Movement of live animals is a major risk factor for the spread of livestock diseases and zoonotic infections. Understanding contact patterns is key to informing cost-effective surveillance and control strategies. In West and Central Africa some of the most rapid urbanization globally is expected to increase the demand for animal-source foods and the need for safer and more efficient animal production. Livestock trading points represent a strategic contact node in the dissemination of multiple pathogens. From October 2014 to May 2015 official transaction records were collected and a questionnaire-based survey was carried out in cattle markets throughout Western and Central-Northern Cameroon. The data were used to analyse the cattle trade network including a total of 127 livestock markets within Cameroon and five neighboring countries. This study explores for the first time the influence of animal trade on infectious disease spread in the region. The investigations showed that national borders do not present a barrier against pathogen dissemination and that non-neighbouring countries are epidemiologically connected, highlighting the importance of a regional approach to disease surveillance, prevention and control. Furthermore, these findings provide evidence for the benefit of strategic risk-based approaches for disease monitoring, surveillance and control, as well as for communication and training purposes through targeting key regions, highly connected livestock markets and central trading links.

Port‐a‐cath (PAC) system is one of the most frequently employed venous accesses for administration of chemotherapy and supportive care. To prevent late complications, the latest guidelines recommend flushing/locking procedures every four weeks. In this retrospective study, we evaluate the frequencies of late complications with a eight‐week flushing/locking procedure compared to the standard one. This study retrospectively compares the frequency of complications occurred using standard versus delayed flushing schedules. We performed a systematic review of the published studies about PAC complications associated with longer flushing intervals. Three hundred and ninety fully available patients were enrolled. One hundred and six patients had their PAC flushed/locked every month, 347 patients performed the flushing/locking procedures every eight weeks, 63 patients switched from the four to the eight‐week schedule. No difference was seen in the number of occlusions, infections and mechanical dysfunctions between the two patient groups. The systematic literature review confirmed, in a total of 1,347 patients, the absence of an increased proportion of complications with delayed schedules. PAC flushing and locking every eight weeks are feasible and safe. This delayed schedule may improve patients’ quality of life and decrease both nursing workload and costs for the national health system.

BackgroundIn sub-Saharan Africa, livestock transhumance represents a key adaptation strategy to environmental variability. In this context, seasonal livestock transhumance also plays an important role in driving the dynamics of multiple livestock infectious diseases. In Cameroon, cattle transhumance is a common practice during the dry season across all the main livestock production zones. Currently, the little recorded information of the migratory routes, grazing locations and nomadic herding practices adopted by pastoralists, limits our understanding of pastoral cattle movements in the country. GPS-tracking technology in combination with a questionnaire based-survey were used to study a limited pool of 10 cattle herds from the Adamawa Region of Cameroon during their seasonal migration, between October 2014 and May 2015. The data were used to analyse the trajectories and movement patterns, and to characterize the key animal health aspects related to this seasonal migration in Cameroon.ResultsSeveral administrative Regions of the country were visited by the transhumant herds over more than 6 months. Herds travelled between 53 and 170 km to their transhumance grazing areas adopting different strategies, some travelling directly to their destination areas while others having multiple resting periods and grazing areas. Despite their limitations, these are among the first detailed data available on transhumance in Cameroon. These reports highlight key livestock health issues and the potential for multiple types of interactions between transhumant herds and other domestic and wild animals, as well as with the formal livestock trading system.ConclusionOverall, these findings provide useful insights into transhumance patterns and into the related animal health implications recorded in Cameroon. This knowledge could better inform evidence-based approaches for designing infectious diseases surveillance and control measures and help driving further studies to improve the understanding of risks associated with livestock movements in the region.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12917-018-1515-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.