Mali is located in the Sahel region of West Africa, to the south-west of Algeria and north of Burkina Faso and Niger (Figure 1). It has a large area of some 1.24 million square kilometres. The terrain is dominated by flat or rolling sand-capped plains in the north and savannah in the south, although rugged hills occur in the north-east. Elevation varies from the highest point at Hombori Tondo (...

The concentration of insoluble mineral aerosol in the lower troposphere of the western equatorial North Atlantic Ocean has increased by a factor of 3 over the last decade. This increase may be related to the drought in the Sahelian zone of North Africa.

Using a large collection of European and North African methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates with a variety of genetic backgrounds and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) types, we evaluated the reliability of the BD GeneOhm MRSA assay. Results revealed high performance of this test for detecting MRSA strains provided from Europe and North Africa (98.3%).

Although we have no reliable data on Africa-wide lion populations prior to the late 20th century, there is wide agreement that numbers have been in steady decline, and are no doubt at an all-time low; estimates based on local experts’ best guesses and estimates range between 16,500 and 47,000 (Chardonnet, 2002; Bauer and van der Merwe, 2004). Lions have been totally eliminated in North Africa, ...

Genetic diversity of sub-Saharan African goats was assessed using 19 microsatellite markers. Breeds were sampled from eastern Africa (Maasai, Kigezi, Mubende, North West Highland, Arsi-Bale), southern Africa (Ndebele, Pafuri) and West Africa (West African Dwarf, Maure, Djallonke). European breeds (Grisons Striped, Toggenburg), Asian breeds (Mongolian Cashmere, Bandipur) and a Middle East breed ...

Autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS) has been identified in diverse countries. However, outside of North America, North Africa, and Europe, ARSACS was recognized only in the Japanese population. Moreover, through genetic research, the disease is thought to exhibit no founder effect, except in the Quebec descent. Therefore, it is possible that ARSACS might be undere...

Two North American fossil species of large felids, hitherto regarded as Late Cenozoic pumas (mountain lion), are in fact closely related to the living cheetah, Acinonyx, of Africa and Eurasia. A new subgenus (Miracinonyx) is proposed for the American species. Cheetahs and pumas may have had a common ancestor in the Miocene of North America.

Sugar is an important commodity in the African context, and there are numerous challenges and opportunities that exist in Africa for that industry. Africa is quite a big place and it encompasses a large number of different countries, cultures, weather patterns and soil variety. I will restrict my presentation to the area which is know as the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which ...

The five countries with the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world are situated in southern Africa, and South Africa, with an estimated 4.7 million people living with HIV (PLWA), has more cases of HIV/AIDS than any other country. AIDS stigma and discrimination continue to impact on those living with and affected by the HIV disease and their health-care providers, particularly in southern Afr...