Bücher von Charles Waiswa

Anaplasma and Ehrlichia sp. (AEs) cause significant economic losses to the livestock sector in Uganda. Despite the well known limitation on livestock production caused by these tick-borne parasites, the extent of this problem has not been extensively studied and/or established. In this book we present a systematic account of the prevalence of AEs in cattle from Kashaari county-Mbarara district (Uganda) and an in depth comparison of the prevalence of these tick-borne parasites in different cattle breeds, age groups, Sub County of origin and management systems. To determine the different Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species in cattle, we used A single pair of primers to amplify a 492-498bp fragment of the 16SRNA gene spanning the V1 region conserved for both AEs and allowed the PCR products to hybridize with AE species-specific oligonucleotides. A logistic regression model fit over the above factors and used to determine predictor(s) of infection with AEs is herein presented. This information was generated and herein presented inspired by our continuous need to generate information required for future tick-borne disease control strategies namely multivalent vaccine use among others.

The transmission and spread of the acute form of sleeping sickness remained a mistery untill studies that defined the animal reserviours that were responsible for the spread of this disease. Similarly, the control of this form of disease is made simpler through animal models using live bait technologies if the blood meal source for the tsetse vector is well understood. The use of insectcides that are also usefull as acaricides in sleeping sickness and trypanosomiasis endemic areas can be well targeted in the different agroecological zones that are endimic for both the human and animal trypanosomiasis. In this study, animal reservours for the acute form of sleeping sickness (Caused by T.b.rhodesiense) in Uganda have been defined in each of the study zones and specific recommendations made. Cattle and pigs as reserviours have been highlighted in some of the study areas and provide an opportunity for designing specific interventions related to the live bait technology in the control of sleeping sickness.

In this study, six sub-counties of Kashaari County (Uganda) were randomly selected and a total of 363 cattle sampled to test for presence of Theileria and Babesia species (TBs) using reverse line blot assay (RLB). A questionnaire was in addition used to explore cattle farming practices, farmers'' understanding of tick control and associated problems in the study area. The prevalence of TBs were found to be 19.8% (CI=95%, 15.7-23.9%) and 0.6% (CI= 95%, -0.2-1.4%) respectively with at least 68% (CI=95%, 63.2-72.8) of the Theileria infected cattle infected with more than one Theileria species. Theileria species detected include; T.parva, T. mutans T.taurotragi, T. vilifera, T.buffeli, T.spp. (sable), T.spp. (buffalo) and T.bicornis at 24% (CI=95%, 19.6-28.4%), 24% (CI=95%, 19.6-28.4%), 14% (CI=95%, 10.4-17.6%), 13.7% (CI=95%, 10.2-17.2%), 12.6% (CI=95%, 9.2-16.0%), 10.4% (CI=95%, 7.26-13.54%), 4.4% (CI=95%, 2.3-6.5%) and 3.8% (CI=95%, 1.8-5.8%) respectively. The prevalences of different TBs among different cattle age groups, breeds, management systems and place (sub county) of origin are discussed.