Animal African trypanosomosis is a serious constraint to livestock sector development in sub-Saharan Africa. The disease, mainly caused by Trypanosoma congolense, has a limitation in its diagnosis and treatment. There is urgent need for a simple, rapid detection technique to replace the few available serological tests that are of variable sensitivity and specificity. Currently, there is a promising use of recombinant proteins to improve on the trypanosome lysate to detect antibodies. In this respect, we have identified a stage-specific gene that is relatively highly expressed in metacyclic and blood trypomastigotes of T. congolense. According to previously obtained differential protein expression data, the gene TcIL3000.0.38630 (1,236 bp) is by 8.5 times more expressed in metacyclic and blood trypomastigotes than in procyclic trypomastigotes and epimastigotes. The same stage specific expression pattern was shown in Western blot analysis. In addition, in confocal laser scanning microscopy the Tc38630 protein was present in the cytosol and on the cell surface of metacyclic and blood trypomastigotes. Through bioinformatics, the Tc38630 had N-terminal signal sequence, hydrophilic extracellular domain, single transmembrane alpha-helix and short cytoplasmic domain, which is characteristic of the Trypanosoma brucei invariant surface glycoprotein. However, unlike T. brucei invariant surface glycoprotein, the Tc38630 existed as a single copy gene with a probable allelic polymorphism at the Nar I restriction site. The recombinant Tc38630-based ELISA detected antibodies against Tc38630 as early as 7 days post infection in experimentally infected mouse model. Taken together, our results suggest that the Tc38630 is a novel potential diagnostic antigen of Animal African trypanosomosis.

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BACKGROUND Ruminant production plays a major role in the Kenyan livestock sector, but they face a myriad of disease threats including zoonoses. The objective of this study was to map the ruminant livestock value chains and describe disease risks and their implication to pastoral livelihoods in Kajiado South sub-county, Kenya. This area is characterised by a highly intertwined wildlife-livestock-human interface which is ideal for transmission of zoonoses and other livestock diseases to connected systems and farms. METHODS The study used a cross-sectional design, where primary sampling units were people including pastoralists who operated in critical livestock value chain nodes including slaughterhouses, slaughter slabs and livestock markets. Data were collected using focus group discussions (FGDs), semi-structured interviews (SSIs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) using published participatory methods including listing, probing and pairwise ranking. RESULTS A number of constraints to livestock production including diseases, poor extension services and drought were encountered in the study area. In the disease constraint, they treated their animals by themselves, whichlead to misuse of drugs thus to antibacterial resistance. The kind of diseases they may contract due to their livelihoods were mentioned among others, anthrax, brucellosis, Rift Valley Fever, tuberculosis, tapeworms and rabies, in that order. Foot and mouth disease (FMD) and lumpy skin disease (LSD) were mentioned across the FGDs that using the animal products, the pastoralists came down with similar flu symptoms. CONCLUSION From the pastoralists’ point of view the inputs in the value chains were self-medication of their animals leading a possible misuse of drugs without proper withdrawal periods; they were able to identify the disease risks including zonooses they were faced with. A better understanding of infection processes at the along the ruminant value chains is needed to minimise disease transmission, and it is this which this study aimed to improve.

Introduction Livestock diseases are a big challenge for the livelihood of pastoralists in sub-Saharan Africa because they reduce livestock productivity and increase mortality. Based on the literature available there is limited understanding on how pastoralists prioritize these diseases in the context of their culture, ecosystems and livelihoods. A study was conducted to provide insights on lay prioritization of animal diseases by pastoralists in Kenya. Methodology A qualitative study was undertaken between March and July 2021. Thirty in-depth interviews and six focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with community members to explore community attitudes on livestock diseases prioritization. Male and female livestock keepers were purposively selected and interviewed and they were all long-term residents of the area. Fourteen key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with professionals from different key sectors to provide detailed stakeholder perspectives on livestock diseases. The interviews were analyzed thematically using the QSR Nvivo software to identify the emerging themes related to the study objectives. Results The pastoralists prioritized livestock diseases based on effect on their economic wellbeing, cultural values and utilization of ecosystem services. There were gender variabilities in how diseases were prioritized among the pastoralists. Men cited high priority diseases as foot and mouth disease and contagious bovine pleuropneumonia due to their regular occurrence and effect on livelihood. Notably, women regarded coenuruses as very important because it affected sheep and goats with a high mortality rate and lumpy skin disease because it rendered the meat from the carcasses inedible. Malignant catarrhal fever and trypanosomiasis were noted as some of the common diseases in the livestock-wildlife interface but not cited as priority diseases. Challenges related to disease control in pastoralist contexts exist including limited access to livestock treatment services, inadequate information on disease impact and complex environmental factors. Conclusion This study sheds light on the body of knowledge in Kenya regarding livestock diseases and their prioritization by livestock keepers. This could aid in the development of a common disease control framework and prioritization at the local level which would take into consideration the dynamic socio-cultural, ecological, livelihood and economic contexts of the communities.