The fishery and aquaculture sectors affected by the COVID-19 crisis in the Maghreb

According to five national reports prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Subregional Office for North Africa, the Maghreb fishery and aquaculture sectors experienced a significant decline in activity in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reports are based on a survey conducted in four Maghreb countries: Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia, which all experienced a drop in production and income in 2020. The reports also showed that consumption shifted towards canned, frozen and processed fish at the expense of fresh products, especially at the beginning of the pandemic. This consumer behaviour impacted fish demand and prices.

ABO -related D-dimer elevation and severity In SARS -cov2-infected Tunisian patients

Introduction : The blood group is an important biological parameter in the development of several infectious, bacterial or viral diseases. Many studies have shown that virus SARS-cov2 preferentially attaches to the epithelial cells of people with blood group A (affinity between protein S and antigen A). The main objective of the study was to find the relationship between blood group, D-dimer level and the severity of infection SARS-cov2. Patients and Methode: This is an exposure-non exposure descriptive study (SARS-cov2 infection+) of 133 Tunisian patients included consecutively between January and April 2021 at Rabta hospital. The patients were subdivided into groups according to the presence or absence of antigen A. The phenotype distribution of SARS-cov2 patients was compared with that of a control group of 2801 patients not affected by SARS-cov2 and with the blood group distribution of a blood donor population ( N = 3072). Results: During the study, 133 Tunisian patients were included. Group A (group A and AB) was present in 39.8% of patients ( N = 53) versus non-A group (group O and B) in 60.2%. The average D-dimer level was 7291.59 ng/ml in group A versus 3047.34 ng/ml in non-A group with a statistically significant difference ( p = 0). The rate of resuscitation was higher in group A (34.6%) versus non-A group (11.1%) with a statistically significant difference ( p = 0.02). The period of hospitalisation was longer in group A (average 15.06 days) versus non-A group (average 10.08 days) with a statistically significant difference ( p = 0.02). The blood type was not independently associated with the mortality rate. It was 19.2% in group A versus 13.9% for the NON-A group with a difference not statistically significant ( p = 0.5). Conclusion: This study suggests the ABO blood group could be one of the factors that play a role in determining SARScov2 susceptibility severity with more need for resuscitation and an increase in the period of hospitalisation. A large study would be interesting to confirm these results.

Preliminary analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the fishery and aquaculture sectors in Tunisia

The fishing and aquaculture industries have been affected by disrupted production and obstacles to marketing. Following the suspension of certain activities, the production volumes of fisheries and aquaculture declined. In Tunisia, fishery production reached 36 000 tonnes in May 2020, compared to 54 000 tonnes for the same period of 2019;a drop of 33 percent according to the Directorate General of Fisheries and Aquaculture (the May report of the Directorate General of Fisheries and Aquaculture). The reopening of fishing during the month of April, and the gradual resumption of activities, have improved the situation to some extent.

Hematologic abnormalities in moderate forms of COVID-19

Background : The number of COVID-19 infected patients is dramatically increasing worldwide. Although this infection is primarily manifested as a respiratory tract infection, emerging data indicate that it may be also a systemic disease involving multiple systems including hematopoietic system and hemostasis. Aims : This study aimed to describe the main hematologic abnormalities in patients with moderate forms of covid-19 and their course during hospitalization. Methods : We conducted a prospective study including 87 patients with coronavirus infectious disease hospitalized in departments other than Intensive Care Unit between November 16 th and December 30 th 2020. Hematologic investigations were performed on admission and during hospitalization including Blood count, Ddimers and fibrinogen. Results : Among 87 patients, 52 were males and 35 were females. The mean age was 65 years old [26-100]. The average length of hospitalization was 11 days [1-39]. Of the 87 COVID-19 infected patients, 58 (67%) had neutrophilia during hospitalization, 7 (8%) had leucopenia, 63 (72%) had lymphopenia, 13 (15%) had thrombocytopenia, 12 (13.8%) had thrombocytosis and 19 patients had myelemia >5%. Regarding D-dimers, 82 (94%) patients had d-dimers >500 ng/ ml and 68 (78%) had d-dimers>1000 ng/ml. Concerning fibrinogen, 34 (39%) patients had a rate of fibrinogen >4 g/L and 21 (17.9%) patients had a rate of fibrinogen >6 g/L. The results of hematologic investigations performed on admission, day 5 and day 10 are summarized in the table below (Table 1). Conclusions : Increased values of D dimers were found in almost all patients with moderate forms of COVID-19. These values are higher during hospitalization than on admission revealing a hypercoagulable state. The other most common haematological abnormalities were neutrophilia, lymphopenia and high values of fibrinogen.