ABSTRACT Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral vesicular disease of cloven hoofed animals and poses major constraints to international trade in livestock production. Methods available for detection of FMD virus (FMDV) require specialized laboratory facilities and equipment. In this study, targeted laboratorybased experiments studies were conducted using reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) for detection and serotyping of FMDV under field ...
ABSTRACT Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have the ability to cause superficial skin infections and occasionally causes invasive and serious diseases. This study was performed in a cross sectional design to determine the prevalence and molecular characterization of MRSA in raw bovine milk in the Morogoro Municipality. Raw milk samples (117) were collected from 18 administrative wards and cultured on Baird-Parker agar to isolate S. aureus. Presumptive colonies were analyzed ...
ABSTRACT The present study was conducted to investigate the presence of Arenaviruses from rodents, shrews and elephant shrews captured in selected wildlife-human interfaces in Tanzania. The study involved six sites with high potential for contact between wildlife and humans namely; Ruaha, Kilombero, Mtwara, Mbeya, Mbinga and Mikumi. A total of 121 animals comprising 111 rodents, 3 shrews and 7 elephant shrews were screened for Arenaviruses using conventional Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). T...
ABSTRACT Hepatitis B represents a major global health problem. Despite the high endemicity of hepatitis B in Sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about the epidemiology and genotypes of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Africa. The few published studies that describe the genetic characteristics of HBV in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) involved a very small adult population size. In the present study, epidemiological and molecular characteristics of HBV infection were studied among voluntary b...
ABSTRACT Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) is a chronic bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis. It affects cattle and occasionally other animals and human. Several techniques exist for detection of BTB in animals. In Tanzania, Single Intradermal Comparative Tuberculin Test (SCITT) and abattoir meat inspection are the commonly used methods for screening of BTB. This study has used molecular biology method namely; RD4 Real time PCR (RD4 Rt PCR) to detect shedding M. bovis in milk and faecal sa...
BSTRACT Access to antiretroviral therapy and Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care is increasing in resource-limited settings like Tanzania. This study was conducted to evaluate prevalence and risk factors associated with treatment failure, in HIV patient on Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) for more than six months in Dar es Salaam. A cross-sectional observational study that involved 70 conveniently sampled and consented HIV-infected patients who were on antiretroviral therapy for more than si...
ABSTRACT Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an acute, contagious, fatal disease of domestic and wild small ruminants caused by PPR virus (PPRV). A cross-sectional study was conducted to (i) detect PPRV infection, establish the viral lineage and identify the possible source of its introduction and spread in Morogoro district between November 2014 and January 2015 and (ii) determine presence of PPR in selected villages of Ngorongoro district. Clinical samples of six goats from Morogoro urban a...
ABSTRACT Mosquito species distribution patterns and their ecology is gaining importance, because global climate changes are thought to lead to the emergence of mosquito-borne diseases; which are of considerable medical and veterinary importance because of their high morbidity and mortality. This study was conducted in five municipalities of Kinshasa to determine mosquito diversity, and arboviruses infection within. Mosquitoes were collected using BG-Sentinel traps, battery-powered aspirator f...
ABSTRACT Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an acute viral disease of small ruminants caused by PPR virus (PPRV). For many years, the disease was mainly confined to West and Central Africa but has now spread southwards to previously PPR-free countries. The disease was first reported in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2012. The disease causes high morbidities of up to 100 % and mortality rates between 50 and 90% in domestic small ruminants (goats and sheep) leading to the socio economic...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted to assess the polymorphisms of beta-lactoglobulin (-Lg) and kappa-casein (-Cn) genes and determine the effects of -Lg polymorphism on percentage of milk fat and protein contents in indigenous goat breeds found in Tanzania. Blood samples were collected from 22 - 24 unrelated animals for each breed. Genomic DNA was isolated from whole blood samples using Sepa gene extraction kit with some modifications. The -Lg and -Cn genes were amplified using ...
ABSTRACT Begomoviruses are whitefly-transmitted viruses belonging to the family Geminiviridae presenting most devastating threat to food security. This study was initiated to asses cassava mosaic disease (CMD) severity and genetic diversity of DNA-B component of East African cassava mosaic viruses (CMD) that infect cassava plants from main cassava growing regions in Tanzania. The study involved field survey, rolling cycle amplification (RCA) followed by next generation sequencing (NGS). The s...
ABSTRACT Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease of cloven hooved animals that continues to occur in Ngamiland District of Botswana although stringent disease control measures have been put in place. This may be due to irrelevance of currently used vaccine strains. In the present study, genetic and antigenic characteristics of SAT2 viruses isolated from outbreaks which occurred in 2011 and 2015 in Ngamiland districtwere examinedin order to determine any mutational changes ...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted to isolate, characterize, thermostabilize and develop an easier and cheap technique for preparation of inactivated and live vaccines against Infectious coryza (IC). Fifty six (56) samples were collected from chicken. Fourty eight percent (27) isolates had phenotypic characteristics suggestive of both pathogenic and non pathogenic Avibacterium species. Fifty nine percent (16) of 27 isolates were catalase negative, oxidase positive and NAD dependent. Moreover, ...
ABSTRACT In the present study, 100 unrelated father-son buccal swab sample pairs from consented Tanzanian population were examined to establish mutation rates using 17 Y-STRs loci DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385a, DYS385b, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS635, and Y-GATA-H4 of the AmpFlSTRYfiler kit used in forensics and paternity testing. Prior to 17 Y-STRs analysis, father-son pair biological relationships were confirmed using 15 autosomal ...
ABSTRACT Background: Malaria infection in pregnancy is an enormous public health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. In areas of high malaria transmission, P. falciparum infection during pregnancy is usually characterized by malaria related anemia in the mother and placental malaria. This situation has been associated with poor pregnancy outcomes across many populations. The aim of this study was to determine the extent of asymptomatic P. falciparum infection and its relation with anemia in health...