Prospective cohort study reveals unexpected aetiologies of livestock abortion in Northern Tanzania

Thomas, K. M. et al. (2022) Prospective cohort study reveals unexpected aetiologies of livestock abortion in Northern Tanzania. Scientific Reports, 12, 11669. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-15517-8) (PMID:35803982) (PMCID:PMC9270399)

Abstract

Livestock abortion is an important cause of productivity losses worldwide and many infectious causes of abortion are zoonotic pathogens that impact on human health. Little is known about the relative importance of infectious causes of livestock abortion in Africa, including in subsistence farming communities that are critically dependent on livestock for food, income, and wellbeing. We conducted a prospective cohort study of livestock abortion, supported by cross-sectional serosurveillance, to determine aetiologies of livestock abortions in livestock in Tanzania. This approach generated several important findings including detection of a Rift Valley fever virus outbreak in cattle; high prevalence of C. burnetii infection in livestock; and the first report of Neospora caninum, Toxoplasma gondii, and pestiviruses associated with livestock abortion in Tanzania. Our approach provides a model for abortion surveillance in resource-limited settings. Our findings add substantially to current knowledge in sub-Saharan Africa, providing important evidence from which to prioritise disease interventions.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: De Glanville, Dr William and Lankester, Dr Felix and MMBAGA, Professor Blandina Theoph and Willett, Professor Brian and Millins, Dr Caroline and Russell, Dr George and Cleaveland, Professor Sarah and Wheelhouse, Dr Nick and Halliday, Dr Jo and Innes, Professor Elisabeth and Chapman, Gail and Allan, Dr Kathryn and Carter, Mr Ryan and Claxton, Dr John and Dagleish, Dr Mark and Thomas, Dr Kate
• Authors: Thomas, K. M., Kibona, T., Claxton, J. R., de Glanville, W. A., Lankester, F., Amani, N., Buza, J. J., Carter, R. W., Chapman, G. E., Crump, J. A., Dagleish, M. P., Halliday, J. E.B., Hamilton, C. M., Innes, E. A., Katzer, F., Livingstone, M., Longbottom, D., Millins, C., Mmbaga, B. T., Mosha, V., Nyarobi, J., Nyasebwa, O. M., Russell, G. C., Sanka, P. N., Semango, G., Wheelhouse, N., Willett, B. J., Cleaveland, S., and Allan, K. J.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity > Centre for Virus Research
• Journal Name: Scientific Reports
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• ISSN (Online): 2045-2322
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Scientific Reports 12: 11669
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
190437		Impact, ecology and social determinants of bacterial zoonoses in northern Tanzania	Sarah Cleaveland	Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)	BB/J010367/1	Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine
190825		Social, economic and environmental drivers of zoonoses in Tanzania (SEEDZ)	Sarah Cleaveland	Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)	BB/L018926/1	Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine