Comoros Research Articles

A case of disjunct montane linyphiid species (Araneae) in the Palaeotropics, with notes on synonymy and the description of a new species

The genus EnguterothrixDenis, 1962 contains two very closely related species on different continents: E. crinipesDenis, 1962, known from the mountains of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and E. simpulum (Tanasevitch, 2014) comb. nov. (transferred from ApophygoneTanasevitch, 2014), which is widespread in the mountains of northern Thailand. Enguterothrix fuscipalpisDenis, 1962 is removed from the genus and preliminarily placed in MicrargusDahl, 1886. A new species, Oedothorax paralegrandi sp. nov., is described from the Indian Himalayas; it shows close relations to the Afrotropical O. legrandiJocque, 1985 from the Comoros. The following new synonyms are proposed: ApophygoneTanasevitch, 2014 syn. nov. of EnguterothrixDenis, 1962; Enguterothrix tenuipalpisHolm, 1968 syn. nov. of Enguterothrix crinipesDenis, 1962; Nasoonaria circinataZhao & Li, 2014 syn. nov. of Nasoonaria magnaTanasevitch, 2014; Theoa bidentataZhao & Li, 2014 syn. nov. of Theoa elegansTanasevitch, 2014.

PV-Wind-Diesel System for Energy Supply on Remote Area Applied for Telecommunication Towers in Comoros

The Comoros is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean located in the Mozambique Channel between the African continent and Madagascar. Geographically Comoros is composed of four islands: Grande Comores, Anjouan, Mohéli and Mayotte (under French administration). Apart from Mayotte, the others three independent islands commonly known as the Union of the Comoros are suffering from energy stress since their independence year 1975 until nowadays. The energy supplied and distributed by the national electricity company, SONELEC produced by diesel engines, is not stable with so much load shedding all the time. This instability energy leads to a lack of a phone network in some telecommunications towers connected to grid. The majority of telecommunications towers are located in rural areas not connected to grid and running on diesel generators, which once again leads to a problem with the telecommunications network when diesel engines fail. The two competing companies which operate in the field of telecommunications in the Comoros, namely Comores Télécom, a national public company and Telma, the private one, are still unable to ensure the provision of the telecommunications network on a regular basis. This is why we propose in the present work, a sizing of hybrid system composed essentially of a diesel generator, a wind turbine and a photovoltaic solar system with storage in batteries for supplying telecommunications towers in order to permanently ensure the provision of the telecommunications network for the well-being of the population. Our future energy must be based on non-polluting energies with significant resources. Renewable energies are the best candidates but with intermittent production especially in rural areas not connected to the national electricity grid whose energy demand is more important to meet the needs of the population. The aim of this work is the sizing of a hybrid system composed of a diesel generator, a wind turbine and a photovoltaic solar system with storage in batteries for supplying telecommunications towers located in rural areas in the Comoros. In fact, to verify the performance of the hybrid system, a numerical study has been carried out with the HOMER 2.68 Beta software using meteorological data from the Comoros. The results obtained show that this hybrid combination is more profitable in the margin of economic cost and environmental assessments with a less expensive investment. These results also show a better optimization of Wind/PV/Battery of the hybrid system used, satisfying the demand and contributing to the preservation of the environment to fight against climate change with a low cost of energy.

Motivation on Job Satisfaction and Employee Performance

This study aims to study the effect of motivation on job satisfaction and employee performance. The population in this study was 505 Cooperativa Cafe Timor employees in Timor-Leste by determining saturated samples at 6 company locations, namely the NT Factory, Comoro, Manleuana, Railaco, Tibar, and at the Head Office as many as 202. This study used a quantitative approach with data collection methods using interviews and questionnaires. Data that has been collected and verified valid are analyzed using descriptive analysis techniques and using a variance-based or component-based approach with Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis tools. The results show that motivation has a significant positive effect on job satisfaction and employee performance. The findings of this study also state that job satisfaction has a significant positive effect on employee performance. The implications of this study emphasize the need to improve adaptive performance so that companies can always keep abreast of developments in the face of increasingly fierce competition.

The Flotilla Incident from the Perspective of International Law and the Judicial Rights of the Victims

The Mavi Marmara flotilla, which sailed for a humanitarian mission and aimed to break the Israeli blockade to Gaza, was intercepted by the Israeli soldiers on high sea on 31st May 2010. In this raid, nine civilians have lost their lives on the spot and 55 others were wounded. States and their agents can be held accountable if they commit crimes. Therefore, the Mavi Marmara victims have the right to sue at national and international level the Israeli officers who took part in the operation. Some victims have filed criminal and civil cases before the Turkish courts against Israel and its officers. Besides these judicial cases brought before the national courts, a referral was also made by the Union of the Comoros, flag country of the Mavi Marmara vessel, to the International Criminal Court. Meanwhile, Turkey and Israel have signed a bilateral agreement for the compensation of the bereaved families. This compensation agreement clears Israel and its officers off all legal responsibilities arising from the flotilla incident before the Turkish courts. This bilateral agreement is a legal obstruction imposed to the victims in their quest of justice. The Turkish Court of Cassation, in its recent decisions, has requested the courts of first instance to take into consideration the provisions of the said agreement. Despite the above mentioned agreement, the victims shall have still the right to sue the Israeli officials responsible for the flotilla incident before national, foreign and international courts, on the grounds of crime against humanity, provided that the necessary requirements are fulfilled.

Genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum in Grande Comore Island

BackgroundDespite several control interventions resulting in a considerable decrease in malaria prevalence in the Union of the Comoros, the disease remains a public health problem with high transmission in Grande Comore compared to neighbouring islands. In this country, only a few studies investigating the genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum have been performed so far. For this reason, this study aims to examine the genetic diversity of P. falciparum by studying samples collected in Grande Comore in 2012 and 2013, using merozoite surface protein 1 (msp1), merozoite surface protein 2 (msp2) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genetic markers.MethodsA total of 162 positive rapid diagnostic test (RDT) samples from Grande Comore were used to extract parasite DNA. Allelic families K1, Mad20 and RO33 of the msp1 gene as well as allelic families IC3D7 and FC37 of the msp2 gene were determined by using nested PCR. Additionally, 50 out of 151 samples were genotyped to study 24 SNPs by using high resolution melting (HRM).ResultsTwo allelic families were predominant, the K1 family of msp1 gene (55%) and the FC27 family of msp2 gene (47.4%). Among 50 samples genotyped for 24 SNPs, 42 (84%) yielded interpretable results. Out of these isolates, 36 (85%) were genetically unique and 6 (15%) grouped into two clusters. The genetic diversity of P. falciparum calculated from msp1 and msp2 genes and SNPs was 0.82 and 0.61, respectively.ConclusionIn summary, a large genetic diversity of P. falciparum was observed in Grande Comore. This may favour persistence of malaria and might be one of the reasons for the high malaria transmission compared to neighbouring islands. Further surveillance of P. falciparum isolates, mainly through environmental management and vector control, is warranted until complete elimination is attained.

Situation on Registered Vessels of Comoros, Greece and Cambodia, Article 53(1) Report

Situation on Registered Vessels of Comoros, Greece and Cambodia, Article 53(1) Report

Decision on the Request of the Union of the Comoros to Review the Prosecutor’s Decision Not to Initiate an Investigation

Decision on the Request of the Union of the Comoros to Review the Prosecutor’s Decision Not to Initiate an Investigation

Union of the Comoros

Selected Issues

Union of the Comoros

Union of the Comoros

Union of the Comoros

While the authorities have so far not reported any COVID-19 cases in Comoros, the pandemic’s economic impact is already being felt as remittances receipts have slowed, visitor arrivals have stopped, and liquidity pressures have developed in the banking sector. The authorities have taken measures such as school closings and travel bans and have taken initial steps to address bank liquidity strains.

Spatial Multicriteria Evaluation for Mapping the Risk of Occurrence of Peste des Petits Ruminants in Eastern Africa and the Union of the Comoros.

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), responsible for peste des petits ruminants (PPR), is widely circulating in Africa and Asia. The disease is a huge burden for the economy and development of the affected countries. In Eastern Africa, the disease is considered endemic. Because of the geographic proximity and existing trade between eastern African countries and the Comoros archipelago, the latter is at risk of introduction and spread, and the first PPR outbreaks occurred in the Union of the Comoros in 2012. The objective of this study was to map the areas suitable for PPR occurrence and spread in the Union of the Comoros and four eastern African countries, namely Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. A Geographic Information System (GIS)-based Multicriteria Evaluation (MCE) was developed. Risk factors for PPR occurrence and spread, and their relative importance, were identified using literature review and expert-based knowledge. Corresponding geographic data were collected, standardized, and combined based on a weighted linear combination to obtain PPR suitability maps. The accuracy of the maps was assessed using outbreak data from the EMPRES database and a ROC curve analysis. Our model showed an excellent ability to distinguish between absence and presence of outbreaks in Eastern Africa (AUC = 0.907; 95% CI [0.820–0.994]), and a very good performance in the Union of the Comoros (AUC = 0.889, 95% CI: [0.694–1]). These results highlight the efficiency of the GIS-MCE method, which can be applied at different geographic scales: continental, national and local. The resulting maps provide decision support tools for implementation of disease surveillance and control measures, thus contributing to the PPR eradication goal of OIE and FAO by 2030.

Comoros – Election Preparations

Comoros – Election Preparations

Briefly Noted

On September 2, 2019, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber delivered its judgment in the Situation on the Registered Vessels of the Union of Comoros, the Hellenic Republic and the Kingdom of Cambodia case, Case No. ICC-01/13 OA 2, and rejected the appeal filed by the ICC Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I's decision on the November 15, 2018 “Application for Judicial Review by the Government of the Union of Comoros.” As noted in the ICC's press release, “a referral was received by the Office of the Prosecutor from the authorities of the Union of the Comoros, a State Party to the Rome Statute, in relation to an attack on 31 May 2010 by the Israeli Defence Forces on the Humanitarian Aid Flotilla bound for the Gaza strip. On 6 November 2014, the Prosecutor issued her decision not to investigate the attack. On 16 July 2015, Pre-Trial Chamber I, by majority, requested the Prosecutor to reconsider the 6 November 2014 decision not to investigate the attack. Subsequently, on 29 November 2017 the Prosecutor filed her decision, which she considered to be final, reaffirming her previous decision not to investigate the attack. On 15 November 2018, Pre-Trial Chamber I directed the Prosecutor to reconsider her decision of 6 November 2014 not to investigate the attack in light of the specific directions of the Pre-Trial Chamber's 16 July 2015 decision. The Prosecutor then appealed this decision.” The Appeals Chamber confirmed the Pre-Trial Chamber's decision, directing that the OTP must reconsider its decision regarding the Comoros referral by December 2, 2019. The Appeals Chamber found that the Pre-Trial Chamber “did not err in reviewing whether a decision of a Prosecutor that she considered to be ‘final’ subsequently to a first request for reconsideration does actually amount … to a proper ‘final decision.’” The Appeals Chamber did maintain that the “ultimate decision” regarding whether or not to initiate an investigation remains with the OTP.

Tick-borne diseases in the Union of the Comoros are a hindrance to livestock development: Circulation and associated risk factors

Tick-borne diseases (TBD) occur in many temperate countries and are economically important in most tropical and subtropical areas, affecting dairy and beef cattle, as well as small ruminants. Four major tick-borne diseases have been detected in eastern and southern Africa: East Coast fever (ECF) caused by Theileria parva, Theiler 1904, anaplasmosis caused by either Anaplasma marginale, Theiler 1910, Anaplasma centrale, Theiler 1911, or Anaplasma ovis, Bevan 1912, babesiosis caused by Babesia bovis, Babes 1988 and Babesia bigemina, Smith & Kilborne 1893, and heartwater caused by Ehrlichia ruminantium Cowdry 1925. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken to determine the antibody prevalence of these TBDs and to identify the risk factors for TBD infections in the Union of the Comoros. In 2016 and 2017, 903 individual animal serum samples were collected from 429 separate farms, where the farmers answered individual questionnaires. The antibody prevalence of anaplasmosis, babesiosis (B. bigemina) and heartwater was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and the antibody prevalence of ECF was assessed using an immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT). The relationship between TBD seropositivity and livestock-related variables was assessed by multivariate analyses with standard logistic regression models. The results showed that these four TBDs were present in the Union of the Comoros with a global antibody prevalence of 15% (95% CI [12.7%; 17.3%]) for anaplasmosis, 9.2% (95% CI [6.5%, 11.9%]) for B. bigemina babesiosis, 5.3% (95% CI [3.2%, 7.4%]) for ECF and 4.6% (95% CI [3.2%, 6%]) for heartwater. We compared these findings with the abundance and distribution of several tick species known to be TBD vectors and we found a significant correlation between Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and ECF, and between Amblyomma variegatum and heartwater. We also found that two major variables were significantly correlated with B. bigemina antibody prevalence (“island” and “breeding area”), four variables were significantly correlated with anaplasmosis antibody seroprevalence (“island”, “number of cattle per farmer”, “number of farmers per village” and “breeding area”), two were significantly correlated with ECF antibody prevalence (“number of farmers in village” and “presence of ticks”), and three were significantly correlated with heartwater (“island”, “number of cattle per farmer” and “number of farmers in the village”). Our findings confirmed livestock exposure to the four targeted TBDs of major concern for livestock development. Consequently, raising farmers' awareness and setting up a period of quarantine should be considered a priority.

Union of Comoros

Tropical Cyclone Kenneth struck Comoros on April 23-24. The cyclone caused several casualties; displaced thousands; and damaged substantial parts of the building stock, infrastructure, and plants used in subsistence and commercial farming, thereby lowering productive capacity. Request for Fund support. Reflecting the large budgetary and external financing gaps arising from emergency assistance and reconstruction needs, the authorities are seeking financial assistance under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) and Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) exogenous shock windows. Comoros’ qualification is based on urgent balance of payments needs following a severe natural disaster. In the attached letter, the authorities request a disbursement under the RCF and purchase under the RFI of a combined SDR 8.9 million, equivalent to 50 percent of quota, with the full amount to become available upon Board approval. Staff supports this request. IMF involvement in the international effort to assist Comoros will play also a catalytic role in securing grants from Comoros’ development partners.

COMOROS: Azali Re‐elected

COMOROS: Azali Re‐elected

Mapping Population Distribution from High Resolution Remotely Sensed Imagery in a Data Poor Setting

Accurate mapping of population distribution is essential for policy-making, urban planning, administration, and risk management in hazardous areas. In some countries, however, population data is not collected on a regular basis and is rarely available at a high spatial resolution. In this study, we proposed an approach to estimate the absolute number of inhabitants at the neighborhood level, combining data obtained through field work with high resolution remote sensing. The approach was tested on Ngazidja Island (Union of the Comoros). A detailed survey of neighborhoods at the level of individual dwellings, showed that the average number of inhabitants per dwelling was significantly different between buildings characterized by a different roof type. Firstly, high spatial resolution remotely sensed imagery was used to define the location of individual buildings, and second to determine the roof type for each building, using an object-based classification approach. Knowing the location of individual houses and their roof type, the number of inhabitants was estimated at the neighborhood level using the data on house occupancy of the field survey. To correct for misclassification bias in roof type discrimination, an inverse calibration approach was applied. To assess the impact of variations in average dwelling occupancy between neighborhoods on model outcome, a measure of the degree of confidence of population estimates was calculated. Validation using the leave-one-out approach showed low model bias, and a relative error at the neighborhood level of 17%. With the increasing availability of high resolution remotely sensed data, population estimation methods combining data from field surveys with remote sensing, as proposed in this study, hold great promise for systematic mapping of population distribution in areas where reliable census data are not available on a regular basis.

Union of the Comoros

Union of the Comoros

Union of the Comoros

Union of the Comoros

Impact of East Coast fever on Grande Comore: assessment taking a participatory epidemiology approach.

East Coast fever (ECF), one of the most serious tick-borne diseases in sub-Saharan and eastern Africa, was introduced to the island of Grande Comore in 2002 through zebu import from Tanzania, resulting in at least a 10% loss of livestock. A participatory epidemiology initiative was launched in 2015 to gain a better understanding of ECF epidemiology. Thirty-six villages were investigated involving 36 focus group sessions and 120 individual questionnaires. Farmers' knowledge of ECF and of priority diseases affecting the country was assessed, and the impacts of ECF and other major diseases were compared by a scoring method. The results showed that 69.4% (95% CI [51.3, 87.5%]) of the farmers had good to very good knowledge of ECF. The most important cattle diseases on Grande Comore were considered to be East Coast fever, heartwater, babesiosis, and cutaneous diseases. About 58% of the farmers (95% CI [49.2, 66.8%]) use curative treatments when cattle were sick. Between January and September 2015, the ECF incidence was estimated at 18.5% (95% CI [15.5, 21.4%]), and 87.5% (95% CI [72.7, 100%]) of the cattle infected by ECF died. The ECF incidence estimated in our study was found to be less when compared to that observed in Tanzania even though the climatic conditions in the Union of the Comoros are suitable for the biological vector of ECF, the tick species Rhipicephalus appendiculatus. Access to chemical treatment and its effectiveness against ECF, as well as controlling borders and organizing quarantine, are discussed.