5 research outputs found
The impact of co-infections on the haematological profile of East African Short-horn Zebu calves
The cumulative effect of co-infections between pathogen pairs on the haematological response of East African Short-horn
Zebu calves is described. Using a longitudinal study design a stratified clustered random sample of newborn calves were
recruited into the Infectious Diseases of East African Livestock (IDEAL) study and monitored at 5-weekly intervals until
51 weeks of age. At each visit sampleswere collected and analysed to determine the infection status of each calf aswell as their
haematological response. The haematological parameters investigated included packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cell
count (WBC) and platelet count (Plt). The pathogens of interest included tick-borne protozoa and rickettsias, trypanosomes
and intestinal parasites. Generalized additive mixed-effect models were used to model the infectious status of pathogens
against each haematological parameter, including significant interactions between pathogens. These models were further
used to predict the cumulative effect of co-infecting pathogen pairs on each haematological parameter. The most significant
decrease in PCV was found with co-infections of trypanosomes and strongyles. Strongyle infections also resulted in a
significant decrease in WBC at a high infectious load. Trypanosomes were the major cause of thrombocytopenia. Platelet
counts were also affected by interactions between tick-borne pathogens. Interactions between concomitant pathogens were
found to complicate the prognosis and clinical presentation of infected calves and should be taken into consideration in any
study that investigates disease under field conditions.The work was done as part of the Infectious Diseases
of East African Livestock (IDEAL) project, which is
a collaboration between the University of Pretoria,
University of Edinburgh, University of Nottingham and
the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI),
Nairobi, Kenya.The IDEAL project was generously funded by the
Wellcome Trust (project no. 079445). The pocH-100iV
Diff automated blood analyser was kindly sponsored by
Sysmex© Europe GMBH.http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=PARam201
Seroprevalence of respiratory viral pathogens of indigenous calves in western Kenya
Most studies of infectious diseases in East African cattle have concentrated on gastro-intestinal parasites and vector-borne diseases. As a result, relatively little is known about viral diseases, except for those that are clinically symptomatic or which affect international trade such as foot and mouth disease, bluetongue and epizootic haemorrhagic disease. Here, we investigate the seroprevalence, distribution and relationship between the viruses involved in respiratory disease, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBR), bovine parainfluenza virus Type 3 (PIV3) and bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) in East African Shorthorn Zebu calves. These viruses contribute to the bovine respiratory disease complex (BRD) which is responsible for major economic losses in cattle from intensive farming systems as a result of pneumonia. We found that calves experience similar risks of infection for IBR, PIV3, and BVDV with a seroprevalence of 20.9%, 20.1% and 19.8% respectively. We confirm that positive associations exist between IBR, PIV3 and BVDV; being seropositive for any one of these three viruses means that an individual is more likely to be seropositive for the other two viruses than expected by chance
The impact of co-infections on the haematological profile of East African Short-horn Zebu calves
The cumulative effect of co-infections between pathogen pairs on the haematological response of East African Short-horn Zebu calves is described. Using a longitudinal study design a stratified clustered random sample of newborn calves were recruited into the Infectious Diseases of East African Livestock (IDEAL) study and monitored at 5-weekly intervals until 51 weeks of age. At each visit samples were collected and analysed to determine the infection status of each calf as well as their haematological response. The haematological parameters investigated included packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cell count (WBC) and platelet count (Plt). The pathogens of interest included tick-borne protozoa and rickettsias, trypanosomes and intestinal parasites. Generalized additive mixed-effect models were used to model the infectious status of pathogens against each haematological parameter, including significant interactions between pathogens. These models were further used to predict the cumulative effect of co-infecting pathogen pairs on each haematological parameter. The most significant decrease in PCV was found with co-infections of trypanosomes and strongyles. Strongyle infections also resulted in a significant decrease in WBC at a high infectious load. Trypanosomes were the major cause of thrombocytopenia. Platelet counts were also affected by interactions between tick-borne pathogens. Interactions between concomitant pathogens were found to complicate the prognosis and clinical presentation of infected calves and should be taken into consideration in any study that investigates disease under field conditions
Afri-Can Forum 2
CITATION: Mukudu, H., et al. 2016. Afri-Can Forum 2. BMC Infectious Diseases, 16:315, doi:10.1186/s12879-016-1466-6.The original publication is available at https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.comENGLISH ABSTRACT: We are pleased to present peer reviewed forum proceedings of the 2nd synchronicity forum of GHRI/CHVIfunded Canadian and
African HIV prevention and vaccine teams
Forum objectives
∙GHRI-funded capacity building and HIV prevention research teams presented highlights of achievements
∙Teams discussed how to jointly build on achievements for sustainability
∙Provided an opportunity for inter-team collaboration,
synchronize best approach to capacity building, mentoring of new researchers and building leadership
∙Provided opportunities for informal discussions and networking among the teams.
∙Teams learnt about recent advances in the area of African regulatory and ethics review process
∙The forum proceedings was a special supplement in an openaccess journal was producedhttps://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/supplements/volume-16-supplement-2Publisher's versio