1. Did you always envisage a career in animal research as an immunologist? 

After my graduate degree in chemistry at Free university, Brussels, I taught chemistry at the same university for 7 years and for some time I aspired to become a teacher! During that period, I did my PhD in immuno chemistry where I studied gene expression and the changes in animals’ biology that fascinated me a lot, this is where my interest in immunology was stirred and the journey to my career as an immunologist began.

2. What made you decide to come and work in Kenya?

While I was teaching I had an opportunity to attend a conference at the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp where I met a scientist carrying out research in Kenya who informed me of some of the opportunities for an immunologist at ILRI, back then it was ILRAD, which appealed to me. There was also the fact that I wasn’t keen on doing military service which every male in Belgium had to do back in the 1980s and coming to work in a developing country automatically meant no military service! These two factors combined made it an opportunity that I could not resist.

3. How was your early scientific career like when you joined ILRI and what kept you going?

When I joined ILRAD in the early 1980s my initial assignment was to do research on East Coast fever (ECF) and to find a way to separate infected from uninfected cells. During that period immunology made a big leap through  the use of monoclonal antibodies that allowed immunologists to dissect the immune system. This was also the era when immunologists began to understand how cancer cells were working and we in Theileria research started to link the data from cancer cells research with the transformation event observed with Theileria parva, the parasitic protozoa that causes ECF. This was a remarkable period in science, a lot of information was now becoming available and suddenly we had the right tools for our animal research. All this was happening during my earlier years as a scientist in Kenya, and I grew more passionate about the immunology of parasitic diseases, since then there was no turning back.

4. You were part of the reputable team that made the major breakthrough in studying the immunology of cattle, how was this possible and what was the experience like?  

The immunology jump availed the right tools (monoclonal antibodies that identified the different functional immune cell populations) for immunology research in livestock. Prior to this, such tools were only available for human and mouse research. Once we got our panel of antibodies at ILRI, we could discriminate T and B cells, and recognize the different types of functional T lymphocytes and explain some key characteristics in the makeup of cattle, for instance why some animals were able to protect themselves from various diseases while others were not. For ECF, we discovered that protection was mediated by killer cells and gave us hope for finding a new experimental ECF vaccine. In trypanosomiasis, the tools allowed us to conclude that some cattle were typanotolerant because they had better innate responses.

5. Why did you stop working on those diseases?

Working on trypanosomiasis, I quickly realized that the possibility for developing a vaccine was very slim and probably impossible. Once I also showed that trypanotolerance was not the result of a protective immune response, I decided that, as an immunology expert, there was now little that I could do to help find a solution to bovine trypanosomiasis. However I think that there is still a possibility to improve on a sporozoite vaccine.

6. You joined the CBPP research team in 2009, what are some the factors that drew you to it?

Firstly, the current live vaccine has been successful in eliminating CBPP from certain areas in Africa, despite the fact that it has a low efficacy and gives short immunity (between half and one year), implying that we do not have to develop a vaccine that is 100% effective to already make a serious impact in the field. Secondly, there were a number of preliminary experiments that provided evidence that inactivated bacteria can induce protection, this means that a subunit vaccine that would offer better protection, longer immunity and avoid the cold chain storage might be possible. Finally, the time frame to show proof of concept for a possible dead vaccine would not be so long.

7. What are some of the challenges in CBPP research?

Few scientists are working on this disease, and the amount of reliable data about CBPP is rather small. For example, we do not know which immune responses provide protection, nor the pathogen antigens that induce protection, nor how the pathogen causes disease, why it only affects cattle or what causes virulence. One does not necessarily have to know all these answers to develop a vaccine, but more information would certainly help. Few laboratories in the developed world, with good infrastructure for rapid research progress, work on the pathogen because of restrictions in their countries that are now free of CBPP. And since CBPP is only a problem in Africa, it is a neglected disease that attracts little commitment from the developed world. Finally, most research carried out on CBPP is haphazard with few systematic approaches to tackle this disease.

8. Are you optimistic about CBPP research and getting a more efficient and improved vaccine for it?

Back when I was a child a tetanus vaccine had to be repeated every year to remain effective, but now the vaccine is given after every 10 years because the delivery systems have improved. This is exactly the kind of effect we expect to work for CBPP, the goal is to get a vaccine that gives longer immunity. If you insist, to carry out the experiments that would confirm the possibility for such a vaccine (not the vaccine itself) would take maximum 3-4 years. So, yes am very optimistic about finding a better vaccine or a subunit vaccine that will be more efficient.

9. What are some of the things that you find fascinating about being a scientist and lessons you have learnt along the way?

What fascinates me most is that nature always surprises us. There are times when you think that you have understood the nature of a problem and expect a particular kind of outcome to an experiment only to get a totally unexpected result that can lead to different insights and contribute to new knowledge. Science is therefore very interesting and dynamic contrary to popular belief that it is boring, there is always something new.

The appreciation and recognition from colleagues in the profession and their use of our results, methods and tools has been very encouraging and keeps us ticking. Another boost is to see our students becoming successful in their own right.

10. What would you say a successful scientific career entails?

A scientific career is all about reputation, whether in finding a job, getting your papers published or your proposals funded. You start building your reputation or career with your PhD and here quality of your work is more important than quantity. Make sure you have a nice science-detective story to tell your audience and your interviewers. Learn how to captivate their interest, and show off how your creativity was central in solving the puzzle. For a more established scientist, the impact of your research becomes more important.

Finally, don’t spoil your reputation and attempt to manipulate data, however small the transgression. Continuously improved and open source software now allows anyone to systematically scan peer-reviewed papers, however long ago they were published, for signs of fraud: do data sets obey Benford’s law, have photos been manipulated, has text been dishonestly copied. Surprisingly, the occurrence of small fraud is much higher than everyone expected, with embarrassing consequences even for some renowned scientists… and the search is continuing. Expect some fireworks.

11. Away from science what do you like to do?

My interests have been changing over the years, when I was younger I used to love playing classical music and that almost got me a career as classical guitar teacher. Once in Kenya, I loved to fly small aircraft as a private pilot, discovering the beautiful landscapes all over Kenya and participating in all kinds of navigational competitions. Currently I love hiking mountains in different parts of Kenya and East Africa, in addition to my regular runs that keep me fit for playing with my grandson!

PENAPH will be holding a technical workshop to bring together trainers, practitioners and others interested in Participatory Epidemiology (PE) and its applications in animal health, one health and ecohealth. The organization of the workshop is supported by a grant to the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) from the Rockefeller Foundation through the Empowering National and Regional Stakeholders Grant. The Veterinary Public Health Centre for Asia Pacific (VPHCAP) at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University has graciously agreed to host the meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The program activities include keynote speeches and presentations of papers, discussion forums, poster sessions and social events. Discussion forums, oral and poster presentations will be given in English. Electronic proceedings will be produced that contain the papers presented and results of discussion forums.

More details and communications concerning the Technical Workshop will be posted on www.penaph.net and broadcast by E-mail to PENAPH members.

Call for abstracts

Abstracts are warmly invited for both oral and poster presentations at the 2012 PENAPH Technical Workshop. Please submit abstracts on work related to any of the following topics:

• Participatory Epidemiology: lessons learned and perspectives – what worked, what didn’t, why and how?
• Methods for assessment and evaluation of surveillance programs that include Participatory Disease Surveillance
• Validation of participatory tools in epidemiology and comparison of Participatory Epidemiology with conventional research methods
• How to integrate Participatory Epidemiology and Participatory Disease Surveillance with conventional research and surveillance methods in animal health, one health and ecohealth?
• Participatory impact assessment of health related activities
• Innovative approaches from qualitative and semi-quantitative research methods in fields other than animal health, one health & eco-health (e.g. social sciences, human epidemiology, or public health).

The deadline for submission of abstracts is 1st July 2012. All abstracts submitted will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee of the PENAPH Technical Workshop. All authors will be contacted by 15th August 2012 and informed if their submission has been selected as an oral or poster presentation at the PENAPH Technical Workshop. The presenting author must register for the workshop by 30^th September 2012.

For more information about the abstract submission and requirements, please read the short description on the PENAPH website at http://penaph.net/first-technical-workshop or download the abstract template.

About PENAPH

The Participatory Epidemiology Network for Animal and Public Health (PENAPH) is a partnership of organizations and individuals that seek to facilitate the continued development and application of participatory methods in epidemiology. PENAPH partners include animal health and public health partners committed to one health and ecohealth approaches. The overall goal of PENAPH is to enhance epidemiological services in the developing world by making them more representative of and responsive to the needs of beneficiaries. Jeff Mariner ILRI, scientists is the coordinator and ILRI’s focal person for the networks.

Group photo of workshop participants

The next generation vaccine for East Coast fever (EFC), an important cattle disease was the discussion agenda in a 2.5 day workshop organized by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural-Research Service (USDA-ARS) and Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) on April 16-18. Stakeholders from Nairobi-ILRI, USA, UK, Belgium, Malawi and South Africa met at ILRI Nairobi to share research experiences, discuss interdisciplinary approaches and build linkages. In his opening remark, Baty Ndungu the director for research and development at GALVmed emphasized that the workshop objectives were to take stock of our current knowledge on ECF and to explore new research opportunities that could be harnessed to develop a modern day vaccine for the control of this killer disease.

ECF is an important cattle disease that occurs in 11 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. The disease is caused by a protozoa, Theileria parva and puts millions of cattle at mortality risk in addition to causing production losses. Current control measures for the disease are: tick control with acaricides, treatment of sick animals and the live vaccine: Infection and treatment method (ITM).

In an attempt to fill in the various gaps that exist in ECF research and come up with a coordinated and linked research effort, workshop participants presented their findings and experiences on ECF research. Discussions were held on the ITM vaccine, which is the only commercial vaccine available for EFC and has been shown to provide good protection despite manufacturing and delivery limitations such as, a long batch production cycle, cold chain storage, large dose size per pack and cost. The participants went on to discuss anti-sporozoite based subunit vaccines like p67 that have been shown in some but not all field trials to offer protection against the disease, as well as other different aspects of ECF including a potential role for tick based vaccines. Progress made in understanding the molecular basis of the protective cellular immune response elicited by ITM was presented and the scientific challenge of routinely inducing a similar response by vaccination was debated. The latter is a technical challenge to the global human and veterinary vaccine development community.

Bringing together interested partners with a huge focus on learning from each other led to an increased understanding of ECF, mechanisms that contribute to immunity and assessment of past vaccine trials. There was agreement that ITM remains the gold standard and that it was important to continue working on improving this vaccine. In the medium to longer term there are good opportunities to work on anti-sporozoite based subunit vaccines and on T cell-mediated immunity, which targets the schizont stage. There was also agreement that it would be useful to standardize experimental approaches and reagents in order to compare results across different laboratories, to promote information and knowledge exchange while at the same time building capacity for younger scientists in this particular research field.

View the workshop photographs here

‘This review summarizes available information on genetics of adaptation in major livestock species focusing on small ruminants. Adaptation to humans and consequences of domestication on predator aversion, mechanisms of adaptation to available feed and water resources, severe climates and genetic evidence of disease tolerance or resistance have been presented. The latter focuses on gastrointestinal parasites and bacterial diseases. The resource allocation by the animal to production and fitness traits under both optimal and sub-optimal conditions has a genetic background. Such information would help in identifying the most appropriate and adapted genotypes capable of coping with the environmental challenges posed by the production systems or, wherever possible, in adapting the environments to the requirements of the animals’.

The People, Animals and their Zoonoses (PAZ) project study site, Busia County in western Kenya is a region where the inhabitants are highly dependent on agriculture as their main source of livelihood.  There is a very close interaction between livestock and humans making the population in this area highly exposed to a number of neglected zoonotic diseases. The project study approach involves random recruitment of several homesteads, getting blood and faecal samples from livestock; cattle, pigs and goats, humans and other animals. We run several tests on these samples to investigate parasites infection and later provide any necessary treatment and health education.

Lorren Alumasa, ILRI clinical technician with the PAZ project collecting blood sample from a study participant

Worm infestation has been the most common diagnosis made out of the samples collected from our study subjects. Although the most common worms detected have been hookworms and roundworms, we have come across cases of zoonotic tapeworm infestation.

The picture on the right below displays a tapeworm passed from one of the study subjects after treatment. The common cause of tapeworm infestation is through ingestion of raw or undercooked meat. People do no understand the link between undercooked meat and the infection with the worms. Improper hygiene could also predispose them to such infestations, especially pork tapeworm.

Contrary to our expectations, it was interesting that these study subjects did not show any clinical symptoms, one of them was in fact a vegetarian! Tests run on faecal samples from the rest of the household participants who ate meat did not reveal these parasites. We also found out that most people in the region did not cook pork long enough, they just shallow fry it and voila it’s ready! To be sure of having destroyed the larva in meat, I would recommend that pork meat be boiled for at least half an hour before frying, with this, we are sure the pathogens are destroyed.

How is one infected?
Tapeworm is an oral-faecal type of worm infestation of the digestive tract by adult parasitic flatworms called cestodes. The live larval forms are sometimes ingested by consuming undercooked food. At this stage, the larvae may cause symptoms in an intermediate host like cattle. The most common types of tapeworms are: Pork tapeworm [Taenia solium]; Beef tapeworm [Taenia saginata]; Fish tapeworm [Diphyllobothrium spp]; and Dwarf tapeworm [Hyminolepsis spp]. In Busia, the first two are the most prevalent. Once infected, one will complain of; upper abdominal discomfort, diarrhoea, reduced appetite, anemia and passing of worm segments in stools. Apart from ingestion of raw or undercooked meat, improper hygiene, for instance when one ingests water or soil contaminated with human or animal faeces that contains pork tapeworm segments and eggs can also cause infestation. Each segment carries thousands of eggs.

Cattle or pigs can also ingest the contaminated soil or water. Once ingested, the eggs mature into larvae that migrate to tissues i.e. muscles, lungs, liver and form cysts causing a condition called Cysticercosis. If a person ingests undercooked meat with the larval form of tapeworm cysts, an adult worm may develop in the intestine up to a maximum length of 15 meters and can survive to 20 years. Tapeworms are identified by presence of four suckers on their head [scolex]. Treatment is oral; a single dose of Niclosamide or Praziquantel or Albendazole is enough. Prognosis is always good with treatment.

The PAZ project has made great progress in creating awareness of zoonotic diseases and treating tropical parasitic infections in Busia. However, more still needs to be done to further improve the awareness levels of these diseases not only in Busia but other areas in the country.  In addition, more investment should be channeled to the preventive and curative measures.

Other posts you might also want to read in the ‘A Day in the Life of the PAZ project’ series:

• About the People, Animals and their Zoonoses Project
• Pig farming and slaughtering in Western Kenya
• Laboratory diagnostic of diseases hosted by animals in the PAZ project area

About the author
Lorren Alumasa is a Clinical Technician with the PAZ project, her area of specialization is in management of humans where she examines, samples, diagnoses and treats human participants in the project. She has interests in understanding the distribution and prevalence of zoonoses in Western Kenya, best ways to eradicate the same in the region and eventually the entire Country. She is keen to see the study participants gain a better understanding and awareness of zoonoses and other related medical conditions that will translate to their better well being.

Challenges facing dairy farmers in Mali that the project will address include: little information on the performance of the different breeds and cross-breeds types, lack on information on the most appropriate breed combinations for small to medium-scale diary farmers to keep and lack of access to breed due to lack of production and delivery systems.

This ILRI led project, in partnership with the University of Bamako, the University of Helsinki , and Agrifood Research Finland, and funded via the Finnish Government’s FoodAfrica Programme aims to:

• Determine the most appropriate dairy breed/cross-breed types for peri-urban dairy production systems in Mali, and disseminate this information;
• Characterise the dairy germplasm production chain, and related policies, and use this information to develop a strategy for strengthened dairy germplasm production and delivery systems;
• Enhance local human, institutional and organizational capacity on accessing and promoting different breeds/cross-breeds of livestock.

Download project brochure

Read more about the project in the project website: http://malidairy.wordpress.com/news-nouvelles/

Cattle dry out after leaving the spraying unit (photo credit: ILRI/Onesmus Mulinge).

A recent study on ‘Identification of virulence factors of Theileria parva’ has confirmed the existence of a low virulent strain and identified the mechanism that was at the basis of this low virulence, showing some promising new avenues to develop a product that could help in the control of Theileriosis. This low virulent strain, Chitongo isolate induced less mortality and milder clinical symptoms than the Muguga isolate. Theileria parva, is a tick-borne intracellular protozoan parasite that infects lymphocytes of cattle and the African buffalo that causes East Coast fever (ECF).

‘The data strongly suggests that the low virulence of TpC could be due to the fact that its infective stage can only bind, infect and transform the CD8 subpopulation of lymphocytes, contrast to the more virulent T.parva isolates, that can bind and transform all lymphocytes, including B cells. As the p67 adhesion molecule of TpC is 100% identical to that of TpM, a second adhesion ligand must exist on sporozoites.

‘The main objective of the study was to provide firm evidence for the existence of a Theileria isolate with low virulence. An isolate from Zambia, TpC, suspected to be of low virulence was compared with with T.parva Muguga, a well studied isolate that induces high mortality and morbidity in cattle, for their capacity to infect cells in vitro and for their capacity to induce disease in vivo.’

According to the study, Chitongo isolate can help advance vaccination strategies in the following ways:

1. Improvement of the Infection and Treatment Method vaccine
2. Development of a sub-unit vaccine
3. Attenuation of virulent strains

The study suggests that future studies should focus on the existence and identification of a second adhesion of Theileria sporo\oites. This would be a major advance in Theileriosis research, providing a new candidate antigen for a subunit vaccine, and provide essential information to understand the binding and infection process.

Related journal article: A Theileria parva Isolate of Low Virulence Infects a Subpopulation of Lymphocytes

Article Source credit: Identification of virulence factors of Theileria parva by Tindih Sheltone Heshborne

This study estimated economic values (EVs) for disease resistance traits for dairy/crossbred goats in Kenya. The traits mean somatic cell count (SCC, cells/μl) and faecal worm egg count (FEC, epg) were taken as indicator traits for the most prevalent diseases in the smallholder farms i.e., mastitis and helminthiosis, respectively.

Economic weights were objectively assigned to these indicator traits in a selection index such that the overall gains in the breeding objective traits were maximised. Four options for calculating EVs for SCC and FEC were considered. Option 1, response from single trait selection was set equivalent to index response for the trait. Option 2, response from single trait selection was set equivalent to maximum gains achievable. Option 3, level of FEC/SCC was set to zero; and option 4, response in FEC/SCC was set to the minimum gains achievable.

In all the options, EVs with/without risk for breeding objective traits 12-month live weight (LW-kg); ADG, average post-weaning daily gain (ADG-g); DMY, average daily milk yield (DMY-kg) were used. For each production trait selected for improvement, a less positive response in the traits FEC and SCC would be desirable. Maximum negative EVs were achieved at a point where the response in SCC was set at zero (option 3) while EVs for SCC were zero when response for DMY was maximised (option 2). In addition, considerable differences in EVs for SCC were obtained when EVs with/without risk were used. Similar results were also observed for FEC when LW was the objective of improvement. However, more positive EVs for FEC were estimated relative to ADG and DMY. The results confirm that there is a scope to incorporate disease resistance traits in a breeding program with objective of reducing disease incidences and the costs of disease control.

Among others, the study findings indicate that there is a scope to incorporate disease resistance traits in a breeding program with objective of reducing disease incidences and the cost of disease control.

Citation: R.C. Bett, M.G. Gicheha, I.S. Kosgey, A.K. Kahi, K.J. Peters. 2011. Economic values for disease resistance traits in dairy goat production systems in Kenya. Small Ruminant Research 102(2-3): 135-141.

Alice Kiyonga, ILRI laboratory technician with the PAZ project in Busia

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), jointly with the University of Edinburgh (UK) and the Kenya Medical Research Institute, with additional support from the Kenyan Department of Veterinary Services, operates a laboratory in the town of Busia, in Western Kenya.  It is here that the People, Animals and their Zoonoses (PAZ) project operates a joint human and animal diagnostic laboratory that receives cattle and pig samples from many locations around the Western Kenya region. Once these samples are received, a number of tests are carried out; some of these tests include kato-katz, McMaster, sedimentation, direct Baerman for faecal samples. Capillary tubes, thin and thick blood smears are processed and examined for haemoparasites, serum is used for diagnosis of brucellosis and stimulation of cells for Mycobacterium bovis tuberculosis before they are sent to the ILRI Nairobi laboratory for a second level of diagnostic testing.

Results from these samples have shown that there is a range of pathogens in circulation among the livestock population in the area. There is a co-infection of parasites in most samples. Various species of worm eggs have been identified on faecal material, including ascaris, trichuris, fasciola, coccidia, strongyles, strongloides, toxocara and monieza. The egg count has been found to be high on pig samples as compared to cattle.

Blood parasites are identified using stained blood smears and capillary tubes, different species of trypanosomes have been identified. Trypanosome brucei being the species identified in pigs while Trypanosoma vivax, T. congolese and T. theileri are among the species identified on cattle, other parasites detected are Anaplasma marginale, Microfilaria and East coast fever which seems to be the most circulating parasite in the area.

trypanasomes in a giemsa stained blood smaear

The livestock examined so far have a range of both hemoglobin and packed cell volume. Although there have been considerable cases of infection commonly by Trypanosomes and in some rare cases Microfilaria species of which the packed cell volume and haemoglobin of this animals remained within the normal range, there have also been cases where the packed cell volume and hemoglobin have fallen below the normal range but where no haemoparasites were detected. Positive cases of brucellosis have been detected in animals using a lateral flow assay test. This is interesting as brucellosis has been one of the diseases that have been under reported in the western region.

Confirmation of the presence of zoonotic infections and differential diagnostic work has been one of the significant achievements of the laboratory. Results from the diagnostic tests are used to give feedback to farmers, in the form of providing treatment and advice. Residents in the study area are greatly exposed and affected by diseases linked to animals and the different laboratory tests are important in helping us to come up with proper diagnostics and interventions for these diseases so as to protect the health of both animals and humans.

Other posts you might also want to read in the ‘A Day in the Life of the PAZ project’ series:

• About the People, Animals and their Zoonoses Project
• Pig farming and slaughtering in Western Kenya

About the author

Alice Kiyonga is a laboratory technician with the PAZ project in Busia. Her interests are in understanding the role of zoonotic diseases in rural farming settings, and she has a personal interest in pastoralist systems.

Sheila Ommeh, ILRI scientist with Olivier Hanotte, former ILRI scientist and her PhD supervisor at the meeting with British parliamentarians on March 7 (photo credit: AWARD/Karen Homer)

‘On the eve of International Women’s Day and against the backdrop of deepening food crises across sub-Saharan Africa, two leading African women agricultural scientists joined U.K. experts at a lunchtime parliamentary briefing of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Agriculture and Food for Development today on “Effective Solutions for Agricultural Development through Empowered African Women Scientists.”’

‘An estimated 239 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are hungry, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The urgency to boost food production is clear, and ensuring the continent’s food security will require mobilizing the best minds from every discipline, especially women, who are the backbone of African agriculture. However, although the majority of those who produce, process, and market Africa’s food are women, only one in four (25%) agricultural researchers is female. Even fewer, one in seven (14%), hold leadership positions in African agricultural research institutions.’

‘African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) is addressing that gap by building the capacity of African women scientists conducting pro-poor agricultural research.’

‘Dr. Sheila Ommeh, a Kenyan winner of an AWARD Fellowship and a molecular geneticist whose research focuses on breeding disease-resistant indigenous chickens, commented: “Seventy-six percent of all Kenyan rural households are engaged in some kind of poultry rearing. It’s critical to food security. However, their flocks—and their livelihoods—are endangered by bird flu and Newcastle disease. I’m researching these diseases and am trying to make the ‘chicken agenda’ a priority for research institutions and governments.”’

Read the whole article: AWARD Fellows Brief MPs on Women’s Role in Delivering Effective Solutions for Agricultural Development

Other related stories:

African women scientists praise fellowship scheme

Sheila Ommeh, her journey through agricultural research and passion for chicken research

From an early age, James Gachanja understood the value of livestock. He was educated and brought up from an income on milk and fondly remembers how he used to help around the homestead with various livestock related task like helping the animals during calving, milking and feeding them. The exposure and these experiences made him to harbour a dream of working with livestock that saw him trained as an animal health worker and medical lab technologist.

Prior to joining ILRI, the then International Laboratory for research on animal diseases (ILRAD) in 1989 as a lab technician, he had been working with the Ministry of livestock at Kabete Vetlabs. While working at Vetlabs as a medical technologist, James was attached to a collaborative project between ILRAD and the Kenya government on a Dutch government sponsored wildlife project under Dr. Grotenhus, while there he learnt tissue culture, a research area that comprised his subsequent assignments over the years he worked in ILRAD and ILRI. He extensively worked on Theileria parva and more recently on peste des petits ruminants (PPR) vaccine. His other duties included carrying out monoclonal antibodies hybridization – a technology that involves the invitro fusion of hybrid cell lines from immuno-competent mice spleen cells and myeloma cells.

A fulfilling work and social life

The past 23 years at ILRI have been very exciting and rewarding for James, among his achievement in science was the successful modification of the ELIspot technique currently being used by the ILRI Biotech group from a human protocol that was used in Oxford. The technique was especially useful in the Theileria parva recombinant vaccine immunisation trial experiments. It greatly increased efficiency and has become a major technique for immunisation trails in ILRI. Another rewarding experience has been in the production of monoclonal antibodies that have been in use in ILRAD/ILRI and in other local and international research institutions.

‘Patience, persistence and integrity are qualities that I had to apply daily in my work’. It is such traits that enables scientists to spend long hours in the lab trying out different techniques and methods while waiting for months or even years before they can see and apply their results.

Social life at ILRI started on a high note for James, barely 6 months into his new job he was co-opted into UTAFITI SACCO and elected the SACCO’s treasurer six months later. He was involved one way or the other in recruitment of the current staff. He was also a member of the performance site review committee for many years where they tried to ensure fair and just performance ratings, rewarding and promotions were achieved across the institute. In addition, he served as the chairman of the electoral body of the ILRI National Recruited Staff (NRS) council for over 10 years. In his free time, he enjoyed playing squash with his ILRI colleagues and has represented ILRI in the Nairobi squash league a couple of times raising the ILRI banner in the sports arena.

He has become a reference person to many who seek to find out how the institution has changed over the years and for his valuable opinion in many staff welfare issues. James never shy’s away from interacting with the old and the young and cherishes the wisdom and insights from his elders, a trait learnt from working with farmers in his first job.

‘I believe that there is a good reason as to why we pass through certain life paths and meet different people. six years ago, with my former supervisor Jane Glew, we started visiting Thomas Bernados children home over Christmas and since Glew left Kenya, she has been sending money for the Christmas feast of this home every year. Through this involvement I have developed a longing to help the less fortunate and am now serving as a board member in another children’s home.’

Despites various challenges that have been along the way, among the thing that James is grateful to ILRI is the introduction of the staff development funds that gave employees the opportunity to pursue further studies in their area of interest. Through these funds, he was able to undertake his master in theological training at the African International University (formerly the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School (NEGST).  ‘I gained lots of knowledge and wisdom from AIU which  has greatly helped me in my personal interaction with the young, the middle and the old folks and has also helped me to live in harmony with myself, others and the world around me‘

ILRI’s Potential

James Gachanja describes a book published in 2007 by ILRI and the World Resources Institute (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan).

As he is leaving, James sees an institution that has a great potential particularly where ‘wet’ science is concerned. Looking at the existing capacity, ILRI has a lot of room to broaden its research to include many other livestock such as pigs, poultry, sheep, goats, camel and also increase the scope of livestock that it’s researching on to include emerging livestock such as rabbit, ostrich and others that are presently receiving little attention. The current effort that the institution is applying in improving the livelihoods of poor farmers and changing the agricultural situation both here in Kenya and other developing countries is only a fraction of both the existing farmers’ needs and ILRI’s research potential.

While we are on an era where communication and specifically social media has taken us by storm, James is doubtful about the adoption and use of social communication tools by the scientific community. He argues that in most instances results from scientific experiments take very long to realise and the accuracy of the information being reported is crucial, as such scientists are faced with a dilemma on what to communicate and how often to do this.

His true north

From the time he started working, James purposed in his heart to retire when he reached 55 years, on January 26, he celebrated his 55 birthday and gave himself the long awaited birthday gift! He retires to follow his first childhood love and to work on an activity that brings him a lot of gratification, farming! He will be farming at his Thika farm in central Kenya, initially starting with pig and coffee farming with future plans to bring on board dairy cows and goats, chicken, fish as well as establishing green houses for horticulture.

‘In life you have to do what you love and if you cannot get what you love, love what you are doing and if you cannot love what you are doing then quit, otherwise you are lying and killing yourself.’

Known by many as a ‘storyteller’, he summarises his reflections with the Winston Churchill story when in 1941 he was invited to give a speech to students and said, “Never give in. Never give in. Never give in.”

Most of the pigs are sold to the local butcher men and are consumed locally. As you can see in the picture below, transportation to the slaughter slab leaves more questions than answers. One would think that what is firmly tied with a rubber and sometimes covered with a few leaves at the back of the bicycles is an already slaughtered animal, until you see the pig moving its head up and down struggling to be free.

Pig transportation to the slaughter slab in Western Kenya

The methods of slaughter used in slabs in the area also raise welfare issues. The pig’s legs are tied and a sharp knife or a machete is used to cut around the neck of a struggling pig that cries loudly as blood spills on the bare hands and feet of the unprotected slaughter men. The noise that emanates from these slabs is normally disturbing for many people.

It is normal to find people slaughtering without protective clothing, and dogs are always on duty waiting for any meat that could drop; and of course you cannot rule out the presence of flies. It is also not uncommon to find children and people eating other foodstuffs next to the slab, an obvious public health hazard. This means that the hygiene and safety of the slaughter house workers and the pork consumers served by the slabs is an issue that requires action.

Pig slaughter slab Funyula, Western Kenya

Lian Doble, a PAZ project scientist, as well as other project staff, visited several of the porcine slabs during 2010-2011, and were alarmed by the lack of safety measures in most of them. In June 2011, gum boots were donated which will help improve the safety of the slab workers, and hygiene and safety sensitization days were carried out for the workers.

PAZ project team donating gum boots to the slaughter men

One of the many important aspects of the PAZ project is to gain an understanding of the epidemiology of cysticercosis in human and porcine populations, cysticercosis is a zoonotic parasitic infection caused by the tapeworm Taenia solium. We sample blood from pigs before they are slaughtered and also perform lingual palpation in order to detect the presence of cysts. The samples are processed in the laboratory and the data analyzed to determine what the risk of transmission of the parasite is in the local food chain.  The outcome of this project will provide useful information which we aim to translate into better policies and disease control. Another important development in the project is a specific set of research questions aiming to understand and prevent diseases that affect the slaughterhouse workers themselves, as a result of their occupational exposure to animal products.  This part of the project is now underway, and will highlight risks posed to this worker community and bring attention to better controls.

Other posts from the project:
A Day in the Life of the PAZ Project: About the People, Animals and their Zoonoses Project

About the author

James Miser Akoko (jamesakoko(at)yahoo.com), is an animal health technician with the PAZ project. He has been working with the project for four and a half years and previously worked with the IDEAL project, which was based out of the same laboratory. His main interests lie in the epidemiology of zoonotic diseases, and he has a specific interest in Brucellosis: currently he is undertaking his own PAZ-linked project researching the epidemiology of caprine infection with Brucella melitensis in Western Kenya.

ILRI animal health staff, carry out famacha on a study cow of the People, Animals and their Zoonoses (PAZ) project (photo credit: BMGF/Lee Klejtnot).

“Animal diseases make up 60 per cent of all human pathogens and have a significant impact on poverty. Yet for many years, the worst diseases were sorely neglected by the international community. Eric Fevre describes how this turned around, and what researchers are now doing to tackle it.

‘In the far west of rural Kenya, close to the border with Uganda, livestock keepers struggle with poverty, food security, and a considerable burden of both animal and human disease. Ninety-five percent of the population of this region, sandwiched between Lake Victoria and Mt Elgon, are smallholders – growers of crops and keepers and small herds of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens. The animals people keep are the backbone of their domestic stability – providing essential food and nutrition, but also serve as an investment, cashed in when the need for funds arises, which is often to pay for heathcare or school fees. And it is for these reasons that diseases linked to animals are devastating for such communities.

The ‘Neglected Zoonotic Diseases’ (NZDs) include rabies, zoonotic Human African Trypanosomiasis, brucellosis, anthrax, q-fever, Rift Valley Fever, cysticercosis, leptospirosis, bovine tuberculosis, leishmaniasis and several others. They are defined as a group of endemic, lingering diseases, originating from an animal source, mostly affecting poor communities in slums and remote rural areas of the developing world.

NZDs are grossly under-reported so their impact is almost invisible in national statistics. As they have little effect on trade or international travel they are paid very limited attention by national governments or the international community, despite the profound effect on those living in endemic areas.

Zoonoses constitute approximately 60 per cent of all human pathogens, and some – such as avian influenza – receive tremendous amounts of international attention and funding. Others tend to cause chronic pathologies or long-lasting outbreaks, in areas such as Western Kenya, where the levels of poverty and the lack of political voice by those affected means that they do not get the attention that they probably deserve….’

Read the whole article in the wellcome trust blog, 21 Feb 2012: The (neglected) ties binding human and animal health

Q: Have you always wanted to be a scientist?

SO: Yes, my curiosity started in the early 1990s when I was still in secondary school and I found myself reading a lot about genetic engineering and cloning in the school’s library. Stories about Esther Kahangi, the current Deputy Vice Chancellor at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in Kenya, work on tissue culture biotechnology development and other similar ones fascinated and inspired me so much that I looked forward to the day when I would be working in a laboratory doing similar stuff.

Where did your interest in agriculture begin?

After my undergraduate degree in biomedical science and technology in 2002 from Egerton University, I started working as a research technician at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)-Wellcome Trust research institute in Nairobi, it was here that I realised that there was a lot of research focusing on human diseases and little on animal diseases. I resolved to work on animal research and resigned from that position to start looking for livestock related opportunities in various institutions that were researching on livestock. I eventually found an opportunity at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in late 2004, by this time I had also enrolled for my MSc in Biotechnology at Kenyatta University.

When did your mission on chicken begin?

When I joined ILRI, my supervisor at that time, Olivier Hanotte gave me the options of choosing from among three different projects, one on goats, one on cattle and the other on chicken function diversity that he was working on. I was drawn to the chicken one, a decision that up to today I am very proud of. Being, also from Western Kenya, a part of the country where people are well-known for their love for chicken meat, this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass! Since that time, I started reading widely about chicken genetics and set my mind to pursue further studies on chicken population genomics.

Your area of research is on a topic that few scientist are working on, what are some of the challenges you faced while carrying out your research work?

While chicken maybe a small livestock, most people wrongly assume that its potential is equally small, consequently the investment towards this research area has been very limited. In addition, very little research on indigenous chicken genome characterization is available, something I realised when I was carrying out my PhD studies on chicken genomics.  In 2009/2010 while on a 1-year African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) placement in Italy acquiring laboratory skills, I also found out that a lot of emphasis was on commercial chickens neglecting indigenous chickens that are important livestock in many rural households in many developing countries. After the fellowship I came back home to apply the skills that I had learned on indigenous chicken and I was lucky that I got a lot support from various people at ILRI to do this.

You recently successfully defended your PhD what are some of the findings that you came up with?

Prior to my studies, no characterization had been done of the new castle disease virus strains from Kenya. I have been able characterize at least three genome strains of this virus that causes Newcastle disease and found all of them to be virulent and are from a recent clade of viruses. In addition, from the first results of gene expression analysis, indigenous chickens may confer some natural immunity to the Newcastle disease since they expressed genes involved in immune response pathways.

In addition, we have been able to set up an in vitro chicken laboratory at ILRI to study viral diseases affecting chicken. Researchers can be able to use the lab to carry out in vitro culture, molecular work, as well as virus infectivity studies.

What are some of the opportunities that you see in the area of chicken research?

Scientists and others in agriculture research need to change their mindset and stop looking at chicken like a small livestock but to look at chicken as a livestock that has huge opportunities especially for rural smallholder farmers. Some indigenous chicken phenotypes are resistant to drought some produce more meat and eggs while others are resistant to disease. If we can tap into this realization, we can develop response strategies to mitigate the famine effects in our region. Indigenous chickens are also a great source of nutrition for the households and development projects need to make this area of research more attractive.

In March, you will be representing AWARD, ILRI and BecA  at the international women’s day ceremony in London, tell us about that?

It is a humbling opportunity that I am looking forward to; I credit the AWARD team for this opportunity. The key people that I will be meeting are parliamentarians who are interested in agricultural issues related to women and women scientists who are strategically placed to contribute and make differences in the current poverty scenario in Africa. There will also be members of the British Parliament, current AWARD supporters, academicians, and representatives from NGOs and civil society. I will also take this opportunity to fund raise as I will be meeting with representatives from DFID, Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation among other donors interested in exploring ways on how chicken can change the livelihoods of women.

What are some of the other key events that you have taken part in?

On 2nd February this year, I made a presentation to the World Bank vice president Rachel Kyte during her visit to the CGIAR Centers in Kenya.  In 2009, I had the opportunity to meet Hilary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State and Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture during their visit in Nairobi and in 2010, I met the president of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki when he came to open the ILRI- Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) Hub.

Who are some of the people who have assisted you along the way?

My supervisors’ professors’ Steve Kemp-ILRI, Olivier Hanotte-Nottingham University, and Alessio Valentini-Tuscia University, have been supportive of my work from the time I started working at ILRI and throughout my PhD studies. The AWARD fellowship, which I got in 2008, has also been instrumental in helping me to focus on my work and advance my career.

Away from being in the labs and carrying out your research work, what else do you like doing?

I love travelling, hiking and mountain climbing.

What are some of your personal lessons that you would like to share with other young scientists?

One of the biggest mistake young scientists make is to take up any available opportunities that comes their way, before starting my PhD studies I received offers to study different research topics which I declined because I was passionate and focused about chicken research, I would like encourage other young scientists to follow their dream and to critically examine their strengths and interests before taking up research opportunities. I have also learnt that having a support group and finding people who can complement your work is important in helping one to forge ahead. As a wife and mother, I have also realized that it is important to have a work-life balance i.e. to frequently step out for some fresh air out of your career and rejuvenate your mind for fresh ideas!

In previous studies on cattle infected with M. mycoides subsp. mycoides, a correlation was detected between the levels of mycoplasma-specific IFN-γ-secreting CD4+ T lymphocytes and reduced clinical signs. However, no cause and effect has been established, and the role of such cells and of protective responses acquired during a primary infection is not known.

We investigated the role of CD4+ T lymphocytes in CBPP by comparing disease patterns and post mortem findings between CD4+ T cell depleted and non-depleted cattle. The depletion was carried out using several injections of BoCD4 specific murine monoclonal antibody on day 6 after experimental endotracheal infection with the strain Afadé. All cattle were monitored clinically daily and sacrificed 28-30 days post-infection.

Statistically significant but small differences were observed in the mortality rate between the depleted and non-depleted animals. However, no differences in clinical parameters (fever, signs of respiratory distress) and pathological lesions were observed, despite elimination of CD4+ T cells for more than a week. The slightly higher mortality in the depleted group suggests a minor role of CD4+ T cells in control of CBPP.

Citation: Sacchini, F., Naessens, J., Awino, E., Heller, M., Hlinak, A., Haider, W., Sterner-Kock, A. and Jores, J. 2011. A minor role of CD4+ T lymphocytes in the control of a primary infection of cattle with Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. Mycoides. Veterinary Research 42(77)

Status: Open Access

To address this lack of knowledge, the Wellcome Trust, awarded a project to a team of epidemiologists from the University of Edinburgh (UK) who are working in partnership with ILRI and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). The aim of this project, termed the People, Animals and their Zoonoses (PAZ) project is to better understand the epidemiology and burden of several zoonotic infections of livestock origin in this area, and to understand the interactions between zoonotic and non-zoonotic organisms in terms of pre-disposing affected individuals to additional risk or burden.

How does the project work?

Group photo of the project team, missing from the picture is Gideon Mwali, Mary Muthoni, Annie Cook, Eric Fèvre and Lian Doble (Photo credit: Derek Daly).

To achieve these aims, the team, led by Eric Fèvre, has established a joint human and animal diagnostic laboratory in the town of Busia.  This lab, and the field teams working from it, operate using the principles of “One Health”, attempting to capture data and samples from livestock and humans together in a random sample of households in the study area. 

Further details of the project are available on the project website; ILRI have also produced an interesting 2 minute-long photo film for a visual overview : The connection between animal disease and human health.  A clip from the Australian ABC “Catalyst” science programme also features the project (aired in March 2011).

Voices from the field

To understand not only the objectives, overviews, outcomes in the project, but also the lab and field procedures used, first hand experiences, challenges, and highlights of the project, several members of ILRI staff working on the PAZ project will be posting their experiences of “A Day in the Life of the PAZ Project” over the next few weeks.  There are many aspects to this project – fieldwork involving collecting detailed data through questionnaires with household heads, individuals within households, slaughter house workers and so on.  We ask detailed questions about socio-economics, behaviour, livestock keeping and health.  We collect biological samples (blood and faecal samples) from humans, cattle and pigs, and these samples are transported to the laboratory by the field teams, who hand them over to the lab teams; in both the human and animal laboratories, samples are tested for several pathogens and analysed for several health indicators, before being deep frozen ready for transport to Nairobi, where a second level of diagnostic effort is applied at the ILRI campus.  The project depends on attention to detail by all staff, and benefits tremendously from the enthusiasm that everyone involved shows for doing the best job they can.

The PAZ field laboratory is based in the town of Busia, in Western Kenya, and is a collaborative centre involving the University of Edinburgh, ILRI, KEMRI and importantly, the Kenyan Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) with whom we have a close working relationship.

About the author

Eric Fèvre is the team leader of the PAZ project, and is a Wellcome Trust Research Fellow.  He is an epidemiologist with a background in parasitology and biogeography, and with over a decade of experience working in the field with zoonotic infections at the livestock-human interface (Photo Credit: Charlie Pye-Smith).

Tagged: A day in the life of the PAZ project, Busia, Eric Fèvre, KEMRI, PAZ, University of Edinburgh, Wellcome Trust ]]> http://biolives.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/a-day-in-the-life-of-the-paz-project-about-the-paz-project/feed/ 0 efevre People, Animals and their Zoonoses (PAZ) project, group photo People, Animals and their Zoonoses project team leader, Eric Fevre http://biolives.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/a-day-in-the-life-of-the-paz-project-about-the-paz-project/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ilribiolivesnews/~3/P1JRi2L_Q6U/ http://biolives.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/professor-joachim-frey-visits-the-biotech-theme/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:20:12 +0000 Evelyn Katingi http://biolives.wordpress.com/?p=1177 ]]> On January 18, the CBPP team at ILRI Nairobi had the pleasure of hosting Prof. Joachim Frey from the University of Bern in Switzerland. Prof. Frey, the current chair of the International Organization of Mycoplasmology, and one of the world’s leading experts on CBPP gave a seminar to ILRI staff on ‘Molecular epidemiology of CBPP and detection of a major virulence attribute of M. mycoides subs. mycoides’

Frey stressed that science cannot be planned but must be carried out, this is the only way to find out something new. He shared his experiences and findings from his comparative experimental studies which were instrumental in revealing some of the major differences between the African and European strains of the disease.

About CBPP

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is an easily spread respiratory disease of cattle caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. Mycoides (Mmm). The disease continues to remain a huge threat to African farmers even after it has been eradicated in Europe, North America, Australia and most of Asia. The disease is among the major diseases that the Biotech theme carries out research on.

Some of ongoing ILRI projects in this area are:

• Accelerating CBPP research towards a better vaccine through application of synthetic biology
• Antimicrobials and improved diagnostics towards integrated control of CBPP
• Enhanced control of CBPP through the development of an inactivated vaccine – proof of concept

About Professor Frey

Frey was born in Zurich, studied chemistry and biochemistry at the Universities of Geneva and Uppsala (Sweden) and earned his PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Geneva 1980. He worked as a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin and the University of Geneva on plasmid incompatibility and genetic engineering of soil and water bacteria.

His research interests are the molecular mechanisms of pathogenic Mycoplasma species where he unravelled the uptake mechanism and metabolism of glycerol as a major virulence attribute of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC; of Pasteurellaceae, where he detected RTX toxins as predominant virulence attributes of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, and pathogenic Aeromonas species where he detected Type III secretion as the central virulence attribute of A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida, the etiological agent of furunculosis of salmon, trout and char. He is member of the IOM since 1992 and is member of the international committee on systematics of prokaryotes, subcommittee on the taxonomy of Mollicutes.

Citation: Noyes, H.A., et al. 2011. Genetic and expression analysis of cattle identifies candidate genes in pathways responding to Trypanosoma congolense infection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1013486108

Gregg and Lee also had an opportunity to visit the People, Animals and their Zoonoses (PAZ) project sites in Busia Kenya on the 28^th of June. This project is studying zoonotic diseases with the aim of raising the levels of health in poor rural communities.

Kenya livestock learning trip video

Watch the below video to find out in details how this experience was for the BMGF representatives, hear what the farmers said they would invest in if they were given USD 1000 and see some of the local techniques that farmers apply in daily household activities.

Picture review of the visit

Dairy Genetics East Africa (DGEA) project staff, Roulex Odhiambo and Denis Mujibi talking with a farmer (middle)

Project team inspecting a cow shed 

From right: Steve Staal and Okeyo Mwai, ILRI scientists discussing supplementary feeds used by the farmer

Roulex Odhiambo, DGEA project site coordinator for Butere and Khwisero study sites of Western Kenya taking cow’s body length measurements

Vincent Oloo, James Akoko and Lazarus Omoto, ILRI animal health staff with the People, Animals and their Zoonoses (PAZ) project carrying out famacha on a cow

PAZ  medical team taking samples from people

Project team taking time to visit and talk with a farmer participating in the DGEA project

Picture of the week: Field work means we also get very serious with our livestock

Gregg BeVier of BMGF, Vish Nene of ILRI and Lee Klejtnot of BMGF visiting the PAZ project site in Busia

To view all the pictures click HERE

Click on the below links to find out more about these projects:

• Field visit video: Kenya Livestock Learning Trip
• DGEA project flier
• Zoonotic and Emerging Disease

Photo credit: Lee Klejtnot/BMGF , Eric Fevre/ILRI

Causing up to 100 per cent mortality in previously unaffected animals, African Swine Fever (ASF) is a devastating disease of pigs. Endemic across much of Africa, the disease poses a wider threat to global food security, particularly in East Asia, where at least 50 per cent of the protein consumed is pork, much of it produced through small to medium-scale ‘backyard’ enterprises.

Current control methods are by diagnosis and slaughter but this approach is difficult, expensive and often not practical for smallholder farmers. To better understand the complexities of the disease, a consortium of research and development organisations* from around the world is implementing a range of approaches across Africa.

New strains add risk

Whilst there are currently no formal economic estimates of the overall losses to ASF in Africa, an outbreak in Madagascar in 1998 killed half the country’s pig population (250,000 animals). During the last year, ASF outbreaks have also been reported in North Cameroon where over 100,000 animals may have been lost to the disease. In October 2010, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) received notification of the first ASF outbreak in Chad.

In addition, there is evidence that different strains of virus causing the disease are spreading within the continent. In 2010, a highly lethal genetic type of the virus, previously known only from East Africa, was detected in the Republic of Congo. Beyond Africa, the disease is endemic in Sardinia as well as in the Caucasus and Southern Russia, posing a risk to the EU and parts of Eastern Europe.

The epidemiology of ASF is complex, involving wild pigs, particularly warthogs, and soft ticks, in eastern and southern Africa. In west and central Africa transmission is believed to be mostly by direct transfer of the virus between domestic pigs, or via infected offal contaminating feed.

African swine fever virus (ASFV), the causative agent, is a highly stable DNA virus that can survive under a wide range of temperatures and pH levels. DNA viruses tend to be much more stable than RNA viruses – the main cause of many important human diseases – and can be more easily disseminated over broad geographic areas through the movement of infected swine or contaminated pork products.

Read the whole article in the latest edition of New Agriculturist: http://www.new-ag.info/en/focus/focusItem.php?a=2281

Related articles also worth reading:

African Swine Fever Virus p72 Genotype IX in Domestic Pigs, Congo, 2009

African swine fever Diagnostics, Surveillance, Epidemiology and Control, Workshop Summary

Credits: Article authors, Edward Okoth & Richard Bishop of ILRI and Larelle McMillan of CSIRO, the production of the article was supported by CSIRO-AusAID, image, Flickr by Stevie Mann/ILRI

For more information about this project email Richard Bishop at r.bishop(at)cgiar.org