BackgroundFood insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and malnutrition constitute the main obstacles for successful treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH). The aim of this study was to assess the effect of consuming daily 100 g RUTF (ready-to-use therapeutic food) as supplement, on body composition, anemia and zinc status of hospitalized PLWH in Senegal.MethodsA Controlled clinical trial was conducted in 65 PLWH randomly allocated to receive either standard hospital diet alone (Control group: n = 33), or the standard diet supplemented with 100 g RUTF/day (RUTF group: n = 32). Supplementation was continued at home during 9 weeks. Individual dietary intakes were measured and compared to the Recommended Dietary Allowances. Body composition was determined using Bio-Impedance Analysis. Hemoglobin was measured by HemoCue and plasma zinc (PZ) concentration by atomic absorption spectrometry. PZ was adjusted to infection (CRP and α1-AGP). All measures were conducted on admission, discharge and after 9 weeks home-based follow up.Results34 and 24 % of the patients in RUTF and Control groups were suffering from severe malnutrition (BMI < 16 kg/m2), respectively. In both groups, more than 90 % were anemic and zinc deficiency affected over 50 % of the patients. Food consumed by the Control group represented 75, 14 and 55 % of their daily recommended intake (DRI) of energy, iron and zinc, respectively. When 100 g of RUTF was consumed with the standard diet, the DRI of energy and zinc were 100 % covered (2147 kcal, 10.4 mg, respectively), but not iron (2.9 mg). After 9 weeks of supplementation, body weight, and fat-free mass increased significantly by +11 % (p = 0.033), and +11.8 % (p = 0.033) in the RUTF group, but not in the Control group, while percentage body fat was comparable between groups (p = 0.888). In the RUTF group, fat free mass gain is higher in the patients on ART (+11.7 %, n = 14; p = 0.0001) than in those without ART (+6.2 %, n = 6; p = 0.032). Anemia decreased significantly with the supplementation, but zinc status, measured using plasma zinc concentration, remained unchanged.ConclusionImproving PLWH’ diet with 100 g RUTF for a long period has a positive impact on muscle mass and anemia but not on the zinc status of the patients.Trial number NCT02433743, registered 29 April 2015.

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Piliostigma reticulatum (DC.) Hochst., an indigenous shrub, forms an important vegetative component of parkland cropping systems in the Sahel; however, its biophysical interactions with soil and crops are not well understood. Therefore, the objectives were to determine the impact of P. reticulatum, under varying fertilizer rates, on crop yield response and soil nutrient dynamics. The experiment had a split‐plot factorial design, where the main plot was shrub (presence or absence) and the subplot was fertilizer rate (0, 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 times the recommended N–P–K fertilizer rate) applied to a peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)–pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] rotation. In 3 of the 4 yr, P. reticulatum improved or had no effect on crop yields when averaged across fertilizer rates. Overall, millet and peanut biomass and N and P uptake by millet increased in the presence of shrubs and with increasing fertilizer rate. Contrary to P, inorganic N in the soils changed very rapidly, reaching very low levels by the end of the growing season. The N content of soil leachates below the rooting zone was generally lower beneath than outside the shrub canopy, suggesting that the shrub conserves N that is otherwise lost through leaching. Piliostigma reticulatum increased particulate organic matter, indicating that this shrub improved soil quality. These results suggest that P. reticulatum, under nonthermal management and a higher density than typically found in farmers’ fields, has ecological benefits with improved soils and reduced loss of N, which has implications throughout the Sahel.

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BackgroundIn the progress towards malaria elimination, the accurate diagnosis of low-density asymptomatic infections is critical. Low-density asymptomatic submicroscopic malaria infections may act as silent reservoirs that maintain low-level residual malaria transmission in the community. Light microscopy, the gold standard in malaria diagnosis lacks the sensitivity to detect low-level parasitaemia. In this study, the presence and prevalence of submicroscopic Plasmodium carriage were investigated to estimate the parasites reservoir among asymptomatic individuals living in low transmission areas in Dielmo and Ndiop, Senegal during the dry season.MethodsA total of 2,037 blood samples were collected during cross-sectional surveys prior the malaria transmission season in July 2013 (N = 612), June 2014 (N = 723) and June 2015 (N = 702) from asymptomatic individuals living in Dielmo and Ndiop, Senegal. Samples were used to determine the prevalence of submicroscopic Plasmodium carriage by real time PCR (qPCR) in comparison to microscopy considered as gold standard.ResultsThe prevalence of submicroscopic Plasmodium carriage was 3.75% (23/612), 12.44% (90/723) and 6.41% (45/702) in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. No Plasmodium carriage was detected by microscopy in 2013 while microscopy-based prevalence of Plasmodium carriage accounted for only 0.27% (2/723) and 0.14% (1/702) in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Plasmodium falciparum accounted for the majority of submicroscopic infections and represented 86.95% (20/23), 81.11% (73/90) and 95.55 (43/45) of infections in 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively.ConclusionLow-density submicroscopic asymptomatic Plasmodium carriage is common in the study areas during the dry season indicating that traditional measures are insufficient to assess the scale of parasite reservoir when transmission reaches very low level. Control and elimination strategies may wish to consider using molecular methods to identify parasites carriers to guide Mass screening and Treatment strategies.