Environmental predictors of bovine Eimeria infection in western Kenya

Eimeriosis is caused by a protozoan infection affecting most domestic animal species. Outbreaks in cattle are associated with various environmental factors in temperate climates but limited work has been done in tropical settings. The objective of this work was to determine the prevalence and environmental factors associated with bovine Eimeria spp. infection in a mixed farming area of western Kenya. A total of 983 cattle were sampled from 226 cattle-keeping households. Faecal samples were collected directly from the rectum via digital extraction and analysed for the presence of Eimeria spp. infection using the MacMaster technique. Individual and household level predictors of infection were explored using mixed effects logistic regression. The prevalence of individual animal Eimeria infection was 32.8% (95% CI 29.9--35.9). A positive linear relationship was found between risk of Eimeria infection and increasing temperature (ORþinspace=þinspace1.4, 95% CI 1.06--1.86) and distance to areas at risk of flooding (ORþinspace=þinspace1.49, 95% CI 1.17--1.91). There was weak evidence of non-linear relationship between Eimeria infection and the proportion of the area around a household that was classified as swamp (ORþinspace=þinspace1.12, 95% CI 0.87--1.44; OR (quadratic term)þinspace=þinspace0.85, 95% CI 0.73--1.00), and the sand content of the soil (ORþinspace=þinspace1.18, 95% CI 0.91--1.53; OR (quadratic term)þinspace=þinspace1.1, 95% CI 0.99--1.23). The risk of animal Eimeria spp. infection is influenced by a number of climatic and soil-associated conditions

A cattle graph genome incorporating global breed diversity

Despite only 8% of cattle being found in Europe, European breeds dominate current genetic resources. This adversely impacts cattle research in other important global cattle breeds, especially those from Africa for which genomic resources are particularly limited, despite their disproportionate importance to the continent's economies. To mitigate this issue, we have generated assemblies of African breeds, which have been integrated with genomic data for 294 diverse cattle into a graph genome that incorporates global cattle diversity. We illustrate how this more representative reference assembly contains an extra 116.1 Mb (4.2%) of sequence absent from the current Hereford sequence and consequently inaccessible to current studies. We further demonstrate how using this graph genome increases read mapping rates, reduces allelic biases and improves the agreement of structural variant calling with independent optical mapping data. Consequently, we present an improved, more representative, reference assembly that will improve global cattle research

Poor performance of the rapid test for human brucellosis in health facilities in Kenya

Human brucellosis is considered to be an important but typically under-diagnosed cause of febrile illness in many low and middle-income countries. In Kenya, and throughout East Africa, laboratory diagnosis for the disease is based primarily on the febrile antigen Brucella agglutination test (FBAT), yet few studies of the diagnostic accuracy of this test exist. Assessment of the performance of the FBAT is essential for its appropriate clinical use, as well as for evaluating surveillance data reported by public health systems. To assess FBAT performance, we collected sera from people with symptoms compatible with brucellosis attending two health facilities in Busia County, Kenya. Sera were tested using the FBAT and results compared with those from the Rose Bengal Test (RBT), an assay with well-known performance characteristics. Positives on either test were confirmed using the classical serum agglutination test (SAT)-Coombs test combination and a rapid IgM/IgG lateral flow immunochromatography assay (LFA). A questionnaire focussing on known risk factors for exposure to Brucella spp. was also conducted, and relationships with FBAT positivity examined using logistic regression. Out of 825 recruited individuals, 162 (19.6%) were classified as positive using the FBAT. In contrast, only eight (1.0%) were positive using the RBT. Of the 162 FBAT positives, one (0.62%) had an atypical agglutination in SAT and three (1.9%) showed low Coombs titres. Out of 148 FBAT positive individuals tested using the LFA, five (3.4%) were IgM positive and none were IgG positive. Poor or no correlation was observed between FBAT results and most established risk factors for Brucella infection. We observed substantial disagreement between the FBAT and a number of well-known serological tests, with the majority of reactive FBAT results appearing to be false positives. Poor FBAT specificity, combined with a lack of confirmatory testing, strongly suggests overdiagnosis of brucellosis is common in this low prevalence setting. This is expected to have important economic impacts on affected patients subjected to the long and likely unnecessary courses of multiple antibiotics required for treatment of the disease

Working conditions and public health risks in slaughterhouses in western Kenya

shw - slaughterhouse worker database sh - slaughterhouse database Original data files relating to the open access publication in BMC Public Health entitled "Working conditions and public health risks in slaughterhouses in western Kenya

Household socioeconomic position and infectious disease risk in rural Kenya

Household socioeconomic position and infectious disease risk in rural Kenya de Glanville W.A. PhD1,2,#, Thomas L.F. PhD 1,2, Cook E.A.J. PhD 1,2, Bronsvoort B.M. PhD 3,4, Wamae N.C. PhD 6, Kariuki S. PhD 7, Fèvre E.M. PhD 2,8* 1Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Ashworth Laboratories, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, UK 2 International Livestock Research Institute, Old Naivasha Road, PO BOX 30709, 00100-Nairobi, Kenya 3 The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, UK 4 Roslin Institute, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, UK 6 School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, United States International Research University, PO Box 14634-00800, Nairobi, Kenya 7 Centre for Microbiology Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, PO Box 19464-00200, Nairobi, Kenya 8 Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK *Corresponding author # Current address: Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom, G12 8QQ. Background Household socioeconomic position (SEP) has been repeatedly shown to predict individual infectious disease risk, yet few studies have quantified this association for the full range of pathogens that are typically endemic in low income settings. This cross-sectional study assesses the impact of SEP on a range of infectious agents with diverse transmission routes within a single community in western Kenya. Methods Information on productive and material household assets, household resources, and access to services was collected and combined to derive a single index of SEP. The relationship between household SEP and individual infection with Plasmodium falciparum, hookworm (Ancylostoma duodenale and/or Necator americanus), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and HIV was assessed using multivariable logistic regression. The relationship between co-infections with hookworm, P. falciparum and E. histolytica/dispar and SEP was assessed using multinomial logistic regression. Findings Individuals in households with the lowest SEP were at greatest risk of infection with P. falciparum, hookworm and E. histolytica/dispar, as well as co-infection with each pathogen. Infection with M. tuberculosis, by contrast, was most likely in individuals living in households with the highest SEP. There was no evidence of a relationship between individual HIV infection and household SEP. Interpretation A household socioeconomic gradient exists in this predominantly poor, rural farming community. This gradient significantly impacts upon individual infectious disease risk, but the relationship between household SEP and infection is not consistent for all pathogens. Funding Wellcome Trust, BBSRC, MRC and CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Healt

The Influence of Socio-economic, Behavioural and Environmental Factors on Taenia spp. Transmission in Western Kenya: Evidence from a Cross-sectional Survey in Humans and Pigs (People, Animals and their Zoonoses - PAZ - project)

This project deals with zoonotic infections amongst livestock and the farmers who keep them. Zoonotic diseases are infections transmitted between animals and humans; they are a major group of pathogens (approximately 60% of all human-infective organisms), with a diversity of animal hosts including wildlife, pets and domestic animals. Domestic livestock (especially cattle and pigs) are an important source of zoonotic infections to humans, due in part to the close interactions between these agricultural animals and the people who keep them. While keeping domestic stock is an important source of rural livelihoods in many countries, these animals may also expose the families who keep them to disease risks. Understanding the interactions between people and their domestic animals, and the transmission of zoonoses between them, is of vital importance in creating the evidence-based disease control policies that are required to protect both human and animal health. The dataset relates to a paper published in an open access journal, relating to the influence of socio-economic, behavioural and environmental factors on Taenia spp. transmission in western Kenya. Taenia, of cysticercosis, is a zoonotic disease. These data were collected in a cross-sectional epidemiological study carried out between 2010 and 2013. Funding was from the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council

“The ambition in my love” : The theater of courtly conduct in All’s Well that Ends Well

This chapter explores the gendered nature and language of courtly conduct in Shakespeare’s All’s Well that Ends Well, a work concerned with the ambiguity of gendered courtly conduct, in words, objects, and deeds, which can be interpreted as a critical commentary on contemporary French court life and its leading, female protagonists. Verbal play, material culture, and actions are shown to be key to an articulation and practice of emotions that underpins the successful operation of the court. In this context, coupling may be less a meeting of hearts than a joining of well-matched individuals, each able to perform a range of courtly behaviors successfully by learning to dissimulate through words, attire, and deeds to achieve their goals