Browsing by Author "Lukambagire, Abdul"

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    Prevalence and speciation of brucellosis in febrile patients from a pastoralist community of Tanzania.
    (Springer Nature Limited, 2020-04-27) Bodenham, Rebecca; Lukambagire, Abdul; Ashford, Roland; Buza, Joram; Cash-Goldwasser, Shama; Crump, John; Kazwala, Rudovick; Maro, Venance; McGiven, John; Mkenda, Nestory; Mmbaga, Blandina; Rubach, Matthew; Sakasaka, Philoteus; Shirima, Gabriel; Swai, Emanuel; Thomas, Kate; Whatmore, Adrian; Haydon, Daniel; Halliday, Jo
    Brucellosis is an endemic zoonosis in sub-Saharan Africa. Pastoralists are at high risk of infection but data on brucellosis from these communities are scarce. The study objectives were to: estimate the prevalence of human brucellosis, identify the Brucella spp. causing illness, describe non-Brucella bloodstream infections, and identify risk factors for brucellosis in febrile patients from a pastoralist community of Tanzania. Fourteen (6.1%) of 230 participants enrolled between August 2016 and October 2017 met study criteria for confirmed (febrile illness and culture positivity or ≥four-fold rise in SAT titre) or probable (febrile illness and single SAT titre ≥160) brucellosis. Brucella spp. was the most common bloodstream infection, with B. melitensis isolated from seven participants and B. abortus from one. Enterococcus spp., Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae were also isolated. Risk factors identified for brucellosis included age and herding, with a greater probability of brucellosis in individuals with lower age and who herded cattle, sheep or goats in the previous 12 months. Disease prevention activities targeting young herders have potential to reduce the impacts of human brucellosis in Tanzania. Livestock vaccination strategies for the region should include both B. melitensis and B. abortus.
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    Serological and molecular evidence of Brucella species in the rapidly growing pig sector in Kenya.
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2020-05-11) Akoko, James; Pelle, Roger; Kivali, Velma; Schelling, Esther; Machuka, Eunice; Mathew, Coletha; Fèvre, Eric; Kyallo, Victoria; Falzon, Laura; Lukambagire, Abdul; Halliday, Jo; Bonfoh, Bassirou; Kazwala, Rudovick; Ouma, Collins; Shirima, Gabriel
    Background: Brucellosis is an emerging yet neglected zoonosis that has been reported in Kenya. Epidemiological data on brucellosis in ruminants is readily accessible; however, reports on brucellosis in pigs remain limited. This study sought to detect Brucella infection in pig serum by both serological and molecular techniques. Serum from 700 pigs randomly collected at a centralized abattoir in Nairobi region, Kenya were screened in parallel, using both Rose Bengal Test (RBT) and competitive Enzyme-Linked Immuno-sorbent Assay (cELISA) for antibodies against Brucella spp. All sera positive by RBT and 16 randomly selected negative samples were further tested using conventional PCR targeting bcsp31 gene and real-time PCR (RT-PCR) assays targeting IS711 and bcsp31 genes. Results: A prevalence of 0.57% (n = 4/700) was estimated using RBT; none of these samples was positive on cELISA. All RBT positive sera were also positive by both PCRs, while two sero-negative samples also tested positive on RTPCR (n = 6/20). Brucella abortus was detected in four out of the six PCR positive samples through a real-time multiplex PCR. Conclusion: The detection of antibodies against Brucella spp. and DNA in serum from slaughterhouse pigs confirm the presence of Brucella in pigs. Therefore, investigation of the epidemiology and role of pigs in the transmission of brucellosis in Kenya is needed. Further targeted studies would be useful to systematically quantify and identify the spp. of Brucella in pigs.