Accumulative indirect evidence of the epidemiology of Mycobacterium ulcerans infections causing chronic skin ulcers (i.e., Buruli ulcer disease) suggests that the development of this pathogen and its transmission to humans are related predominantly to aquatic environments. We report that snails could transitorily harbor M. ulcerans without offering favorable conditions for its growth and replication. A novel intermediate link in the transmission chain of M. ulcerans becomes likely with predator aquatic insects in addition to phytophage insects. Water bugs, such as Naucoris cimicoides, a potential vector of M. ulcerans, were shown to be infected specifically by this bacterium after feeding on snails experimentally exposed to M. ulcerans.Mycobacterium ulcerans is the causative agent of Buruli ulcer, one of the most common mycobacterial diseases of humans. This environmental mycobacterium has been found in swampy and wetland habitats that are home to aquatic insects implicated in the transmission of this pathogen (3-7, 10). Recently, Marsollier et al. found that certain aquatic macrophytes stimulated the growth of M. ulcerans and that the bacterium had a strong tendency to form biofilms on the plants' surfaces (2). In this report, we demonstrate the following results: (i) a few aquatic snails may harbor M. ulcerans after consuming aquatic macrophytes where an M. ulcerans biofilm has developed, (ii) no mycobacterial growth was detected in aquatic snails, so they may be a passive host, and (iii) after having eaten experimentally infected snails, the salivary glands of biting naucorid water bugs were found to contain M. ulcerans.Experimental infection of snails. Tropical aquatic Pomacea canaliculata (Ampullariidae) and Planorbis planorbis (Planorbidae) snails 0.5 to 0.8 cm in total shell length were housed in an aquarium with water at a temperature of 28°C without aquatic vegetation and starved for 10 days. For a 24-h period, 30 snails were placed in additional aquaria containing aquatic vegetation covered by an M. ulcerans biofilm (strain number 1G897, isolated from a skin biopsy sample from a patient from French Guiana [1]) as previously described (2). The presence of an M. ulcerans biofilm on aquatic plants was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (2). The number of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) on aquatic plants was evaluated by the method described by Shepard and Rae (9) at 10 6 bacilli/g of plant tissue. After this period, the snails were removed and placed in a noncontaminated aquarium without mycobacteria. At different intervals, four snails were sacrificed, the shells were removed, and the individual tissues were ground and homogenized. A PCR was performed for the detection of M. ulcerans as previously described (3,8). The AFB were counted and cultured with the methods described by Marsollier et al. (3). During the 72 h after feeding on vegetation-bound M. ulcerans cells, viable bacilli were found in the feces of the snails. Within the first 10 days of the experiment, a slight but nonsignificant increase in AF...

Entomophagy is an ancient and actually African tradition that has been receiving renewed attention since edible insects have been identified as one of the solutions to improve global nutrition. As any other foodstuff, insects should be regulated by the government to ensure product quality and consumer safety. The goal of the present paper was to assess the current legal status of edible insects in Africa. For that, corresponding authorities were contacted along with an extensive online search, relying mostly on the FAOLEX database. Except for Botswana, insects are not mentioned in national regulations, although the definitions for "foodstuff" allow their inclusion, i.e., general food law can also apply to insects. Contacted authorities tolerated entomophagy, even though no legal base existed. However, insects typically appear in laws pertaining the use of natural resources, making a permit necessary (in most cases). Pest management regulation can also refer to edible species, e.g., locusts or weevils. Farming is an option that should be assessed carefully. All this creates a complex, nation-specific situation regarding which insect may be used legally to what purpose. Recommendations for elements in future insect-related regulations from the food hygiene point of view are provided.Foods 2020, 9, 502 2 of 43 after the classical antiquity, the tradition lingered on in Africa. There are hundreds of insect species consumed in Africa as foodstuffs or as traditional medicine [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The awareness of the benefits of edible insects has also reached non-traditional sectors of the African population, and web-based information sites like LINCAOCNET (http://gbif.africamuseum.be/lincaocnet_dev/) provide searchable information on local species.Insects are traded in a relatively small to medium level. The economic benefit varies with the species and is seldom accounted for, but one of the most significant ones seems to be the phane caterpillars of a saturniid emperor moth Gonimbrasia belina (ex "Imbrasia belina"), reaching a yearly trade value of more than $85 million in Southern Africa.Like with any other foodstuff, the consumption of edible insects may lead to consumer risks, typically allergens, foodborne diseases, food spoilage agents, and contaminants [7]. Being so, the tradition has developed a set of dos and do nots to ensure food safety to a certain degree. However, as traditions develop over long periods of time and tend to become inflexible, some parts of it may not cover "modern" risks like environmental pollution, or even packaging [3]. In fact, the traditional handling of African insect-based products has become submitted to scientific research, and results show that even processed products may contain pathogens. By means of illustration (and far beyond completeness of data), Table 1 provides a look into the microbiology of fresh and processed products from three African insect species. SpeciesProduct Acinetobacter spp. Bacillus spp. Corynebacterium spp.Enterobacter spp. Enterobacter FaecalisEscherichia...

This study provides data on the past and present distribution of the red-bellied monkey, Cercopithecus erythrogaster erythrogaster, a subspecies that is endemic to Benin’s southern ecosystems. The original distribution of this subspecies was between the Couffo River and the Nigerian border, but it has since been reduced to regions degraded by intense human settlement (such as the Oueme river valley) and to some better preserved areas, such as the Lama protected forest and some sacred grove forests in wet areas. Local people participated in this research programme and, as a result, many new localities have been discovered. All of these have been in wetlands in southern Benin, mainly in sacred groves. Conservation action for this subspecies will succeed only if local people are involved in its protection.

The first record of millipedes (Diplopoda) being regularly used for food by humans (the Bobo people of Burkina Faso) is given, including information on how the millipedes are prepared. The species in question are Tymbodesmus falcatus (Karsch, 1881) and Sphenodesmus sheribongensis (Schiøtz, 1966) (Gomphodesmidae) and an unidentified species of Spirostreptidae. New information on the nutritional value of millipedes is provided; unsaturated fatty acids, calcium, and iron contents are particularly high. The millipedes' defensive secretions, hydrogen cyanide and benzoquinones, present a severe challenge for the spread of millipedes as an everyday food source. On the other hand, the possibility that benzoquinones may act as insect-repellents, as known from studies on nonhuman primates, and that sublethal cyanide ingestion may enhance human innate resistance to malaria, suggests promising ethnomedical perspectives to our findings.

For almost a decade, edible insects have become promoted on a wider basis as one way to combat world hunger and malnourishment, although attempts to do so have a longer history. Contemporary researchers and consumers, particularly those without an entomophagous background, have been rising safety and sustainability concerns. The present contribution seeks a substantiated answer to the question posed above. The possible answer consists of different factors that have been taken into consideration. First, the species and its life cycle. It is mandatory to realize that what is labeled as “edible insects” stands for more than 2,140 animal species, not counting other edible, non-crustacean arthropods. Their life cycles are as diverse as the ecological niches these animals can fill and last between some days to several years and many of them may—or may not—be reproduced in the different farming systems. Second, the level of knowledge concerning the food use of a given species is important, be it traditional, newly created by research, or a combination of both. Third, the existence of a traditional method of making the use of the insect safe and sustainable, ideally from both the traditional and the modern points of view. Fourth, the degree of effectiveness of these measures despite globalization changes in the food-supplying network. Fifth, farming conditions, particularly housing, feeding (type, composition, and contaminants), animal health and animal welfare. Sixth, processing, transport, and storage conditions of both traditional and novel insect-based foodstuffs, and seventh, consumer awareness and acceptance of these products. These main variables create a complex web of possibilities, just as with other foodstuffs that are either harvested from the wild or farmed. In this way, food safety may be reached when proper hygiene protocols are observed (which usually include heating steps) and the animals do not contain chemical residues or environment contaminants. A varying degree of sustainability can be achieved if the aforementioned variables are heeded. Hence, the question if insects can be safe and sustainable can be answered with “jein,” a German portmanteau word joining “yes” (“ja”) and “no” (“nein”).