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In January 2021, Senegal reported the emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus A(H5N1), which was detected on a poultry farm in Thies, Senegal, and in great white pelicans in the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary. We report evidence of new transcontinental spread of H5N1 from Europe toward Africa.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne disease mostly affecting wild and domestic ruminants. It is widespread in Africa, with spillovers in the Arab Peninsula and the southwestern Indian Ocean. Although RVF has been circulating in West Africa for more than 30 years, its epidemiology is still not clearly understood. In 2013, an RVF outbreak hit Senegal in new areas that weren’t ever affected before. To assess the extent of the spread of RVF virus, a national serological survey was implemented in young small ruminants (6–18 months old), between November 2014 and January 2015 (after the rainy season) in 139 villages. Additionally, the drivers of this spread were identified. For this purpose, we used a beta-binomial (BB) logistic regression model. An Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation (INLA) approach was used to fit the spatial model. Lower cumulative rainfall, and higher accessibility were both associated with a higher RVFV seroprevalence. The spatial patterns of fitted RVFV seroprevalence pointed densely populated areas of western Senegal as being at higher risk of RVFV infection in small ruminants than rural or southeastern areas. Thus, because slaughtering infected animals and processing their fresh meat is an important RVFV transmission route for humans, more human populations might have been exposed to RVFV during the 2013–2014 outbreak than in previous outbreaks in Senegal.

Prevalence ranged from 7.8% to 22.1%, depending on region., In Senegal, during 2002–2007, 11 outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) were reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health. Despite this, little was known of the epidemiology of ASF in the country. To determine the prevalence of ASF in Senegal in 2006, we tested serum specimens collected from a sample of pigs in the 3 main pig-farming regions for antibodies to ASF virus using an ELISA. Of 747 serum samples examined, 126 were positive for ASF, suggesting a prevalence of 16.9%. The estimated prevalences within each of the regions (Fatick, Kolda, and Ziguinchor) were 13.3%, 7.8%, and 22.1%, respectively, with statistical evidence to suggest that the prevalence in Ziguinchor was higher than in Fatick or Kolda. This regional difference is considered in relation to different farming systems and illegal trade with neighboring countries where the infection is endemic.