Control of ticks and tick-borne diseases in Africa through improved diagnosis and utilisation of data on acaricide resistance.

A meeting, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and organised by Clinglobal, was held at The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Kenya, from 19th - to 21st October 2022. The meeting assembled a unique group of experts on tick control in Africa. Academia, international agencies (FAO and ILRI), the private Animal Health sector and government veterinary services were represented.

Sequence diversity of cytotoxic T cell antigens and satellite marker analysis of Theileria parva informs the immunization against East Coast fever in Rwanda.

Background: East Coast fever (ECF) caused by Theileria parva is endemic in Rwanda. In this study, the antigenic and genetic diversity of T. parva coupled with immunization and field challenge were undertaken to provide evidence for the introduction of ECF immunization in Rwanda.

The sensitivity of PCR and serology in different Theileria parva epidemiological situations in Rwanda.

Theileria parva is the causative agent of a lethal tick-borne disease of cattle occurring in eastern, central and southern Africa. Variations in the sensitivity of the serological and molecular tests with seasonal vector occurrence and discrepancies between low PCR prevalence and high T. parva vector density are a setback to estimate true prevalences.

An update on the ecological distribution of Ixodid ticks infesting cattle in Rwanda: countrywide cross-sectional survey in the wet and the dry season.

As part of the epidemiological studies aimed at developing an East Coast fever (ECF) immunisation control strategy, which combines an infection and treatment method with strategic tick control, a countrywide tick survey was carried out in both the dry and the wet season to determine the abundance and the dynamics of the tick populations infesting cattle in Rwanda. Six Ixodid tick species where identified from a total of 12,814 tick specimens collected. Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, the main vector of ECF was the most abundant (91.

An unusual mosaic structure of the PIM gene of Theileria parva and its relationship to allelic diversity.

Genetic diversity and structural organisation of the polymorphic immunodominant molecule (PIM) gene of the protozoan parasite Theileria parva was studied in isolates from sympatric and allopatric areas. The analyses revealed a mosaic structure consisting of highly conserved regions shared among some of the isolates from geographically different areas and homologous sequence runs shared among isolates from one area. The specific pattern of diversity in which large insertions and deletions were observed, giving a mosaic structure to the PIM locus, is quite exceptional for single-locus genes.