Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia is an infectious and contagious disease affecting goats and wildlife ruminants, mostly in Africa and Asia. It is caused by a mycoplasma, Mycoplasma capricolum susbp. capripneumoniae , which is very fastidious. This may be the reason why there are few reports of its isolation and characterization. This study describes the development of a whole genome typing strategy based on sequencing reads assemblies on a reference genome (Abomsa, GenBank accession LM995445) and extraction of informative single nucleotide polymorphism. FASTA sequences inferred from the variant calling files were used to establish a comprehensive phylogenetic tree based on 2880 SNPs. This tree included a total of 34 strains originating from all the regions where CCPP has been detected, as well as strains isolated from wildlife. A recent isolate from West-Niger was positioned closely to another 1995 East-Niger isolate, an indication that CCPP may be extending westward in Africa. Six 2013 Tanzanian isolates had identical sequences in spite of diverse geographical origins. This could be explained by the clonal expansion of a virulent strain at that time in East Africa. Although all strains isolated from wildlife in the Middle East were in the same phylogenetic group, this may not sign an adaptation to new hosts. The most probable explanation for wildlife contamination remains the contact with goats. This strategy will easily accommodate new data in the near future and should become a gold-standard high-resolution typing procedure for the surveillance of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia.

Since November 2018, several countries in West and Central Africa have reported mortalities in donkeys and horses. Specifically, more than 66,000 horses and donkeys have succumbed to disease in

Like many West African countries, outbreaks of peste des petits ruminants (PPR), an economically important disease of goats and sheep, are regularly reported in Niger. The causative virus, peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), can be differentiated into four genetically distinct lineages. A publication in 2018 identified three PPRV lineages circulating in the country in 2001 (lineages I and II) and 2013 (lineage IV), respectively. In this present study, more recent samples were collected from goats and sheep in locations throughout Niger between 2011 and 2017. Twelve PPRV‐positive samples were characterized by sequencing of a segment of the nucleocapsid protein (N) gene. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences identified viruses from lineages II and IV only. The analysis also indicated a shared origin of the viruses from Niger with PPRVs from neighbouring countries suggesting transboundary movement.

Background and Aim: This work presents the implementation of a course on animal husbandry in an interdisciplinary curriculum based on the One Health concept. The study describes learners' viewpoints about the course and its insertion in the curriculum. The study aimed at identifying avenues for improvement. Materials and Methods: Fourteen learners (health professionals) participated to individual semi-structured interviews lasting for 25-35 min each. Learners' opinions were extracted from the transcribed interviews and analysis themes were identified from recurrent narratives. Results: The learners perceived animal husbandry as relevant for One Health and potentially useful for their future practice. More precisely, learners were considering a future use of the newly acquired knowledge and skills in the advising of communities facing malnutrition and for the strategic planning at wider levels. Teaching methods were appreciated thanks to the active learning style. Unmet expectations concerned the coverage of impacts and relationships to other disciplines, the inclusion of viewpoints from other disciplines into the teaching, and the degree of contextualization of contents, e.g. through case studies. Accordingly, the main avenues for improvement, as identified by learners, were to give a prior focus on impacts (especially on human health) for all contents and to increase the number of case studies, but also to better address the questions of the usefulness of animal products in the management of malnutrition. Conclusion: The analysis of learners' expectations (met and unmet) and their recommendations regarding the future of the course helped identifying both successes and important challenges for teachers. Two main challenges are highlighted. First, increased interdisciplinarity is needed within the course to better cover the notion of impact of animal husbandry on health, society and environment. Second, the complexity of the domain under consideration will call for important efforts of clarification of the course structure and objectives in terms of skills acquisition.

La distribution et la dynamique des populations des tiques est un élément clé dans la connaissance des maladies transmises par ces vecteurs. C’est ainsi que cette étude a été conduite afin de mieux connaître l’épidémiologie de la Fièvre Hémorragique de Crimée-Congo (FHCC) dans les 8 communes du département de Boboye au Niger, où 355 sérums de bovins ont été collectés. En plus des sérums, des tiques ont été collectées sur 144 bovins, soit 18 par commune. Les sérums ont été soumis à un test ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay) indirect pour la détection d’anticorps anti-FHCC. Soixante-douze (72) éleveurs ont été interviewés sur leur connaissance de l’écologie des tiques, vecteurs du virus de la FHCC. Les résultats de l’enquête ont révélé que les éleveurs n’ont pas recours aux acaricides et que, dans leur majorité (55/72 soit 76,4 %), ils pratiquent la transhumance. L’étude a permis l’identification de 1342 tiques réparties en trois genres : Hyalomma (91,7%), Amblyomma (5,7%) et Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) (2,6%). La séroprévalence globale a été de 9,1±0,03%. Les communes de Harikanassou et Kiota ont été celles où les fortes prévalences ont été observées de 26,7 ± 12,9% et 22,5 ±12,9%. Le virus de la FHCC est en circulation chez la population animale, alors des investigations doivent être faites chez la population humaine.Mots clés : Anticorps anti-FHCC, Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay Indirecte, Prévalence, Sérums, Tiques.   English Title: Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) ’s Epidemiology in cattle in Boboye’s department of Niger Republic To understand disease transmission by ticks, knowledge of population dynamics and distribution of these vectors are essentials. To sought that, the epidemiology of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in Niger Republic was studied by sampling 355 bovines (sera and ticks) in eight (8) local governments in Boboye’s department. Eighteen (18) bovines were sampled for ticks collection per local government making them a total of 144 bovine. Indirect ELISA test (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) was used to detect anti- CCHF antibodies. Seventy-two (72) farmers were surveyed on their knowledge on ticks’ ecology, main vectors of CCHF virus. The results revealed that farmers are not using acaricides, and their majority (55/72 thus 76.4%) practice Transhumance. The study allowed the identification of 1342 ticks distributed in 3 genus: Hyalomma (91.7%), Amblyomma (5.7%) and Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) (2.6%). The global seroprevalence against CCHF was (9.1 ± 0.03) %. Harikanassou and Kiota were the most affected local governments with respectively (26.7±12.9) % and (22.5±12,9) % prevalence. CCHV virus is circulating in animal population, so investigations must be made in human population. Keywords: Anti-CCHF antibodies, Indirect Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Prevalence, Sera, Ticks.

L’épizoo-épidémie de la Fièvre de la Vallée du Rift (FVR), survenue suite à une pluviométrie marquée par de fortes précipitations dans la région de Tahoua frontalière au département d’Ingal qui accueille l’événement de la cure salée chaque année, a engendré de nombreuses pertes en vies humaines. Au niveau du secteur animal, l’impact économique et sanitaire est également considérable, compte-tenu des lourdes pertes engendrées dans le cheptel. Ces pertes sont une forte mortalité chez les jeunes, des taux d’avortements élevés chez les femelles gravides et une baisse de la productivité des élevages touchés. Afin d’évaluer la séroprévalence de la FVR chez les ruminants de la région, des échantillons de sérums prélevés lors du seromonitoring des campagnes de vaccination contre la peste des petits ruminants et la péripneumonie contagieuse des bovidés financé par le Projet Régional d’Appui au Pastoralisme au Sahel (PRAPS) en février 2017, ont été analysés pour la détection d’anticorps du virus de la FVR au moyen du test ELISA de compétition. Les séroprévalences obtenues chez les espèces étudiées sont assez élevées chez les bovins (30,62%) et les caprins (18,40%), suivies de celle des ovins qui est de 14,90%.Les résultats sérologiques répartis dans les communes montrent que les bovins de Ibohaman et Tassara sont significativement les plus affectés avec une prévalence de 50,00% chacune (P=0,00224). Par contre, chez les petits ruminants, les communes de Tchintabaraden et Abalak ont  significativement les prévalences les plus élevées tant chez les ovins (22,07% et 40,90%) que chez les caprins (8,69% et 37,21%).Toutefois, il n’y a pas de différence significative entre les prévalences d’infection des ovins et caprins pour chaque commune. Les résultats révèlent que la prévalence est plus élevée chez les mâles que chez les femelles (32,35±11,11 contre 18,49±3,43), mais la différence n’est pas significative. En somme, la mise en place d’une stratégie privilégiant l’approche « One Health » est nécessaire pour une lutte efficace contre la FVR, mais aussi la nécessité d’études entomologiques complémentairesMots clés: Sérologie, c-ELISA, Fièvre de la vallée de Rift, Bovins, Ovins, Caprins. English Title: Rift valley fever seroprevalence in domestic ruminants in Tahoua region/NigerThe epizoo-epidemic outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) that occurred  following a heavy rainfall in the region of Tahoua, along the border of  Ingal’s department that hosts every year, the salt cure event has caused considerable human deaths. Considerable economic and health losses were reported in livestock sector. These losses include high mortality in young animals, high abortion rates in pregnant females and decrease productivity in affected farms. To assess the seroprevalence of RVF of ruminants from that region, sera samples collected in February 2017, for the   Seromonitoring of vaccination campaigns against Peste des Petits  Ruminants (PPR) and Contagious Bovine Peri Pneumonia (CBPP),  Supported by the Regional Project for Pastoralism in the Sahel (PRAPS), were tested for antibodies against RVF virus using the competitive ELISA test. The seroprevalence of RVF in the studied species, reveal a high  prevalence in cattle (30.62%) and goats (18.40%) followed by sheep  (14.90%).Cattle, from Ibohaman and Tassara are significantly affected with a prevalence of 50.00% each (P=0.00224) compared to other districts. Small ruminants from the districts of Tchintabaraden and Abalak have significantly the highest prevalence both in sheep (22.07% and 40.90%) and goats (8.69% and 37.21%). However, there is no significant difference between the prevalence of infection of sheep and goats in each district. Seroprevalence is higher in males than females (32.35±11.11) versus  (18.49±3.43), with no significant difference between the two species. Based on the above results, for effective control of RVF it, is necessary to  implement a one heath approach in the country couple with additional  entomological investigations.Keywords: Serology, c-ELISA, Rift Valley Fever, Cattle, Sheep, Goats.

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The present study was conducted at the Sahelian Experimental Station in Toukounous Niger, on three herds of Azawak zebu breed in order to evaluate antimicrobial susceptibility of a total of 43 Staphylococcus aureus isolated from 164 milk samples of cows with subclinical mastitis from 2010 to 2012. The highest frequency of resistance was observed for the β-lactam family: penicillin (46%) followed by oxacillin (12%). Twenty isolates were sensitive to all tested antibiotics, 12 were resistant to one of them and 11 were multi-resistant (2 to 5 antibiotics). The resistance percentage to oxacillin, enrofloxacin and clindamycin varied significantly over the 3 years (p <0.05) but not to the other antibiotics. Moreover, 90% of S. aureus isolates resistant to penicillin detected by in vitro disk diffusion possessed the blaZ gene. In conclusion, the isolates from cases of mastitis at Toukounous are more resistant to the antibiotics frequently used for treatments at the station than to other antibiotics.