Antibacterial activity of medicinal plants on the management of mastitis in dairy cows: A systematic review.

Background: Mastitis is a disease of economic importance in dairy production systems. The common management regime for mastitis is the use of synthetic antibiotics, giving a new problem of antibiotic resistance. There is, therefore, a need to prospect for alternatives to conventional antibiotics from herbal plants.

Molecular characterization of Brucella species from Zimbabwe.

Brucella abortus and B. melitensis have been reported in several studies in animals in Zimbabwe but the extent of the disease remains poorly known. Thus, characterizing the circulating strains is a critical first step in understanding brucellosis in the country.

Temporal and spatial distribution of lumpy skin disease (LSD) outbreaks in Mashonaland West Province of Zimbabwe from 2000 to 2013.

The objective of this study was to determine significant factors affecting spacio-temporal distribution of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in Mashonaland West Province of Zimbabwe. A retrospective study of LSD from year 2000 to 2013 was undertaken using records from the Department of Livestock and Veterinary Services, Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe. Descriptive statistics was computed on LSD cases, treatments, vaccinations, and deaths.

Relationship between burden of infection in ungulate populations and wildlife/livestock interfaces.

In southern African transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs), people, livestock and wildlife share space and resources in semi-arid landscapes. One consequence of the coexistence of wild and domestic herbivores is the risk of pathogen transmission. This risk threatens local livelihoods relying on animal production, public health in the case of zoonoses, national economies in the context of transboundary animal diseases, and the success of integrated conservation and development initiatives.

Detection of Brucella abortus in Chiredzi district in Zimbabwe.

Brucellosis is an endemic disease in Zimbabwe caused by the genus Brucella. Brucella seroprevalence was recently reported to be high in the wildlife-livestock interface in the Chiredzi district and the neighbouring Gonarezhou National Park (GNP) in Zimbabwe, and higher amongst communal cattle with an abortion history and access to grazing in GNP than amongst communal cattle with no abortion history or access to grazing in GNP. The aim of this study was to investigate Brucella species in brucellosis seropositive cattle in the Chiredzi district with access to GNP using isolation and identification.

A simple HPLC-UV method for the simultaneous quantification of gefitinib and erlotinib in human plasma.

Gefitinib and erlotinib are two oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) approved for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Published methods for simultaneous analysis of erlotinib and gefitinib in plasma are exclusively based on mass spectrometry. The purpose of this study was to develop a simple and sensitive HPLC-UV method to simultaneously quantify these two TKI in plasma.

Survey of brucellosis at the wildlife-livestock interface on the Zimbabwean side of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of bovine brucellosis in communal cattle and wildlife at a wildlife-livestock interface in the southeast lowveld of Zimbabwe, part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area. RBT and c-Elisa were used in serial for detection of antibodies against Brucella spp. Between July 2007 and October 2009, a total of 1,158 cattle were tested and the overall seroprevalence of brucellosis was 9.

Pharmacokinetic interaction involving sorafenib and the calcium-channel blocker felodipine in a patient with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Sorafenib, an orally active multi-kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is primarily metabolized both via cytochrome P450 3A4 isoform (CYP3A4) and UGT1A9. Due to the contribution of these two biotransformation pathways, sorafenib is considered to be less susceptible than other agents to CYP3A4 drug-drug interactions. This report discusses a clinically relevant pharmacokinetic CYP3A4 drug-drug interaction between sorafenib and felodipine in an 80-year-old Caucasian patient with HCC.