Livestock abortion surveillance in Tanzania reveals disease priorities and importance of timely collection of vaginal swab samples for attribution
Lack of data on the aetiology of livestock diseases constrains effective interventions to improve livelihoods, food security and public health. Livestock abortion is an important disease syndrome affecting productivity and public health. Several pathogens are associated with livestock abortions but...
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2024-12-01
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/95296 |
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| author | Felix Lankester Tito J Kibona Kathryn J Allan William de Glanville Joram J Buza Frank Katzer Jo E Halliday Blandina T Mmbaga Nick Wheelhouse Elisabeth A Innes Kate M Thomas Obed M Nyasebwa Emanuel Swai John R Claxton Sarah Cleaveland |
| author_facet | Felix Lankester Tito J Kibona Kathryn J Allan William de Glanville Joram J Buza Frank Katzer Jo E Halliday Blandina T Mmbaga Nick Wheelhouse Elisabeth A Innes Kate M Thomas Obed M Nyasebwa Emanuel Swai John R Claxton Sarah Cleaveland |
| author_sort | Felix Lankester |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lack of data on the aetiology of livestock diseases constrains effective interventions to improve livelihoods, food security and public health. Livestock abortion is an important disease syndrome affecting productivity and public health. Several pathogens are associated with livestock abortions but across Africa surveillance data rarely include information from abortions, little is known about aetiology and impacts, and data are not available to inform interventions. This paper describes outcomes from a surveillance platform established in Tanzania spanning pastoral, agropastoral and smallholder systems to investigate causes and impacts of livestock abortion. Abortion events were reported by farmers to livestock field officers (LFO) and on to investigation teams. Events were included if the research team or LFO could attend within 72 hr. If so, samples and questionnaire data were collected to investigate (a) determinants of attribution; (b) patterns of events, including species and breed, previous abortion history, and seasonality; (c) determinants of reporting, investigation and attribution; (d) cases involving zoonotic pathogens. Between 2017–2019, 215 events in cattle (n=71), sheep (n=44), and goats (n=100) were investigated. Attribution, achieved for 19.5% of cases, was significantly affected by delays in obtaining samples. Histopathology proved less useful than PCR due to rapid deterioration of samples. Vaginal swabs provided practical and sensitive material for pathogen detection. Livestock abortion surveillance, even at a small scale, can generate valuable information on causes of disease outbreaks, reproductive losses and can identify pathogens not easily captured through other forms of livestock disease surveillance. This study demonstrated the feasibility of establishing a surveillance system, achieved through engagement of community-based field officers, establishment of practical sample collection and application of molecular diagnostic platforms. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-305b765323a34e66bafb8a4f0aa1b814 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj-art-305b765323a34e66bafb8a4f0aa1b8142024-12-16T14:04:33ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2024-12-011310.7554/eLife.95296Livestock abortion surveillance in Tanzania reveals disease priorities and importance of timely collection of vaginal swab samples for attributionFelix Lankester0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0802-0693Tito J Kibona1Kathryn J Allan2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6612-889XWilliam de Glanville3Joram J Buza4Frank Katzer5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5902-4136Jo E Halliday6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1329-9035Blandina T Mmbaga7Nick Wheelhouse8Elisabeth A Innes9Kate M Thomas10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1589-8314Obed M Nyasebwa11Emanuel Swai12John R Claxton13Sarah Cleaveland14Paul G. Allen School for Global Health, Washington State University, Pullman, United States; Global Animal Health Tanzania, Arusha, United Republic of TanzaniaGlobal Animal Health Tanzania, Arusha, United Republic of TanzaniaSchool of Biodiversity, One Health, and Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United KingdomSchool of Biodiversity, One Health, and Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United KingdomNelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha, United Republic of TanzaniaMoredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, Edinburgh, United KingdomSchool of Biodiversity, One Health, and Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United KingdomKilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute, Moshi, United Republic of TanzaniaSchool of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, United KingdomMoredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, Edinburgh, United KingdomCentre for International Health, University of Otago, Dunedin, New ZealandMinistry of Livestock and Fisheries, Dodoma, United Republic of TanzaniaMinistry of Livestock and Fisheries, Dodoma, United Republic of TanzaniaSchool of Biodiversity, One Health, and Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United KingdomSchool of Biodiversity, One Health, and Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United KingdomLack of data on the aetiology of livestock diseases constrains effective interventions to improve livelihoods, food security and public health. Livestock abortion is an important disease syndrome affecting productivity and public health. Several pathogens are associated with livestock abortions but across Africa surveillance data rarely include information from abortions, little is known about aetiology and impacts, and data are not available to inform interventions. This paper describes outcomes from a surveillance platform established in Tanzania spanning pastoral, agropastoral and smallholder systems to investigate causes and impacts of livestock abortion. Abortion events were reported by farmers to livestock field officers (LFO) and on to investigation teams. Events were included if the research team or LFO could attend within 72 hr. If so, samples and questionnaire data were collected to investigate (a) determinants of attribution; (b) patterns of events, including species and breed, previous abortion history, and seasonality; (c) determinants of reporting, investigation and attribution; (d) cases involving zoonotic pathogens. Between 2017–2019, 215 events in cattle (n=71), sheep (n=44), and goats (n=100) were investigated. Attribution, achieved for 19.5% of cases, was significantly affected by delays in obtaining samples. Histopathology proved less useful than PCR due to rapid deterioration of samples. Vaginal swabs provided practical and sensitive material for pathogen detection. Livestock abortion surveillance, even at a small scale, can generate valuable information on causes of disease outbreaks, reproductive losses and can identify pathogens not easily captured through other forms of livestock disease surveillance. This study demonstrated the feasibility of establishing a surveillance system, achieved through engagement of community-based field officers, establishment of practical sample collection and application of molecular diagnostic platforms.https://elifesciences.org/articles/95296syndromic surveillancelivestock abortioncommunity-basedzoonosesPCRTanzania |
| spellingShingle | Felix Lankester Tito J Kibona Kathryn J Allan William de Glanville Joram J Buza Frank Katzer Jo E Halliday Blandina T Mmbaga Nick Wheelhouse Elisabeth A Innes Kate M Thomas Obed M Nyasebwa Emanuel Swai John R Claxton Sarah Cleaveland Livestock abortion surveillance in Tanzania reveals disease priorities and importance of timely collection of vaginal swab samples for attribution eLife syndromic surveillance livestock abortion community-based zoonoses PCR Tanzania |
| title | Livestock abortion surveillance in Tanzania reveals disease priorities and importance of timely collection of vaginal swab samples for attribution |
| title_full | Livestock abortion surveillance in Tanzania reveals disease priorities and importance of timely collection of vaginal swab samples for attribution |
| title_fullStr | Livestock abortion surveillance in Tanzania reveals disease priorities and importance of timely collection of vaginal swab samples for attribution |
| title_full_unstemmed | Livestock abortion surveillance in Tanzania reveals disease priorities and importance of timely collection of vaginal swab samples for attribution |
| title_short | Livestock abortion surveillance in Tanzania reveals disease priorities and importance of timely collection of vaginal swab samples for attribution |
| title_sort | livestock abortion surveillance in tanzania reveals disease priorities and importance of timely collection of vaginal swab samples for attribution |
| topic | syndromic surveillance livestock abortion community-based zoonoses PCR Tanzania |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/95296 |
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