Effects of gonadectomy on the incidence rate of babesiosis and the risk of severe babesiosis in dogs aged 6 months and older at a veterinary academic hospital in South Africa: A case-control and retrospective cohort study.

Gonadectomy in dogs is associated with changes in risks of a variety of non-infectious health conditions, but few studies have examined its effects on infectious disease outcomes. The objectives of our study were to estimate the causal effect of gonadectomy on the incidence rate of babesiosis diagnosis, and on the risk of severe babesiosis in diagnosed cases, in dogs 6 months and older seen at a veterinary academic hospital in South Africa from 2013 through 2020. To estimate the effect of gonadectomy on the incidence rate of babesiosis diagnosis in dogs, we conducted a case-control study with incidence density sampling of dogs seen through the hospital's primary care service, adjusting for sex, age, breed category and weight.

Sex-differential non-specific effects of adjuvanted and non-adjuvanted rabies vaccines versus placebo on all-cause mortality in dogs (NERVE-Dog study): a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial with a nested case-control study.

Background: It has been proposed that childhood vaccines in high-mortality populations may have substantial impacts on mortality rates that are not explained by the prevention of targeted diseases, nor conversely by typical expected adverse reactions to the vaccines, and that these non-specific effects (NSEs) are generally more pronounced in females. The existence of these effects, and any implications for the development of vaccines and the design of vaccination programs to enhance safety, remain controversial. One area of controversy is the reported association of non-live vaccines with increased female mortality.

A One Medicine Mission for an Effective Rabies Therapy.

Despite the disease's long history, little progress has been made toward a treatment for rabies. The prognosis for patient recovery remains dire. For any prospect of survival, patients require aggressive critical care, which physicians in rabies endemic areas may be reluctant or unable to provide given the cost, clinical expertise required, and uncertain outcome.

Non-specific effects of veterinary vaccines: a systematic review.

The benefits of vaccines have been centred on their specific effects on subsequent infections by target pathogens. Recent studies, however, have opened up new insights into additional effects of vaccines known as non-specific effects (NSEs) or heterologous effects of vaccines. While several articles have reviewed epidemiological and immunological evidence for NSEs of vaccines in humans, similar works on veterinary vaccines are scarce.

Non-specific effects of rabies vaccine on the incidence of self-reported common infectious disease episodes: A randomized controlled trial.

Vaccines may affect recipients' immune systems in ways that change morbidity or mortality rates to unrelated infections in vaccinated populations. It has been proposed that these non-specific effects differ by type of vaccine and by sex, with non-live vaccines enhancing susceptibility of females to unrelated infections, and live vaccines enhancing resistance in both sexes. Rabies vaccine-a non-live vaccine-has been associated with protection against unrelated central nervous system infections.

Non-specific effects of maternal and offspring rabies vaccination on mortality and antibiotic use in a Danish pig herd: A randomized trial.

Introduction: Human non-live vaccines have been associated with detrimental non-specific effects (NSE), particularly in females. A large trial found 2-fold increased overall mortality in girls receiving a new malaria vaccine compared to the rabies vaccine used as a coontrol; a beneficial NSE of the rabies vaccine was proposed. Conversely, in dogs increased mortality was seen in females but not males following rabies vaccination of puppies born to immunized mothers.

Sex-differential non-specific effects of rabies vaccine in dogs: An extended analysis of a randomized controlled trial in a high-mortality population.

Non-live rabies vaccines have been associated with both beneficial and detrimental effects on host population morbidity and mortality rates to unrelated infections in people and animals, and these non-specific effects may differ by sex. Previous animal studies may have been affected by bias, including selection bias due to loss to follow up in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We previously reported results of an RCT in dogs on the effect of primary rabies vaccine administered at 6 weeks of age on all-cause mortality over a 7-week follow-up period, in a high-mortality population of owned dogs.

Rabies Vaccination of 6-Week-Old Puppies Born to Immunized Mothers: A Randomized Controlled Trial in a High-Mortality Population of Owned, Free-Roaming Dogs.

To achieve global elimination of human rabies from dogs by 2030, evidence-based strategies for effective dog vaccination are needed. Current guidelines recommend inclusion of dogs younger than 3 months in mass rabies vaccination campaigns, although available vaccines are only recommended for use by manufacturers in older dogs, ostensibly due to concerns over interference of maternally-acquired immunity with immune response to the vaccine. Adverse effects of vaccination in this age group of dogs have also not been adequately assessed under field conditions.

Sero-Epidemiological Study of Selected Zoonotic and Abortifacient Pathogens in Cattle at a Wildlife-Livestock Interface in South Africa.

A cross sectional sero-epidemiological study was conducted on cattle in a communal farming area adjacent to Kruger National Park at a wildlife-livestock interface in South Africa. A total of 184 cattle were screened for exposure to 5 abortifacient or zoonotic pathogens, namely , , , , and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. In addition, the virus neutralization test was used to confirm the presence of antibodies to RVFV.

Spatiotemporal epidemiology of rabies at an interface between domestic dogs and wildlife in South Africa.

We characterized the spatiotemporal epidemiology of rabies from January 2009 through March 2014 across the interface between a wildlife reserve and communal livestock farming area in South Africa. Brain tissue from 344 animals of 28 different species were tested for lyssavirus antigen. Of these, 146 (42.

Molecular detection and phylogenetic analysis of Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma centrale amongst transhumant cattle in north-eastern Uganda.

There is little molecular data from Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma centrale isolates from cattle in Uganda. Between November 2013 and January 2014, blood was collected from 240 cattle in 20 randomly-selected herds in two districts of the Karamoja Region in north-eastern Uganda. A duplex quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay was used to detect and determine the prevalence of A.

Heterogeneous distribution of Dirofilaria immitis in dogs in St. Kitts, West Indies, 2014-2015.

In the Caribbean region, Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm) has been detected on almost all of the islands. While it is assumed to be endemic throughout the region, there is a lack of baseline data from the Leeward Islands (north-east of the Caribbean region). The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and the spatial distribution of heartworm disease in dogs on St.

Animal-related factors associated with moderate-to-severe diarrhea in children younger than five years in western Kenya: A matched case-control study.

Background: Diarrheal disease remains among the leading causes of global mortality in children younger than 5 years. Exposure to domestic animals may be a risk factor for diarrheal disease. The objectives of this study were to identify animal-related exposures associated with cases of moderate-to-severe diarrhea (MSD) in children in rural western Kenya, and to identify the major zoonotic enteric pathogens present in domestic animals residing in the homesteads of case and control children.

Rabies vaccine is associated with decreased all-cause mortality in dogs.

Evidence suggests that rabies vaccine may have non-specific protective effects in animals and children. We analyzed four years of data (2012-2015) from an observational study of the health and demographics of a population of owned, free-roaming dogs in a low-income community in South Africa. The objective of this analysis was to assess the association between rabies vaccine and all-cause mortality in dogs, stratified by age group (0-3months, 4-11months, and 12months and older), and controlling for the effects of sex and number of dogs in the residence.

Could the RTS,S/AS01 meningitis safety signal really be a protective effect of rabies vaccine?

The RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine has been associated with meningitis and cerebral malaria safety signals. Key characteristics of the meningitis signal include presence, in the 5-17month but not the 6-12week age group, of delayed and variable meningitis onset after vaccination, and multiple etiologies. For both meningitis and cerebral malaria, the 5-17month old age group control arm had abnormally low incidences while other arms in both age groups had meningitis and cerebral malaria incidences similar to background rates.

A Mathematical Model that Simulates Control Options for African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV).

A stochastic model designed to simulate transmission dynamics of African swine fever virus (ASFV) in a free-ranging pig population under various intervention scenarios is presented. The model was used to assess the relative impact of the timing of the implementation of different control strategies on disease-related mortality. The implementation of biosecurity measures was simulated through incorporation of a decay function on the transmission rate.

Heterogeneity in a communal cattle-farming system in a zone endemic for foot and mouth disease in South Africa.

In South Africa, communal livestock farming is predominant in the foot and mouth disease control zone adjacent to the Greater Kruger National Park (KNP), where infected African buffaloes are common. During routine veterinary inspections of cattle in this area, a large amount of production and demographic parameters were being recorded. These data were collated for a five-year period (2003-2007) in three study sites to better understand the temporal dynamics and spatial heterogeneity in this system.

Molecular Detection of Zoonotic Rickettsiae and Anaplasma spp. in Domestic Dogs and Their Ectoparasites in Bushbuckridge, South Africa.

Members of the order Rickettsiales are small, obligate intracellular bacteria that are vector-borne and can cause mild to fatal diseases in humans worldwide. There is little information on the zoonotic rickettsial pathogens that may be harbored by dogs from rural localities in South Africa. To characterize rickettsial pathogens infecting dogs, we screened 141 blood samples, 103 ticks, and 43 fleas collected from domestic dogs in Bushbuckridge Municipality, Mpumalanga Province of South Africa, between October 2011 and May 2012 using the reverse line blot (RLB) and Rickettsia genus and species-specific quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assays.

Prevalence and diversity of small mammal-associated Bartonella species in rural and urban Kenya.

Several rodent-associated Bartonella species are human pathogens but little is known about their epidemiology. We trapped rodents and shrews around human habitations at two sites in Kenya (rural Asembo and urban Kibera) to determine the prevalence of Bartonella infection. Bartonella were detected by culture in five of seven host species.

High prevalence of Rickettsia africae variants in Amblyomma variegatum ticks from domestic mammals in rural western Kenya: implications for human health.

Tick-borne spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsioses are emerging human diseases caused by obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacteria of the genus Rickettsia. Despite being important causes of systemic febrile illnesses in travelers returning from sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about the reservoir hosts of these pathogens. We conducted surveys for rickettsiae in domestic animals and ticks in a rural setting in western Kenya.

Urban leptospirosis in Africa: a cross-sectional survey of Leptospira infection in rodents in the Kibera urban settlement, Nairobi, Kenya.

Leptospirosis is a widespread but under-reported cause of morbidity and mortality. Global re-emergence of leptospirosis has been associated with the growth of informal urban settlements in which rodents are thought to be important reservoir hosts. Understanding the multi-host epidemiology of leptospirosis is essential to control and prevent disease.

Designing programs for eliminating canine rabies from islands: Bali, Indonesia as a case study.

Background: Canine rabies is one of the most important and feared zoonotic diseases in the world. In some regions rabies elimination is being successfully coordinated, whereas in others rabies is endemic and continues to spread to uninfected areas. As epidemics emerge, both accepted and contentious control methods are used, as questions remain over the most effective strategy to eliminate rabies.