Publications

matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry for comprehensive indexing of east african ixodid tick species.	the tick population of africa includes several important genera belonging to the family ixodidae. many of these ticks are vectors of protozoan and rickettsial pathogens including theileria parva that causes east coast fever, a debilitating cattle disease endemic to eastern, central and southern africa. effective surveillance of tick-borne pathogens depends on accurate identification and mapping of their tick vectors. a simple and reproducible technique for rapid and reliable differentiation of l ...	2016	26979606
the control of east coast fever of cattle by live parasite vaccination: a science-to-impact narrative.	there is an increasing interest in determining the impact of vaccine technologies developed using public funding targeted at international development, and understanding the factors and ingredients which contribute to the success and impacts of such vaccines. this paper chronicles the development of a live vaccine against east coast fever, a tick-borne disease of cattle caused by theileria parva. the paper describes the technological innovation, commonly known as infection-and-treatment, which w ...	2016	28616483
regulation of expression and evolution of genes in plastids of rhodophytic branch.	a novel algorithm and original software were used to cluster all proteins encoded in plastids of 72 species of the rhodophytic branch. the results are publicly available at http://lab6.iitp.ru/ppc/redline72/ in a database that allows fast identification of clusters (protein families) both by a fragment of an amino acid sequence and by a phylogenetic profile of a protein. no such integral clustering with the corresponding functions can be found in the public domain. the putative regulons of the t ...	2016	26840333
sequence diversity between class i mhc loci of african native and introduced bos taurus cattle in theileria parva endemic regions: in silico peptide binding prediction identifies distinct functional clusters.	there is strong evidence that the immunity induced by live vaccination for control of the protozoan parasite theileria parva is mediated by class i mhc-restricted cd8(+) t cells directed against the schizont stage of the parasite that infects bovine lymphocytes. the functional competency of class i mhc genes is dependent on the presence of codons specifying certain critical amino acid residues that line the peptide binding groove. compared with european bos taurus in which class i mhc allelic po ...	2016	26852329
production and dose determination of the infection and treatment method (itm) muguga cocktail vaccine used to control east coast fever in cattle.	the infection and treatment method (itm) of vaccination against the apicomplexan parasite theileria parva has been used since the early 1970s and is still the only commercially available vaccine to combat the fatal bovine disease, east coast fever (ecf). the disease is tick-transmitted and results in annual economic losses of at least $300 million per year. while this vaccine technology has been available for over 40 years, few attempts have been made to standardize the production process and ch ...	2016	26698194
population genetic structure of theileria parva field isolates from indigenous cattle populations of uganda.	theileria parva causes east coast fever (ecf) a protozoan infection which manifests as a non-symptomatic syndrome among endemically stable indigenous cattle populations. knowledge of the current genetic diversity and population structure of t. parva is critical for predicting pathogen evolutionary trends to inform development of effective control strategies. in this study the population genetic structure of 78 field isolates of t. parva from indigenous cattle (ankole, n=41 and east african short ...	2016	26613662
characterization of tabanid flies (diptera: tabanidae) in south africa and zambia and detection of protozoan parasites they are harbouring.	tabanids are haematophagous flies feeding on livestock and wildlife. in the absence of information on the relationship of tabanid flies and protozoan parasites in south africa and zambia, the current study was aimed at characterizing tabanid flies collected in these two countries as well as detecting protozoan parasites they are harbouring. a total of 527 tabanid flies were collected whereby 70·2% were from south africa and 29·8% were from zambia. morphological analysis revealed a total of five ...	2017	28502276
assessment and optimization of theileria parva sporozoite full-length p67 antigen expression in mammalian cells.	delivery of various forms of recombinant theileria parva sporozoite antigen (p67) has been shown to elicit antibody responses in cattle capable of providing protection against east coast fever, the clinical disease caused by t. parva. previous formulations of full-length and shorter recombinant versions of p67 derived from bacteria, insect, and mammalian cell systems are expressed in non-native and highly unstable forms. the stable expression of full-length recombinant p67 in mammalian cells has ...	2017	28800590
sialotranscriptomics of rhipicephalus zambeziensis reveals intricate expression profiles of secretory proteins and suggests tight temporal transcriptional regulation during blood-feeding.	ticks secrete a diverse mixture of secretory proteins into the host to evade its immune response and facilitate blood-feeding, making secretory proteins attractive targets for the production of recombinant anti-tick vaccines. the largely neglected tick species, rhipicephalus zambeziensis, is an efficient vector of theileria parva in southern africa but its available sequence information is limited. next generation sequencing has advanced sequence availability for ticks in recent years and has as ...	2017	28797301
prevalence and risk factors associated with theileria parva infection in cattle in three regions of tanzania.	ticks and tickborne diseases (tbds) are serious constraints to cattle production in tanzania and other tropical and subtropical countries. among the tbds, east coast fever (ecf) is the most important as it causes significant economic losses to the cattle industry in tanzania. however, control of ecf in tanzania has continued to be a challenge due to inadequate epidemiological information. the main objective of this study was to determine the epidemiological situation of theileria parva infection ...	2017	28752214
babesia bovis bov57, a theileria parva p67 homolog, is an invasion-related, neutralization-sensitive antigen.	babesia bovis bov57, which is a homolog of the theileria parva vaccine candidate antigen p67, is expressed in both the tick and blood stages of the life cycle of this parasite. however, the vaccine potential of bov57 remained to be investigated. in the present study, we generated recombinant bov57 (rbov57) and prepared polyclonal antibodies against rbov57 in mice and rabbits. indirect immunofluorescence assays conducted with the mouse anti-rbov57 antibody demonstrated that bov57 localized at the ...	2017	28668608
a pcr-based survey of animal african trypanosomosis and selected piroplasm parasites of cattle and goats in zambia.	we screened cattle and goats from the districts of chama, monze and mumbwa in zambia for animal african trypanosomes, babesia bigemina and theileria parva using pcrs; 38.1% of the samples tested positive for at least one of the parasite species. the most common parasite was trypanosoma vivax (19.8%). its incidence was significantly higher in goats than in cattle, (p<0.05). b. bigemina was found in samples from all the three areas, making it the most widespread of the parasites in zambia. among t ...	2017	27616437
a review on prevalence, control measure, and tolerance of tanzania shorthorn zebu cattle to east coast fever in tanzania.	in tanzania, control of east coast fever (ecf) has predominantly relied on tick control using acaricides and chemotherapy, little on ecf vaccination, and very little on dissemination regarding animal immunization. in this paper, the prevalence, control measure, and tolerance of tanzania shorthorn zebu (tshz) cattle to ecf are reviewed. in addition, the opportunities available for reducing the use of acaricides for the benefit of the farmers in terms of reduction of costs of purchasing acaricides ...	2017	28332070
genes encoding two theileria parva antigens recognized by cd8+ t-cells exhibit sequence diversity in south sudanese cattle populations but the majority of alleles are similar to the muguga component of the live vaccine cocktail.	east coast fever (ecf), caused by theileria parva infection, is a frequently fatal disease of cattle in eastern, central and southern africa, and an emerging disease in south sudan. immunization using the infection and treatment method (itm) is increasingly being used for control in countries affected by ecf, but not yet in south sudan. it has been reported that cd8+ t-cell lymphocytes specific for parasitized cells play a central role in the immunity induced by itm and a number of t. parva anti ...	2017	28231338