ABSTRACT The poultry industry, especially chicken production has in recent times faced a major setback due to devastating effects of Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactases (ESBL) producing organisms.This research aimed at investigating the diversity of ESBL genes in avian pathogenic Escherichia coli(APEC) among scavenging local chickens. A total of 400 cloacal and oropharyngeal swabs were obtained, out of which 192 Escherichia coli were isolated. By use of virulence factor profiling, these 192 samp...
ABSTRACT Aromatic rice is highly cherished in many countries of the world and commands premium prices at all levels of the global rice trade. The presence of aroma in aromatic rice is controlled by betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase 2.1 (BADH2.1) gene allele which results from an eight base pair deletion and three single nucleotide polymorphisims (SNPs) in exon seven of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (BADH2) gene. This mutation is responsible for the introduction of premature stop codon which ...
ABSTRACT Leptospirosis is an emerging zoonotic infectious disease that affects humans and animals worldwide as it causes febrile illness in humans. The disease has been reported in a number of human-livestock-wildlife interfaces of Northern and Eastern Tanzania. Very little is known of many zoonotic disease conditions in the research naive areas of Western and Southern Tanzania. This study aimed at detecting the prevalence of Leptospira species among agro-pastoralists at the human-animal int...
EXTENDED ABSTRACT There is high degree of rice diversity in Tanzania. Increased human population pressure and activities has caused the population of wild rice to disappear at alarming rate. NPGRC collected over 125 accessions of rice landraces and 7 wild relatives for conservation and sustainable utilization in improvement programs, but no morphological or genetic diversity study that have been done to support any future collections. An investigation was conducted to determine the extent o...
ABSTRACT The knowledge and comprehension of the genetic variation of maize (Zea mays L.) landraces is pivotal for the implementation of measures to address conservation and improvement. The purpose of this study was to assess the genetic diversity and relationship among selected maize genotypes in Republic of Tanzania by screening twenty Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA molecular markers.DNA was extracted from 160 maize genotypes and PCR was conducted using twelve informative primers. Ampli...
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)....
ABSTRACT Speed is paramount in the diagnosis of highly infectious Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Recent developments in molecular biology have enabled specific detection of FMD virus by real-time RT-qPCR and sequencing in endemic settings in Africa. In this study, a laboratory-based experimental design was used to standardize real-time RT-qPCR assay for detection and typing of FMDV in selected regions of Tanzania. The optimized conditions for both pan-serotypic and serotype-specific real-time ...
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...