Metabiota (Cameroon)

Abstract Community-based conservation in Afrotropical rainforests often prioritizes native communities, recognized as traditional land custodians. However, immigrant communities are increasingly settling in these landscapes, and their ecological impact remains poorly understood due to limited long-term ecological data. We aimed to assess how native and immigrant human communities differentially shape hunting and wildlife dynamics in the Ebo forest, Cameroon, an unprotected but globally significant biodiversity hotspot. We used sociological insights to classify surrounding villages into five socially homogeneous native and immigrant community groups and leveraged cost-distance modelling to define their potential hunting territories. We then applied Bayesian regression models to monitoring data collected from 2008 to 2023 on seven large and medium-sized mammals, and hunting indicators to assess the occurrence probability and temporal trends of wildlife and hunting in the defined hunting territories. Areas exposed to immigrant communities exhibited higher hunting intensity, lower wildlife occurrence, and more negative occupancy trends. Chimpanzee occurrence probability was lowest in immigrant hunting territories, while elephant occurrence declined sharply there but increased in adjacent native territories. Although gun hunting was common in all areas, between 2016 and 2023, shotgun cartridge occurrence increased more strongly in areas exposed to immigrants. Our findings suggest that immigrants exert relatively higher hunting pressure, driving more rapid wildlife declines. This study, the first to integrate cost-distance modelling and monitoring data to disentangle the ecological impact of different human communities, highlights the need for conservation strategies that account for migration dynamics and engage both native and immigrant communities in culturally sensitive approaches.

BackgroundFor men who have sex with men (MSM) across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), disclosure of same-sex practices to family and healthcare workers (HCWs) can facilitate access to HIV prevention services and support, but can also lead to experiences of stigma.MethodsWe performed mixed-effects regressions on pooled data from MSM in Cameroon, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Lesotho, and eSwatini to assess associations between disclosure and sexual behavior stigma in healthcare contexts; we used logistic regressions to analyze country-specific data.ResultsCompared to participants who had not disclosed to either family or HCWs, those who had disclosed only to family were more likely to have been gossiped about by HCWs (aOR = 1.70, CI = 1.18, 2.45); the association between having disclosed to family and having felt mistreated in a health center approached, but did not achieve, statistical significance (aOR = 1.56, CI = 0.94, 2.59). Those who had disclosed only to HCWs were more likely to have feared to seek health services (aOR = 1.60, CI = 1.14, 2.25), avoided health services (aOR = 1.74, CI = 1.22, 2.50), and felt mistreated in a health center (aOR = 2.62, CI = 1.43, 4.81). Those who had disclosed to both were more likely to have feared to seek health services (aOR = 1.71, CI = 1.16, 2.52), avoided health services (aOR = 1.59, CI = 1.04, 2.42), been gossiped about by HCWs (aOR = 3.78, CI = 2.38, 5.99), and felt mistreated in a health center (aOR = 3.39, CI = 1.86, 6.20). Country-specific analyses suggested that data from Cameroon drove several of these associations.ConclusionsResearch to determine the factors driving disclosure’s differential effect on healthcare stigma across contexts is needed. Ultimately, supportive environments enabling safe disclosure is critical to understanding HIV-acquisition risks and informing differentiated HIV-prevention, treatment, and testing services for MSM across SSA.

Globally HIV incidence is slowing, however HIV epidemics among sex workers are stable or increasing in many settings. While laws governing sex work are considered structural determinants of HIV, individual-level data assessing this relationship are limited. In this study, individual-level data are used to assess the relationships of sex work laws and stigmas in increasing HIV risk among female sex workers, and examine the mechanisms by which stigma affects HIV across diverse legal contexts in countries across sub-Saharan Africa. Interviewer-administered socio-behavioral questionnaires and biological testing were conducted with 7259 female sex workers between 2011–2018 across 10 sub-Saharan African countries. These data suggest that increasingly punitive and non-protective laws are associated with prevalent HIV infection and that stigmas and sex work laws may synergistically increase HIV risks. Taken together, these data highlight the fundamental role of evidence-based and human-rights affirming policies towards sex work as part of an effective HIV response.

BackgroundRotaviruses are the primary cause of acute gastroenteritis in young children worldwide and a significant proportion of these infections occur in Africa.ObjectivesIn the present study, we determined the prevalence and risk factors of rotavirus infection among children younger than age 5 years with or without diarrhoea in Calabar, Nigeria, using a rapid point-of-care test.MethodsTwo hundred infants younger than age 5 years presenting with acute gastroenteritis and a control group of 200 infants without diarrhoea were tested for rotavirus. Each stool sample was homogenised in an extraction buffer and the supernatant added into the sample well of the Rida Quick rotavirus test cassette and allowed to run for 5 minutes at room temperature. When both the control band and test band were visible on the test cassette a positive result was recorded, whereas when only the control band was visible a negative results was recorded.ResultsRotavirus was detected in 25 (12.5%) of children with diarrhoea and in no children without diarrhoea. Our results demonstrated that children who were exclusively breast-fed by their mothers were not infected with rotavirus and that 92% of the infants infected with rotavirus experienced vomiting.ConclusionThese data demonstrate that asymptomatic rotavirus infection is rare and that rotavirus is commonly detected in stool samples of children suffering from diarrhoea with concomitant vomiting. Use of point-of-care rotavirus tests will enhance early diagnosis of rotavirus-associated diarrhoea and reduce irrational use of antibiotics.