsThe results suggest that the high prevalence of mutant pfcrt CVIET haplotype is in agreement with low clinical efficacy of chloroquine observed in earlier studies and that the double pfdhfr mutant AICNI and single pfdhps mutant SGKAA are currently the predominant haplotypes associated with antifolate resistance in Benguela province. The hallmark of clinical resistance observed in East Africa, i.e. triple pfdhfr mutant haplotype (AIRNI) and double pfdhps mutant haplotype (SGEAA), was absent. These molecular findings need to be further evaluated in parallel with clinical studies, in particular with the efficacy of intermittent preventive treatment using sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine in pregnant women and artesunate-amodiaquine for uncomplicated malaria.

First estimates of genetic diversity for the highly endangered giant sable antelope using a set of 57 microsatellites

Confined to a small region in central Angola, the giant sable antelope (Hippotragus niger variani) experienced a dramatic decline in numbers and is currently one of the most endangered African mammals. In spite of its iconic status, conservation efforts have been hindered by unsustainable hunting and lack of adequate tools to promote its recovery. In this work, we developed a set of 57 microsatellites specific for the giant sable, which revealed depleted levels of genetic diversity and an allele frequency spectrum consistent with a recent evolutionary history characterized by severe population crashes. In contrast, the high number of private alleles exhibited by other H. niger populations from Zimbabwe and Tanzania may suggest the occurrence of reduced levels of gene flow among sable populations. Our microsatellite panel was successfully tested on the roan antelope, Hippotragus equinus, and will prove highly applicable on the characterization of different Hippotragus populations, but in particular for the conservation of the Angolan giant sable antelope.

Knowledge and Attitude of Patients, and Practice of the Arrest of Breast Cancer in Outpatient Consultations in Mastology at the General Hospital of Huambo, Angola.

This work aims to understand the knowledge and perceptions of women aged over 40 years with breast cancer seen in mastology outpatients at the Maternity Hospital of Huambo, central Angola, from February to August 2010. It also examines the clinical practice of prevention and detection of breast cancer. The research consisted of a collection of descriptive, cross-sectional data through a questionnaire. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using Epi Info, version 6.04b. In our sample, half of the women were single, all had history of breast cancer in the family, and most had heard of breast self-examination, with the primary source of information being the mass media. Almost all women reported that it was important to perform self-examination and that they were aware of the seriousness of breast cancer, and although most of them had not been taught how to do breast self-examination, almost all knew the basics of how to do it. Some 17.6% had heard of mammography, but none had ever had a mammogram.

Seeing Mission Work through a Gendered Lens

Nellie Arnott, who served as a Congregational mission teacher in the highlands of Angola from 1905–1912, left a rich archival record of her personal experiences, including private diaries and publications for women’s mission magazines. Her writings trace her evolving attitude toward gender roles for missionaries and for Umbundu women whom she taught. Arnott provides a highly personalized and feminized glimpse into a changing central Angola, as Portuguese authority extended into the region. As Arnott left Angola in 1912, her goal was to establish a girls’ boarding school there, but, while home on furlough, she married her long-time fiancé and did not return to Africa. Her candid personal writings allow a window into the development of her own social agency and a glimpse into the lives of Umbundu women (and men) as they negotiated evolving gender roles within an environment shaped by Portuguese political control as well as Congregational mission work.

Blue whales Balaenoptera musculus off Angola: recent sightings and evaluation of whaling data

The population of blue whales Balaenoptera musculus inhabiting the South-East Atlantic (Gabon to South Africa) was heavily depleted by commercial whaling. We report four photographically-verified sightings, and one probable sighting, of blue whales in deep waters (>1 000 m) off central Angola (11° S to 12°30′ S) during 2012. International Whaling Commission catch data from south-western Africa between 1908 and 1967 included an estimated 2 071 blue whales taken off Angola between 1909 and 1934. The highest combined catches at any one station during this period (n = 833) occurred at Elephant Bay (13°13′ S), located just south of the recent sightings. Despite year-round survey effort the sightings had strong seasonality and occurred only between July and October. Similarly, whaling catches peaked during July and August. Body lengths and seasonality indicate that at least some captured animals comprised the Antarctic blue whale B. m. intermedia subspecies. The sightings included at least one cow–calf pair. Catches comprised a high proportion (63.3%) of immature animals and at least five Antarctic blue whale cow–calf pairs. Food (zooplankton) was present in 85% of captured individuals, indicating feeding in Angolan waters. Further survey work is required to better clarify the status of blue whales in Angolan waters, particularly with regard to population structure and potential calving grounds.

High Prevalence and Variability of CTX-M-15-Producing and Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Escherichia coli Observed in Stray Dogs in Rural Angola

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a serious problem globally, but it is especially pronounced in the tropics, where pressure of infectious diseases is high. We examined resistance in Escherichia coli colonizing gastrointestinal tracts of 17 dogs which have never received antimicrobial treatment, living in central rural Angola. Emphasis was placed on extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR). Resistance-carrying plasmids were characterized in size, group of incompatibility and ability to conjugate. Isolates were compared by their pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profiles. Detailed description of 19 E. coli isolates with either ESBL or PMQR genes carried on multiresistant plasmids of different groups of incompatibility indicates that dogs, despite never being treated by antibiotics, are important reservoirs and transmitters of AMR in the study area.

Distribution and Ecophysiology of Calanoid Copepods in Relation to the Oxygen Minimum Zone in the Eastern Tropical Atlantic

Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) affect distribution patterns, community structure and metabolic processes of marine organisms. Due to the prominent role of zooplankton, especially copepods, in the marine carbon cycle and the predicted intensification and expansion of OMZs, it is essential to understand the effects of hypoxia on zooplankton distribution and ecophysiology. For this study, calanoid copepods were sampled from different depths (0–1800 m) at eight stations in the eastern tropical Atlantic (3°47′N to 18°S) during three expeditions in 2010 and 2011. Their horizontal and vertical distribution was determined and related to the extent and intensity of the OMZ, which increased from north to south with minimum O2 concentrations (12.7 µmol kg−1) in the southern Angola Gyre. Calanoid copepod abundance was highest in the northeastern Angola Basin and decreased towards equatorial regions as well as with increasing depth. Maximum copepod biodiversity was observed in the deep waters of the central Angola Basin. Respiration rates and enzyme activities were measured to reveal species-specific physiological adaptations. Enzyme activities of the electron transport system (ETS) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) served as proxies for aerobic and anaerobic metabolic activity, respectively. Mass-specific respiration rates and ETS activities decreased with depth of occurrence, consistent with vertical changes in copepod body mass and ambient temperature. Copepods of the families Eucalanidae and Metridinidae dominated within the OMZ. Several of these species showed adaptive characteristics such as lower metabolic rates, additional anaerobic activity and diel vertical migration that enable them to successfully inhabit hypoxic zones.

Cichlid Fishes in the Angolan Headwaters Region: Molecular Evidence of the Ichthyofaunal Contact between the Cuanza and Okavango-Zambezi Systems

The headwaters of five large African river basins flow through the Bié Plateau in Angola and still remain faunistically largely unexplored. We investigated fish fauna from the Cuanza and Okavango-Zambezi river systems from central Angola. We reconstructed molecular phylogenies of the most common cichlid species from the region, Tilapia sparrmanii and Serranochromis macrocephalus, using both mitochondrial and nuclear markers. We found evidence for ichthyofaunal contact and gene flow between the Cuanza and Okavango-Zambezi watersheds in the Bié Plateau in central Angola. Waterfalls and rapids also appeared to restrict genetic exchange among populations within the Cuanza basin. Further, we found that the Angolan Serranochromis cichlid fishes represent a monophyletic lineage with respect to other haplochromines, including the serranochromines from the Congo and Zambezi rivers. This study represents an important initial step in a biodiversity survey of this extremely poorly explored region, as well as giving further understanding to species distributions and gene flow both between and within river basins.

Revision of the family &lt;I&gt;Dipterocarpaceae&lt;/I&gt; in Angola

The diversity of Dipterocarpaceae in Angola is updated to 24 taxa, two species of Marquesia and 22 species and subspecies of Monotes. A new species is described and four new records (three species and one subspecies) are added to the Flora of Angola. The new species, Monotes paivae, occurs in the province of Bie, central Angola. Its diagnostic characters are a persistent indumentum on the entire upper surface of leaves and a woollytomentose indumentum in the lower surface of adult leaves. A key to the species and the respective descriptions is presented. The species of Monotes endemic in the country are mapped and their conservation status is discussed.

Cassava food toxins, konzo disease, and neurodegeneration in sub-Sahara Africans

Endemoepidemic neurodegenerative diseases putatively caused by food toxins have been reported around the globe with no clear understanding of their pathogenetic mechanisms. These diseases include the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism dementia complex among the Guamanians; neurolathyrism among Europeans, Indians, and populations of the Horn of Africa; and tropical ataxic neuropathy or konzo among sub-Sahara Africans.1,2 We focus on the molecular determinants of susceptibility to konzo, a poorly known self-limited and irreversible upper motor neuron disease (spastic paraparesis) highly prevalent in Congo-Kinshasa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Central African Republic, Angola, and Cameroon. The main clinical picture consists of a symmetrical, permanent, and irreversible spastic paraparesis with no signs of sensory or genitourinary impairments.2,3 Severely affected individuals may present with a tetraparesis and pseudobulbar signs. The disease konzo was named after a fetish used by the “Yaka” population of Congo-Kinshasa. The World Health Organization has adopted the following epidemiologic criteria for the disease: 1) an abrupt onset (<1 week) of weakness in legs and a nonprogressive course of the disease in a formerly healthy person, 2) a symmetrical spastic abnormality when walking and/or running, and 3) bilaterally exaggerated knee and/or ankle jerks without signs of disease of the spine.

Theileria, Babesia, and Anaplasma detected by PCR in ruminant herds at Bié Province, Angola.

Distribution of Anaplasma spp., Babesia spp., Theileria spp., and Ehrlichia ruminantium, was for the first time studied in Bié Province, central Angola. We examined 76 blood samples of cattle originated from seven farms, and 13 blood samples of goats from two farms employing molecular genetic tools (PCR). Most prevalent was A. ovis-infection in goats (100%) and A. marginale-infection in cattle (38% of examined animals, and six out of seven farms). B. bigemina-infection was detected in only one specimen at Andulo, whereas B. bovis was not detected in Bié. We did not detected T. parva, the causative agent of serious diseases in cattle; nevertheless, infection by T. velifera was quite frequent (14% of examined animals, and five out of seven farms). Causative agent of heartwater disease – E. ruminantium, was not detected. Taking into account short-term perspective of PCR methods in monitoring of epidemiological status in herds, the number of infected animals and distribution of detected pathogens should not be ignored.

Control of konzo in the Democratic Republic of Congo

AbstractKonzo is an upper motor neuron disease that causes irreversible paralysis of the legs mainly in children and young women^1,2^, due to consumption of large amounts of cyanogens from poorly processed cassava, the staple food of tropical Africa^3^. Konzo occurs in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),Mozambique, Tanzania, Cameroon, Central African Republic and Angola. In March 2010 the wetting method, which removes cyanogens from cassava flour^4,5,6^, was taught to and used by the mothers of Kay Kalenge village. This reduced the total cyanide content of cassava flour to the FAO/WHO limit of 10ppm^7^. Cyanogen intake of school children, monitored by urinary thiocyanate analyses, decreased from mean values of 332 to 130 &amp;x03BC;mole/L. The percentage of urine samples that exceeded the danger level of about 350 &amp;x03BC;mole/L decreased from 26 in March 2010 to zero by May 2011. In 2009 there were many new cases of konzo, but none in 2010-2011. Konzo was first identified in1938 in Popokabaka area^8^ and it has now been prevented for the first time in the same area. This methodology is being used in three villages in Boko area and we believe it is the way to control konzo in tropical Africa.

Beryl Patricia Hall (née Woodhouse), 1917–2010

Beryl Patricia Hall (née Woodhouse), 1917–2010