Yield loss due to the stemborer Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) at different nitrogen application rates to maize

Field trials were conducted at Kibaha and Morogoro in eastern Tanzania during two seasons to evaluate the effect of nitrogen fertilization (0, 50, 75, 100 kg [N]/ha) on pest abundance, plant damage and yield loss of maize due to stemborers. In general, ear and grain weights increased linearly with nitrogen level. In the infested plot, grain weight increased 2.5 and 1.8 fold from 0 to 100 kg [N]/ha in the short and long rainy season, respectively, at Kibaha, and 1.4 and 1.6 times at Morogoro. Yield loss decreased with an increase in nitrogen application and the effect was stronger under high than low borer infestation levels. The results show the beneficial effect of nitrogen on the plant’s ability to compensate for borer damage. Analysis of economic benefits of applying fertilizer and insecticide treatment indicated that using insecticides is not profitable under high-pest-low-soil fertility conditions.     

Diversity of lepidopteran stem borers on monocotyledonous plants in eastern Africa and the islands of Madagascar and Zanzibar revisited

Surveys were completed in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zanzibar to assess the lepidopteran stem borer species diversity on wild host plants. A total of 24,674 larvae belonging to 135 species were collected from 75 species of wild host plants belonging to the Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Typhaceae. Amongst them were 44 noctuid species belonging to at least nine genera, 33 crambids, 15 pyralids, 16 Pyraloidea species not yet identified, 25 tortricids and three cossids. The noctuid larvae represented 73.6% of the total number of larvae collected, with 66.3, 3.5 and 3.8% found on Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Typhaceae, respectively. The Crambidae, Pyralidae, Tortricidae and Cossidae represented 19.8, 1.9, 2.5 and 0.1% of the total larvae collected, respectively, with 90.4% of the Crambidae and Pyralidae collected from Poaceae, and 99.7% of the Tortricidae collected from Cyperaceae. The lepidopteran stem borer species diversity in the wild host plants was far more diverse than previously reported.     

Mortality in sickle cell anemia in Africa: a prospective cohort study in Tanzania

Background

The World Health Organization has declared Sickle Cell Anemia (SCA) a public health priority. There are 300,000 births/year, over 75% in Africa, with estimates suggesting that 6 million Africans will be living with SCA if average survival reaches half the African norm. Countries such as United States of America and United Kingdom have reduced SCA mortality from 3 to 0.13 per 100 person years of observation (PYO), with interventions such as newborn screening, prevention of infections and comprehensive care, but implementation of interventions in African countries has been hindered by lack of locally appropriate information. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence and factors associated with death from SCA in Dar-es-Salaam.

Methods and Findings

A hospital-based cohort study was conducted, with prospective surveillance of 1,725 SCA patients recruited from 2004 to 2009, with 209 (12%) lost to follow up, while 86 died. The mortality rate was 1.9 (95%CI 1.5, 2.9) per 100 PYO, highest under 5-years old [7.3 (4.8–11.0)], adjusting for dates of birth and study enrollment. Independent risk factors, at enrollment to the cohort, predicting death were low hemoglobin (<5 g/dL) [3.8 (1.8–8.2); p = 0.001] and high total bilirubin (≥102 µmol/L) [1.7 (1.0–2.9); p = 0.044] as determined by logistic regression.

Conclusions

Mortality in SCA in Africa is high, with the most vulnerable period being under 5-years old. This is most likely an underestimate, as this was a hospital cohort and may not have captured SCA individuals with severe disease who died in early childhood, those with mild disease who are undiagnosed or do not utilize services at health facilities. Prompt and effective treatment for anemia in SCA is recommended as it is likely to improve survival. Further research is required to determine the etiology, pathophysiology and the most appropriate strategies for management of anemia in SCA.     

Phylogeny and systematics of the Acrapex apicestriata (Bethune-Baker, 1911) species complex (Lepidoptera,Noctuidae, Noctuinae,Apameini, Sesamiina) with the description of eight new species from the Afrotropics

Twelve morphologically similar species of Acrapex Hampson 1894, (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae, Apameini, Sesamiina), from Western, Central and Eastern Africa are reviewed. Eight of these species are new to science and are described: Acrapex akunamatata n. sp. and A. incrassata n. sp. from Kenya; A. gracilis n. sp., A. iringa n. sp., A. lukumbura n. sp. and A. rungwe n. sp. from Tanzania; A. soyema n. sp. from Ethiopia; and A. zoutoi n. sp. from Benin. All 12 species belong to a species complex that we hereby define as the Acrapex apicestriata group. Host-plants for three of the new species are recorded: Setaria incrassata (Hochst.) Hack. for Acrapex incrassata; Cymbopogon pospishilii (K. Schum.) C.E. Hubb. for A. rungwe; and Andropogon perligulatus Stapf. for A. zoutoi. We also conducted molecular phylogenetic analyses (using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference) on a six gene multimarker molecular dataset (four mitochondrial and two nuclear gene fragments; 4581 nucleotides in length) consisting of 15 Acrapex species (including seven species from the apicestriata group) and four outgroups species from the subtribe Sesamiina (from genera Busseola Thurau 1904, Sciomesa Tams & Bowden 1953, Pirateolea Moyal, Le Ru, Conlong, Cugala, Defabachew, Matama-Kauma, Pallangyo & Van den Berg 2010 and Sesamia Boisduval & Guenée 1852). Both maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses yield a similar and well-supported topology, which supports the monophyly of the apicestriata group.     

Skin maculae,chronic diarrhea,cachexia, and splenomegaly—Late presentation of the first autochthonous case of visceral leishmaniasis in Tanzania

A 20-year-old man from Simanjiro district in northern Tanzania presented with a 3-year history of splenomegaly, fatigue, cachexia, skin maculae, and recent onset of watery diarrhea at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Northern Tanzania. Due to laboratory findings of pancytopenia, diagnostic workup included bone marrow aspiration cytology and biopsy. Although the rapid test (IT LEISH, rK39 RDT) was negative, blood smear showed amastigote forms of leishmaniasis in macrophages. Repeat bone marrow aspiration and PCR eventually confirmed visceral leishmaniasis (VL). The patient denied travel to known endemic areas of VL. Treatment was initiated with Amphotericin B, but the patient died on the fourth day of treatment from respiratory insufficiency. An autopsy revealed massive organ manifestations of VL. This is the first reported autochthonous case of VL in Tanzania. Clark and colleagues detected the vector Phlebotomus martini in Northern Tanzania in 2013, in a region bordering the district of our patient. The negative rapid test draws attention to the fact that sensitivity and specificity were found to be low in East African VL patients as displayed earlier by a Kenyan study. Therefore, tissue samples (spleen or bone marrow) remain necessary for diagnosis. The variety of symptoms in this presented case was remarkable, including the occurrence of post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) and VL at the same time. This has been described in East African VL cases before as well as the occurrence of chronic diarrhea. An elongated undiagnosed period likely led to a mixed clinical picture that included hepato-splenomegaly, PKDL, cachexia, and diarrhea.