Five diseases, one vaccine : a boost for emerging livestock farmers in South Africa

Livestock are essential to the economic, nutritional and social wellbeing of African farmers. Besides providing food, clothing and other products, they are a measure of wealth and social standing; they are used for barter, as lobola (bride price) at traditional weddings, and also as a ‘bank’, whereby animals can be sold to pay for emergency needs, such as funerals. Given the diverse uses of livestock and their socio-economic importance in farming communities, the loss of even a single animal has a significant, and sometimes crippling effect on a family

Peste des petits ruminants virus tissue tropism and pathogenesis in sheep and goats following experimental infection

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a viral disease which primarily affects small ruminants, causing significant economic losses for the livestock industry in developing countries. It is endemic in Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent. The primary hosts for peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) are goats and sheep; however recent models studying the pathology, disease progression and viremia of PPRV have focused primarily on goat models. This study evaluates the tissue tropism and pathogenesis of PPR following experimental infection of sheep and goats using a quantitative time-course study. Upon infection with a virulent strain of PPRV, both sheep and goats developed clinical signs and lesions typical of PPR, although sheep displayed milder clinical disease compared to goats. Tissue tropism of PPRV was evaluated by real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Lymph nodes, lymphoid tissue and digestive tract organs were the predominant sites of virus replication. The results presented in this study provide models for the comparative evaluation of PPRV pathogenesis and tissue tropism in both sheep and goats. These models are suitable for the establishment of experimental parameters necessary for the evaluation of vaccines, as well as further studies into PPRV-host interactions.A Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF) grant (no. 106930: Livestock vaccines against viral diseases for sub-Saharan Africa) by the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).http://www.plosone.orgam201

New livestock vaccines - a boost for emerging farmers in Africa

This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada (GAC)Although commercial farmers generally make good use of livestock vaccines, emerging livestock farmers face major challenges in effective vaccine acquisition and use. Given the diverse uses of livestock and their socio-economic importance in farming communities, the loss of even a single animal has significant and sometimes crippling effects on a family. To ensure the relevance of newly developed vaccines to emerging farmers, this project uses an integrative and gender responsive approach, linking vaccine development with education, economics and social science. The researchers believe that the new vaccines will have the potential to control six important African livestock diseases

Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance from bacterial culture and susceptibility records from horse samples in South Africa

The continuous increase in prevalence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria presents a significant public health problem and is an indicator that antimicrobial prudent usage guidelines are not being followed, especially in developing countries. Despite trends being available from numerous countries, there is little published for South Africa. This study was aimed at estimating the prevalence and trends of antimicrobial resistance from bacterial isolates from equine clinical samples submitted for culture and susceptibility testing to the veterinary bacteriology laboratory of the University of Pretoria. The study covered a period of seven years from 2007. A total of 1505 bacterial isolates were included in this study comprising isolates from 2007 (n = 447); 2008 (n = 285); 2009 (n = 258); 2010 (n = 102); 2011 (n = 89); 2012 (n = 248) and 2013 (n = 76). For this study, multiple drug resistance was above 50% for all the isolates. The Cochran-Armitage test showed evidence of a significantly increasing trend in prevalence of resistance to several antimicrobial agents, including amikacin (E. coli, Staphylococcus), AMX/AMP (Corynebacteria, Lactobacillus and Salmonella), chloramphenicol (Enterococcus, E. coli, Pseudomonas, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus and Salmonella), enrofloxacin (E. coli, Staphylococcus, Salmonella and Pseudomonas) and gentamicin (Salmonella, Staphylococcus). The data obtained from this study is relevant to equine practitioners, as it helps enhance the body of veterinary knowledge pertaining to antimicrobial resistance in common equine pathogens in South Africa.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/prevetmed2018-12-01hj2017Paraclinical SciencesVeterinary Tropical Disease

Gender, small-scale livestock farming and food security : policy implications in the South African context

This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada (GAC)Drawing on insights from multiple studies, this policy brief addresses the importance of gender considerations for small-scale livestock farming communities relative to food security in the South African context. The brief examines some key elements of gender issues in relation to small-scale livestock farming, asks how some of these elements align with current policies and practices, and suggests a number of focused policy recommendations. Two thirds of the world’s 600 million poor livestock keepers are rural women. Within the international agricultural development agenda, women are increasingly identified as key to the eradication of global hunger

Peste des petits ruminants virus tissue tropism and pathogenesis in sheep and goats following experimental infection.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a viral disease which primarily affects small ruminants, causing significant economic losses for the livestock industry in developing countries. It is endemic in Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent. The primary hosts for peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) are goats and sheep; however recent models studying the pathology, disease progression and viremia of PPRV have focused primarily on goat models. This study evaluates the tissue tropism and pathogenesis of PPR following experimental infection of sheep and goats using a quantitative time-course study. Upon infection with a virulent strain of PPRV, both sheep and goats developed clinical signs and lesions typical of PPR, although sheep displayed milder clinical disease compared to goats. Tissue tropism of PPRV was evaluated by real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Lymph nodes, lymphoid tissue and digestive tract organs were the predominant sites of virus replication. The results presented in this study provide models for the comparative evaluation of PPRV pathogenesis and tissue tropism in both sheep and goats. These models are suitable for the establishment of experimental parameters necessary for the evaluation of vaccines, as well as further studies into PPRV-host interactions

Quantification of PPR viral RNA in blood, nasal and oral swabs determined using real-time RT-PCR.

<p>Both nasal and oral swabs were collected from sheep (A) and goats (B) at various time points until 21 dpi. Viral RNA quantification from whole blood (C) was also performed at identical time points. Note that in the case of sheep (C), viral RNA was not detectable at any time point before or after experimental infection with PPRV. Results presented are the mean value with standard deviation from animals at each time point. P<0.05 for sheep and goat nasal swabs at 6, 8 and 11 dpi and for sheep and goat oral swabs at 6 and 8 dpi compared to −2 dpi by t-test. P<0.05 for goats whole blood at 4, 6 and 8 dpi compared to −2 dpi by t-test.</p

Quantification of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) in serum samples collected from sheep and goats following PPRV infection.

<p>Measurement of IFN-γ levels were performed using an IFN-γ ELISA and cross-reactive antibodies against bovine IFN-γ, and quantified using a standard provided by the manufacturer. Results presented are the mean values with standard deviations from animals at each time point. P<0.05 for goats at 8 dpi compared to −2 dpi by t-test.</p

Rectal temperatures of sheep and goats following PPRV infection.

<p>Rectal temperatures of sheep and goats were measured 2 days prior to experimental infection with PPRV (Malig strain), and following infection at regular intervals until 21 dpi. Results presented are the mean temperatures with standard deviations from animals at each time point.</p

Histopathology and immunohistochemistry of goat lung at 8 dpi.

<p>(A) Hyperplasia of bronchiolar epithelium is evident with scattered epithelial degeneration (arrowheads) and abundant neutrophils within the lumen. Surrounding parenchyma is consolidated (*) with severe infiltration of mononuclear inflammatory cells. Note large syncytial cell (arrow). (B) Positive immunolabelling for CD68 was observed within multinucleated syncytial cells indicating they are of monocyte/macrophage origin (arrow). Note positive immunostaining of adjacent macrophages (arrowheads). (C) Positive immunolabeling for cytokeratin is observed within pneumocytes (arrowhead); however, syncytial cells are negative (arrow) indicating that they are not of epithelial origin. (D) Double immunolabelling detected the simultaneous expression of CD68 macrophage marker (brown stain, arrow) and PPRV antigen (pink stain, arrowhead) within multinucleated syncytial cells. Inset: Double immunolabelling detected expression of CD68 macrophage marker (brown stain, arrowhead) and PPRV antigen (pink stain, arrow) within the same cell indicating the presence of viral antigen within macrophages. Bar = 10 µm.</p