Plateau Central Region Research Articles

Associated factors of dietary diversity among schoolchildren in Plateau Central region of Burkina Faso: a cross-sectional study

ContextSchool-age is a dynamic period of growth and development, leading to good health and a productive adult life. Adequate dietary intake provides essential nutrients for growth, health and cognition. However, the practices of adequate nutrition is still not a matter of course for schoolchildren in many countries. The aim of this study was to identify associated factors of dietary diversity among students in public primary school in the Central Plateau Region.MethodMulti-stage sampling was used to select schoolchildren. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information’s of food consumption at home and at school using a 24-h dietary recall method. Binary logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with students' dietary diversity scores (DDS) with statistical significance at p < 0.05, after performing Chi-square test of independence to identify candidates variables at p < 0.25.ResultsThe study involved 560 pupils aged 6 to 14 older, including 52.9% girls and 47.9% boys. Dietary diversity was divided into three classes: low (DDS ≤ 4), medium (DDS = 5) and high (DDS ≥ 6). Thus, 13.4% of students have a low DDS and average in 48.9%, versus 37.7% high. Students in Ganzourgou were twice as likely to have a low DDS (AOR = 2.01, 95% CI:1.00–4.04) compared to those in Oubritenga. Household drinking water source, pupil status and father's occupation were significantly associated with pupils' dietary intake.ConclusionPrimary schoolchildren don’t have good dietary practices in the Plateau Central Region. Promoting dietary diversification in households and balanced meals in school canteens would be necessary to improve the DDS of schoolchildren.Trial registrationClinical Trial Number: 2022_33_/MS/MESRSI/CERS of 02/14/2022.

Seasonal diversity and dynamics of entomofauna associated with the decomposition of pig (Sus scrofa domesticus L.) carcasses in a Peri-urban area of Central Burkina Faso, West Africa.

This study aimed to determine the effects of seasons on the diversity and dynamics of insects associated with pig carrion in Gampela, Plateau Central Region, Burkina Faso, West Africa. Pig carcasses (Sus scrofa domesticus L.) were exposed in an open area to monitor their decomposition process and their colonization by insects during a warm and dry period (March-April 2015), a warm and wet period (August-September 2015) and a cool and dry period (December 2015-January 2016). Monitoring and entomological data collection occurred for 60days for each study period. The decomposition process always included five stages (fresh, bloating, putrefaction, postputrefaction, and skeletal), which varied in duration depending on the study period. In sum, 118,761 insects belonging to 4 orders, 12 families, 17 genera, and 21 species were collected during the three study periods, with approximately 61% of the individuals collected during the warm and wet period. The dynamics of insect populations associated with the pig carcasses included two peaks at each study period. Formicidae was the most abundant insect family in each study period, but Musca domestica was the most abundant species. The listed species were found to belong to four trophic groups with a predominance of predators/carnivores followed by necrophagous insects. The orders, families, and trophic groups reported in this study were significantly more abundant during the warm and wet period. The results show prospects for the use of Calliphoridae, Muscidae, and Dermestidae in criminal investigations, depending on seasonal variations in Sudano-Sahelian areas.

Seroprevalence and determinants of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia in cattle in Burkina Faso.

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is a bacterial disease caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. Mycoides. This disease affects ruminants mainly cattle with respiratory disorders as predominant symptoms. In Burkina Faso, this condition has been considered as enzootic since several years but data on its seroprevalence remains scares. This study aimed to establish the serological prevalence and determinants of CBPP in Burkina Faso in 2017. For this purpose, 3969 serum samples have been collected following a stratified sampling plan based on vaccination coverage in 12 regions, 84 communes, and 210 villages and analyzed using c-ELISA test. Individual seroprevalence was 16.91% (95% CI: 15.74-18.07%), while 84.5% (95% CI: 60.46-80.02%) of communes, chosen as epidemiological units were found positive. The individual prevalence was found to be associated with agro-ecological area (p < 0.05) and a prevalence of 18.70% (95% CI: 16.74-20.66%) was noted in Sahelian areas, while 15.79% (95% CI: 14.34-17.23%) was found in Soudanian areas. The prevalence was also significantly associated with vaccination coverage (p < 0.05) with a prevalence of 13.92% (95% CI: 11.66-16.18%), 19.21% (95% CI: 16.66-20.75%) and 11.61%(95% CI: 9.00-14.23%) for high, moderate, and low vaccination coverage respectively. The individual prevalence was respectively 16.97 (95% CI: 15.56-18.39%) and 17.13% (95% CI: 15.93-18.33%) for female and animals more than 2years old. According to regions, the highest seroprevalence was found in Plateau Central region (38.18%, 95% CI: 29.1-47.26%), while the lowest was found in Centre-Est Region (7%, 95% CI: 4.5-9.5%). These prevalence data will allow us to adapt the ongoing strategy to control CBPP in Burkina Faso.

Behavioural plasticity of Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles arabiensis undermines LLIN community protective effect in a Sudanese-savannah village in Burkina Faso

BackgroundDespite the overall major impact of long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) in eliciting individual and collective protection to malaria infections, some sub-Saharan countries, including Burkina Faso, still carry a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. This study aims to analyse the possible entomological bases of LLIN limited impact, focusing on a LLIN-protected village in the Plateau Central region of Burkina Faso.MethodsHuman landing catches (HLCs) were carried out in 2015 for 12 nights both indoors and outdoors at different time windows during the highest biting activity phase for Anopheles gambiae (s.l.). Collected specimens were morphologically and molecularly identified and processed for Plasmodium detection and L1014F insecticide-resistance allele genotyping.ResultsAlmost 2000 unfed An. gambiae (s.l.) (54% Anopheles coluzzii and 44% Anopheles arabiensis) females landing on human volunteers were collected, corresponding to a median number of 23.5 females/person/hour. No significant differences were observed in median numbers of mosquitoes collected indoors and outdoors, nor between sporozoite rates in An. coluzzii (6.1%) and An. arabiensis (5.5%). The estimated median hourly entomological inoculation rate (EIR) on volunteers was 1.4 infective bites/person/hour. Results do not show evidence of the biting peak during night hours typical for An. gambiae (s.l.) in the absence of bednet protection. The frequency of the L1014F resistant allele (n = 285) was 66% in An. coluzzii and 38% in An. arabiensis.ConclusionsThe observed biting rate and sporozoite rates are in line with the literature data available for An. gambiae (s.l.) in the same geographical area before LLIN implementation and highlight high levels of malaria transmission in the study village. Homogeneous biting rate throughout the night and lack of preference for indoor-biting activity, suggest the capacity of both An. coluzzii and An. arabiensis to adjust their host-seeking behaviour to bite humans despite bednet protection, accounting for the maintenance of high rates of mosquito infectivity and malaria transmission. These results, despite being limited to a local situation in Burkina Faso, represent a paradigmatic example of how high densities and behavioural plasticity in the vector populations may contribute to explaining the limited impact of LLINs on malaria transmission in holo-endemic Sudanese savannah areas in West Africa.

Assessment of schistosomiasis and intestinal helminths following mass drug administration in the Centre and Plateau Central regions of Burkina Faso

Schistosomiasis is the most important waterborne disease in Sub-Saharan Africa. Transmission is governed by the spatial distribution of specific freshwater snails that act as intermediate hosts and human water contact patterns. In developing countries, such as Burkina Faso it remains a serious health problem, which management face important gaps. The main of theses gaps is the lack of reliable information about prevalence. Then, this study has been undertaken in order to determine the prevalence of schistosomiasis in the Centre and Plateau Central regions in Burkina Faso. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Plateau Central and Centre regions of Burkina Faso to assess the status of schistosomiasis and intestinal worms among school age children. 1,455 school-age children were selected to participate to the study. Results shows that prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium in the Plateau Central and Centre regions were 4% and 0.6% respectively, with an overall prevalence of 2.3% (95% CI: 1.5% - 3.1%) in two regions. The following intestinal parasites were found in stools with various prevalence: Schistosoma mansoni 0.1% (95% CI: 0% - 0.3%) and Ancylostoma duodenale 0.1% (95% CI: 0% - 0.2%). The prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis in the Centre and Plateau Central regions had been greatly reduced from the previous level in the published data since the large-scale population treatment initiated in 2004. The study confirmed the success in controlling the disease by preventive chemotherapy. However, the progress toward its elimination requires that the implementation of a monitoring and evaluation system focused on sentinel sites, and aiming at quantifying the impact of treatment, be gradually coupled with a monitoring system to identify any outbreak of residual transmission. © 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved Keywords: Schistosoma soil-transmitted helminths, mass drug administration, Burkina Faso

Evaluation of a Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction for the Laboratory Diagnosis of Giardia intestinalis in Stool Samples from Schoolchildren from the Centre-Ouest and Plateau Central Regions of Burkina Faso

Objective: Giardiasis, a zoonotic, diarrheal disease with worldwide occurrence, is routinely diagnosed by microscopic examination of stool samples. However, implementation of this method relies on skilled and experienced personal; it is time consuming and relatively low in sensitivity. A superior diagnostic approach to detect the causative agent Giardia intestinalis would, hence, be highly desirable. The current study aimed to assess realtime polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of G. intestinalis as an alternative to microscopy. Material and methods: Stool samples from healthy schoolchildren aged 8-14 years from eight schools of the Centre-Ouest and Plateau Central regions in Burkina Faso were therefore collected within a cross-sectional study. Microscopic examination was performed on two faecal samples collected over two consecutive days from 441 schoolchildren. Each faecal specimen has been examined using Kato-Katz and formol-ether methods of concentration in addition to the direct examination. Real-time PCR was used to detect G. intestinalis in the 94 microscopy positive and the 53 microscopy negative samples. Results: Microscopic examination demonstrated an overall G.intestinalis prevalence of 27.2%. Using the microscopic examination as the ‘gold standard’, the overall sensitivity of real-time PCR was demonstrated to be 76.6% ranging from 58.3% to 94.1% and the specificity was 96.2% ranging from 96.2% to 100% across the schools assessed. Conclusion: Real-time PCR appears to be a solid detection method for G. intestinalis in this current setting. However, it needs to be further optimized to become a more sensitive tool for G. intestinalis diagnosis in low income settings.

Complementary school garden, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene interventions to improve children's nutrition and health status in Burkina Faso and Nepal: a study protocol.

BackgroundMalnutrition and intestinal parasitic infections are common among children in Burkina Faso and Nepal. However, specific health-related data in school-aged children in these two countries are scarce. In the frame of a larger multi-stakeholder project entitled “Vegetables go to School: Improving Nutrition through Agricultural Diversification” (VgtS), a study has been designed with the objectives to: (i) describe schoolchildren’s health status in Burkina Faso and Nepal; and to (ii) provide an evidence-base for programme decisions on the relevance of complementary school garden, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions.Methods/DesignThe studies will be conducted in the Centre Ouest and the Plateau Central regions of Burkina Faso and the Dolakha and Ramechhap districts of Nepal. Data will be collected and combined at the level of schools, children and their households. A range of indicators will be used to examine nutritional status, intestinal parasitic infections and WASH conditions in 24 schools among 1144 children aged 8–14 years at baseline and a 1-year follow-up. The studies are designed as cluster randomised trials and the schools will be assigned to two core study arms: (i) the ‘complementary school garden, nutrition and WASH intervention’ arm; and the (ii) ‘control’ arm with no interventions. Children will be subjected to parasitological examinations using stool and urine samples and to quality-controlled anthropometric and haemoglobin measurements. Drinking water will be assessed for contamination with coliform bacteria and faecal streptococci. A questionnaire survey on nutritional and health knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) will be administered to children and their caregivers, also assessing socioeconomic, food-security and WASH conditions at household level. Focus group and key-informant interviews on children’s nutrition and hygiene perceptions and behaviours will be conducted with their caregivers and school personnel.DiscussionThe studies will contribute to fill a data gap on school-aged children in Burkina Faso and Nepal. The data collected will also serve to inform the design of school-based interventions and will contribute to deepen the understanding of potential effects of these interventions to improve schoolchildren’s health in resource-constrained settings. Key findings will be used to provide guidance for the implementation of health policies at the school level in Burkina Faso and Nepal.Trial registrationISRCTN30840 (date assigned: 17 July 2015)

Public policies for rural poverty alleviation: The case of agricultural households in the Plateau Central area of Burkina Faso

Are there any economic policies able to break the vicious circle of the poverty trap in rural areas of poor countries such as Burkina Faso? To help answer this question, a detailed analysis of production systems has been used to elaborate dynamic household models. A mathematical programming model represents the economic decisions of farmers for the three farm types found in the Plateau Central region. Farms are linked together by factor markets. The model calculates a wide range of variables: incomes of agricultural households and their sources, land allocation between the different crops, cropping techniques used, agricultural production, consumption expenditure and labor allocation among the various activities including off-farm activities. These estimates can be obtained by farmer groups and aggregated for the Plateau Central. The model is used to simulate the effects of five economic policies and their combinations: (i) increasing the availability of irrigation water, (ii) lowering marketing costs, (iii) access to animal traction, (iv) access to credit, (v) reducing producer price variability. The analysis reveals different impacts in function of the different farm groups. Public good policies benefit all groups whereas policies aiming at improving capital market access or at diminishing risks on product sales primarily benefit the richest group. Policies focusing on access to equipment are of greater benefit to the poorest. Given the depth of initial poverty, it is necessary to combine all the measures to allow the incomes of the poorest group to cross the poverty line.

Through thick and thin: A new model for the Colorado Plateau from seismic refraction data from Pacific to Arizona Crustal Experiment

We have constructed a model for the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the Colorado Plateau by combining newly acquired seismic refraction/wide‐angle reflection data from the 1989 Pacific to Arizona Crustal Experiment (PACE) cross profile with data collected by Roller (1965). A combination of forward modeling methods was used to model travel times and relative amplitudes of crustal and upper mantle phases. The salient features of the model for the Colorado Plateau (hereafter referred to as the plateau) are (1) an upper crust having an average velocity of 6.1 km/s with a low vertical velocity gradient, (2) midcrustal discontinuities at depths of 30 to 38 km beneath the plateau, (3) a lower crust that varies in thickness (5 to 16 km) and has an average velocity of 6.8 km/s, (4) a transitional lower crust/upper mantle boundary, and (5) a crustal thickness of 45 ± 3 km. A comparison of our new model for the Colorado Plateau with recent models for the Basin and Range shows that the upper crusts of the two provinces are similar but that the lower crust of the plateau is thicker, particularly in the plateau's central region. These observations are consistent with the idea that the Basin and Range could have formed from crust like that of the Colorado Plateau.