Adaptive Drug Resistance in Malaria Parasite: A Threat to Malaria Elimination Agenda?

Malaria is a global disease of importance, especially in the sub-Saharan African region, where malaria accounts for great losses economically and to life. Fight to eliminate this disease has resulted in reduced disease burden in many places where the diseases is endemic. Elimination strategies in most places is focus on the use of treated nets and drug application. Exposure of malaria parasites to anti-malaria drugs have led to the evolution of drug resistance in both parasites and host. Development of drug resistance vary but, studies on adaptive drug resistance has implications and consequences. Our knowledge of this consequences are limited but important for the pursuit of an uninterrupted malaria elimination agenda. This chapter draws our attention to this risks and recommends interventions

A review of challenges to genetic improvement of indigenous livestock for improved food production in Nigeria

Indigenous livestock production is intertwined with the life style of Nigerians. The Nigerian livestock industry employs the bulk of the rural work-force, and indigenous livestock breeds are abundant in the industry. These breeds are distributed across the diverse agro-ecological production systems, and are carriers of unique and responsive genotypes shaped by the needs of their managers. Despite their unique features, most indigenous livestock breeds are characteristically low in production and productivity. Improvement of these breeds represents a logical starting point for improving food security and agricultural productivity in Nigeria. To better understand natural genetic variation in these indigenous livestock breeds and strategies for improvement, better genetic characterization is required. Molecular assisted selection (MAS) will be valuable in the pursuit of selection for increased production, but the application of MAS to livestock improvement is constrained by a variety of limitations. The focus of this paper is to elucidate the potential of MAS as a tool for genetic improvement of indigenous livestock, to identify constraints and challenges in MAS implementation and propose solutions to increasing MAS feasibility in pursuit of improved food security and sustainability in Nigeria.Keywords: Food security, Genetic improvement, Genomic Selection, Indigenous livestock, Marker assisted selection, Nigeri

Understanding the interactions between Eimeria infection and gut microbiota, towards the control of chicken coccidiosis: a review

The gastrointestinal tract in poultry harbours a diverse microbial community that serves a crucial role in digestion and protection. Disruption of the gut environment due to Eimeria spp. parasite infection causes an imbalance in intestinal homeostasis, driving the increment of pathogens such as Clostridium species. Coccidiosis infection affects the composition and integrity of gut microbiota, resulting in elevated susceptibility to diseases that pose a serious threat to the overall health and productivity of chickens. Anticoccidial drugs have proven effective in curbing coccidiosis but with concerning drawbacks like drug resistance and drug residues in meat. The exploration of natural alternative strategies such as probiotics and phytochemicals is significant in controlling coccidiosis through modification and restoration of gut microbiota, without inducing drug resistance. Understanding the interaction between Eimeria parasites and gut microbiota is crucial for the control and prevention of coccidiosis, and the development of novel alternative treatments

A Comparative Study of Genetic Diversity and Multiplicity of Infection in Uncomplicated <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> Infections in Selected Regions of Pre-Elimination and High Transmission Settings Using <i>MSP1</i> and <i>MSP2</i> Genes

Background: Understanding the genetic structure of P. falciparum population in different regions is pivotal to malaria elimination. Genetic diversity and the multiplicity of infection are indicators used for measuring malaria endemicity across different transmission settings. Therefore, this study characterized P. falciparum infections from selected areas constituting pre-elimination and high transmission settings in South Africa and Nigeria, respectively. Methods: Parasite genomic DNA was extracted from 129 participants with uncomplicated P. falciparum infections. Isolates were collected from 78 participants in South Africa (southern Africa) and 51 in Nigeria (western Africa). Allelic typing of the msp1 and msp2 genes was carried out using nested PCR. Results: In msp1, the K1 allele (39.7%) was the most common allele among the South African isolates, while the RO33 allele (90.2%) was the most common allele among the Nigerian isolates. In the msp2 gene, FC27 and IC3D7 showed almost the same percentage distribution (44.9% and 43.6%) in the South African isolates, whereas FC27 had the highest percentage distribution (60.8%) in the Nigerian isolates. The msp2 gene showed highly distinctive genotypes, indicating high genetic diversity in the South African isolates, whereas msp1 showed high genetic diversity in the Nigerian isolates. The RO33 allelic family displayed an inverse relationship with participants’ age in the Nigerian isolates. The overall multiplicity of infection (MOI) was significantly higher in Nigeria (2.87) than in South Africa (2.44) (p P. falciparum that were observed in this study could provide surveillance data, on the basis of which appropriate control strategies should be adopted

Multi-Strain Probiotics: Synergy among Isolates Enhances Biological Activities

The use of probiotics for health benefits is becoming popular because of the quest for safer products with protective and therapeutic effects against diseases and infectious agents. The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance among pathogens had prompted restrictions over the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics for prophylaxis and growth promotion, especially in animal husbandry. While single-strain probiotics are beneficial to health, multi-strain probiotics might be more helpful because of synergy and additive effects among the individual isolates. This article documents the mechanisms by which multi-strain probiotics exert their effects in managing infectious and non-infectious diseases, inhibiting antibiotic-resistant pathogens and health improvement. The administration of multi-strain probiotics was revealed to effectively alleviate bowel tract conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, inhibition of pathogens and modulation of the immune system and gut microbiota. Finally, while most of the current research focuses on comparing the effects of multi-strain and single-strain probiotics, there is a dearth of information on the molecular mechanisms of synergy among multi-strain probiotics isolates. This forms a basis for future research in the development of multi-strain probiotics for enhanced health benefits

Global Research Trends on Monkeypox Virus: A Bibliometric and Visualized Study

Monkeypox is a zoonotic viral disease that has recently emerged as another global infection disease. A double-stranded enveloped deoxyribonucleic acid virus the cause of this disease. Since monkeypox is an evolving field of study with a growing interest in public health, it is crucial to study the scientific trend and research activities. This study provides an essential insight into the research response to scientific trends of monkeypox using the bibliometric analysis technique. A literature search for published articles on LSD from 2001 to 2021 was conducted in Scopus on 24 July 2022. Visualization analysis was performed using R statistical software. The growth and trend of documents, country-level distribution of publications and collaborations, and the relationship between authors and co-authors were analyzed. Findings revealed a significant increase in the research conducted, mainly from the United States (US). The top 12 institutions published papers on the monkeypox virus, accounting for 33.09 percent of the articles. The US was the most productive nation, producing 275 documents (54.34%), or one-third of all publications in this sector worldwide. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Georgia in the United States were the organization that produced the most (365 publications). The Journal of Virology garnered the most citations, with an h-index of 18. In the last year, there has been an increase in the publication of monkeypox virus-related studies. The importance of the monkeypox virus highlights the necessity for continued research to help international health organizations identify areas that require prompt action to implement suitable solutions. This study also provides scaling-up analysis, evidence dissemination on the monkeypox virus, emerging hotspots, and perceptive remarks on the technological advances in this field

Prevalence and Molecular Characterization of <i>Babesia ovis</i> Infecting Sheep in Nigeria

Babesiosis is a significant tick-borne disease that causes varying degrees of losses to animals and humans, as well as a severe economic impact. In Nigeria, there have been several reports on the prevalence of Babesia infection in sheep; however, to date, there is no documented report on the molecular characterization of Babesia ovis in sheep. Here, we determined the prevalence of Babesia infection in sheep using microscopy and PCR and further characterized Babesia ovis in sheep in Nigeria. In this study, 198 blood samples were collected from Abuja and Abeokuta, Nigeria. Microscopic and polymerase chain reactions were used to detect the presence of B. ovis in sheep. Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples, and generic RLB forward and reverse primers were used to amplify the 18S rRNA segment of B. ovis. Sequence analysis of the generic molecular marker was used to determine the genetic characteristics of B. ovis in sheep in Nigeria. The prevalence of B. ovis infection using microscopy and PCR was 61.1% and 36.9%, respectively. There was a higher prevalence of Babesia infection in Abeokuta (38.4%) than in Abuja. Study animals of one and half years to three years had the highest percentage (45.8%) of Babesia infection, and higher infection of B. ovis was recorded in male animals (37.5%), balami breeds (40.0%), white coat colors (44.4%), emaciated animals (75.0%), and polycythaemic animals (57.1%). Sequencing analysis indicated that B. ovis 18S rRNA from southwestern Abeokuta and north-central Abuja, Nigeria, showed 90–95% identity of documented isolates from other countries. BioEdit and MEGAX software was used to clean sequences and construct a phylogenetic tree to show evolutionary relationships. In conclusion, the findings from this study offer significant information on the molecular characteristics of B. ovis infection for the first time in Nigeria, as well as its present prevalence status. Furthermore, sheep have been identified as a potential reservoir for this tick-borne pathogen; thus, the information from this study can serve as a basis to formulate effective control strategies for tick-borne pathogens circulating amongst the ruminant population in Nigeria and Africa by extension

Design of a Multiepitope Vaccine against Chicken Anemia Virus Disease

Chicken anemia virus (CAV) causes severe clinical and sub-clinical infection in poultry globally and thus leads to economic losses. The drawbacks of the commercially available vaccines against CAV disease signal the need for a novel, safe, and effective vaccine design. In this study, a multiepitope vaccine (MEV) consisting of T-cell and B-cell epitopes from CAV viral proteins (VP1 and VP2) was computationally constructed with the help of linkers and adjuvant. The 3D model of the MEV construct was refined and validated by different online bioinformatics tools. Molecular docking showed stable interaction of the MEV construct with TLR3, and this was confirmed by Molecular Dynamics Simulation. Codon optimization and in silico cloning of the vaccine in pET-28a (+) vector also showed its potential expression in the E. coli K12 system. The immune simulation also indicated the ability of this vaccine to induce an effective immune response against this virus. Although the vaccine in this study was computationally constructed and still requires further in vivo study to confirm its effectiveness, this study marks a very important step towards designing a potential vaccine against CAV disease