The use of a UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) was tested to survey large mammals in the Nazinga Game Ranch in the south of Burkina Faso. The Gatewing ×100™ equipped with a Ricoh GR III camera was used to test animal reaction as the UAS passed, and visibility on the images. No reaction was recorded as the UAS passed at a height of 100 m. Observations, made on a set of more than 7000 images, revealed that only elephants (Loxodonta africana) were easily visible while medium and small sized mammals were not. The easy observation of elephants allows experts to enumerate them on images acquired at a height of 100 m. We, therefore, implemented an aerial strip sample count along transects used for the annual wildlife foot count. A total of 34 elephants were recorded on 4 transects, each overflown twice. The elephant density was estimated at 2.47 elephants/km2 with a coefficient of variation (CV%) of 36.10%. The main drawback of our UAS was its low autonomy (45 min). Increased endurance of small UAS is required to replace manned aircraft survey of large areas (about 1000 km of transect per day vs 40 km for our UAS). The monitoring strategy should be adapted according to the sampling plan. Also, the UAS is as expensive as a second-hand light aircraft. However the logistic and flight implementation are easier, the running costs are lower and its use is safer. Technological evolution will make civil UAS more efficient, allowing them to compete with light aircraft for aerial wildlife surveys.

Objectives: To develop scores for food variety and diversity to assess the overall dietary quality in an African rural area; and to study their relationship with the nutritional status of women of childbearing age. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Sahelian rural area in the North-East Burkina Faso (West Africa). Subjects: A total of 691 mothers with children below the age of 5 y, selected at random in 30 villages. Methods: A qualitative recall of women's food consumption during the previous 24 h made it possible to calculate a food variety score (FVS ¼ count of food items consumed) and a dietary diversity score (DDS ¼ count of food groups, among 14 groups). These scores were then divided into terciles. Body mass index (BMI), mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and body fat percentage (BFP) were used to determine the women's nutritional status. Results: The overall dietary quality was poor: mean FVS (s.d.) ¼ 8.3 (2.9) food items; mean DDS ¼ 5.1 (1.7) food groups. A clear relationship was shown between both FVS and DDS (in terciles) and most nutritional indices. Women with a FVS in the lowest tercile had a mean BMI of 20.1, while those in the highest tercile had a BMI of 20.9 (P ¼ 0.009). Those in the lowest tercile of DDS had a 22.8% prevalence of underweight vs 9.8% in the highest tercile (Po0.0001). The latter relationship remained significant even when the subjects' sociodemographic and economic characteristics were accounted for. Conclusion: Dietary scores measured at the individual level are good proxies for overall dietary quality of women living in a poor rural African area. These scores were also shown to be linked with the nutritional status of women. Financing: IRD financed the study with the assistance of UNICEF for the purchase of anthropometric equipment. The first author received a research allowance from the French Ministry of Research through the doctoral school 393 of Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris VI).

The measurement of child feeding practices is complex and the relation between the quality of feeding and children's nutritional status is difficult to establish. We examined this relation in rural Burkina Faso, West Africa, using an adapted version of the Infant and Child Feeding Index (ICFI). A cross-sectional study was conducted on a random sample of children (n = 2466) aged 6-35 mo in 2002. Feeding practices were assessed through a qualitative 24-h recall. ICFIs were made age specific for children aged 6-11 mo (n = 614), 12-23 mo (n = 987), 24-35 mo (n = 865), and were divided into terciles. The association between height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ), weight-for-height Z-scores (WHZ), and ICFIs were examined separately in each age group. Multivariate analyses were performed to control for sociodemographic and economic factors. Adjusted mean HAZ in low, medium, and high categories of ICFI were, respectively, -1.67, -1.53, and -1.21 (P = 0.003) among children aged 6-11 mo; -2.54, -2.24, and -2.11 (P = 0.0002) among children aged 12-23 mo; and -2.18, -2.20, and -2.45 (P = 0.05) among children aged 24-35 mo. There was also a positive association between ICFI and WHZ in children aged 12-23 mo (P = 0.05) but a negative association in children aged 6-11 mo (P = 0.02). Among the components of ICFI, dietary diversity or variety scores and frequency of meals or snacks supported the positive associations with anthropometric indices, except for WHZ in children aged 6-11 mo, whereas breast-feeding exhibited a reverse association among older children. A suitable ICFI and/or some of its components could be used to identify vulnerable age groups and to monitor interventions in similar rural areas of Africa.