Abstract: Background The combined application of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) are commonly used malaria interventions that target indoor Anopheles vectors. Recent studies on the effects of house screening (HS) and LLINs have demonstrated a reduction in indoor vector densities and malaria when the interventions are combined. In addition, complementary interventions are needed to curb co-occurring pest populations which pose menace to agricultural c...
Abstract: The Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama) is a key pest of Citrus sp. worldwide, as it acts as a vector for Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, the bacterial pathogen that causes citrus Huanglongbing. Diaphorina citri has been reported in Kenya,Tanzania, and more recently in Ethiopia. This study assessed the genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure of the pest to gain insights into the potential sources of its introduction into Africa. Population structure and diff...
Abstract: The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach have been widely promoted and used for the management of native and invasive pests, while the use of various components of the IPM can have a synergetic, additive, or antagonistic effect on each other; this study evaluated the susceptibility of Dolichogenidea gelechiidivoris (Marsh) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), to the Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) ICIPE 20 through direct and indirect infection approaches. The effect of fungus on p...
Abstract: Bedbugs have experienced an extraordinary upsurge in the recent past across the world. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the community perception of the pest outbreaks, the population dynamics, and dispersal patterns under different habitat systems. A survey was conducted within communities in nine counties in Kenya, where geographical coordinates of the sites of bedbug presence were recorded and maximum entropy distribution modelling (MaxEnt) was used to map and predict ...
Abstract: ntroduction: Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are vectors of arboviral pathogens that primarily affect livestock represented by Schmallenberg virus (SBV), epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) and bluetongue virus (BTV). In Kenya, studies examining the bionomic features of Culicoides including species diversity, blood-feeding habits, and association with viruses are limited.Methods: Adult Culicoides were surveyed using CDC light traps in two semi-arid ecolog...
Abstract: The fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda, is a voracious pest of cereals native to the Americas and which invaded Africa in 2016. Chemical control is the main management option, which however remains ineffective and unsustainable. Fungal endophytes are increasingly used as alternative for the management of insect pests of economic importance. This study assessed the potential of eight endophytic fungal isolates to colonize maize plant and their ability to promote seedlings gro...
Abstract: Ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) are major constraints to camel health and production, yet epidemiological data on their diversity and impact on dromedary camels remain limited. We surveyed the diversity of ticks and TBPs associated with camels and co-grazing sheep at 12 sites in Marsabit County, northern Kenya. We screened blood and ticks (858 pools) from 296 camels and 77 sheep for bacterial and protozoan TBPs by high-resolution melting analysis and sequencing of PCR product...
Abstract: A disease with clinical and post-mortem presentation similar to those seen in heartwater, a tick-borne disease of domestic and wild ruminants caused by the intracellular bacterium Ehrlichia ruminantium, was first reported in dromedary camels in Kenya in 2016; investigations carried out at the time to determine the cause were inconclusive. In the present study, we screened sera from Kenyan camels collected before (2015) and after (2020) the 2016 disease outbreak for antibodies to Eh...
Abstract: Ticks are increasingly a global public health and veterinary concern. They transmit numerous pathogens that are of veterinary and public health importance. Acaricides, livestock breeding for tick resistance, tick handpicking, pasture spelling, and anti-tick vaccines (ATVs) are in use for the control of ticks and tick-borne diseases (TTBDs); acaricides and ATVs being the most and least used TTBD control methods respectively. The overuse and misuse of acaricides has inadvertently sel...
Abstract: Enset (Ensete ventricosum) is an important starch staple crop, cultivated primarily in south and southwestern Ethiopia. Enset is the main crop of a sustainable indigenous African system that ensures food security in a country that is food deficient. Related to the banana family, enset is similarly affected by plant-parasitic nematodes. Plant-parasitic nematodes impose a huge constraint on agriculture. The distribution, population density and incidence of plant-parasitic nematodes o...
Abstract: The sources of animal odours are highly diverse, yet their ecological importance, in host–vector communication, remains unexplored. Here, using the camel (host)–Stomoxys calcitrans (vector) interaction, we collected and analyzed the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) of camels from four of its diferent odour sources: breath, body (skin), urine, and dung. On non-metric model multivariate analyses of VOCs we show that substantial chemo-diversity exists between metabolic products a...
Abstract: Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens complex mosquitoes are prolific vectors of arboviruses that are a global threat to human and animal health. Increased globalization and ease of travel have facilitated the worldwide dissemination of these mosquitoes and the viruses they transmit. To assess disease risk, we determined the frequency of arboviruses in western Kenyan counties bordering an area of high arboviral activity. In addition to pathogenic viruses, insect-specific flaviviruses (IS...
Abstract: We present findings from an outbreak of a heartwater-like disease in camels that killed at least 2000 adult animals in Kenya in 2016. Clinical signs included excitability, head pressing, aimless wandering, recumbency, and fast breathing followed by death after about 4 days. The observed morbidity in one herd was 40% with an average mortality of 7.5% in animals that received early antibiotic treatments. In untreated adults, the case fatality rate reached 100%. Gross pathology showed...
Abstract: Trypanosoma vivax is a vector-borne protozoan parasite of livestock endemic to Africa and South America. To date, fifteen genotypes of the parasite have been described in vertebrate and insect hosts in East Africa. However, information regarding T. vivax diversity remains limited in many endemic countries in the sub-region, including Kenya. Such information could deepen insight into the local epidemiology of animal trypanosomiasis in Shimba Hills, a wildlife area in southeast Kenya...
Abstract: Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) are major constraints to livestock production and a threat to public health in Africa. This cross-sectional study investigated the risk of infection with TBPs in cattle of Lambwe Valley, Kenya. Blood samples of 680 zebu cattle from 95 herds in six geospatial clusters within 5 km of Ruma National Park were screened for bacterial and protozoan TBPs by high-resolution melting analysis and sequencing of PCR products. We detected Anaplasma bovis (17.4%), Anap...