ORCID Profile
0000-0001-8275-6589
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Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 31-01-2014
DOI: 10.1111/TBED.12210
Abstract: Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) and brucellosis are prevalent in buffaloes of the Kruger National Park (KNP, South Africa). Both diseases were considered to have no or a very low prevalence in wildlife and livestock in and around the Limpopo National Park (LNP, Mozambique). The same applies for tuberculosis in Gonarezhou National Park (GNP, Zimbabwe), but just recently, BTB was detected in buffaloes in the GNP and fears arose that the disease might also spread to the LNP as a result of the partial removal of the fences between the three parks to form the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. To assess the status of both diseases in and around LNP, 62 buffaloes were tested for bovine tuberculosis (BTB) and bovine brucellosis. The percentage of positive BTB reactors in buffalo was 8.06% using BovidTB Stat-Pak® and 0% with BOVIGAM® IFN-γ test and IDEXX ELISA. The brucellosis seroprevalence in buffalo was found to be 17.72% and 27.42% using Rose Bengal Test (RBT) and ELISA, respectively. In addition, 2445 cattle in and around the LNP were examined for BTB using the single intradermal cervical comparative tuberculin test (SICCT), and an apparent prevalence of 0.98% was found with no significant difference inside (0.5%) and outside (1.3%) the park. This is the first published report on the presence of positive reactors to BTB and bovine brucellosis in buffalo and cattle in and outside the LNP. Monitoring the wildlife-livestock-human interface of zoonotic high-impact diseases such as BTB and brucellosis is of outmost importance for the successful implementation and management of any transfrontier park that aims to improve the livelihoods of the local communities.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-03-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.PREVETMED.2015.01.001
Abstract: A total of 108 pigs from an endemic area in Mozambique were selected and followed for 8 months to estimate the prevalence and incidence of Taenia solium cysticercosis as indicators of ongoing transmission of the disease. The pigs were s led and tested repeatedly for cysticercosis by Ag-ELISA at 4, 9 and 12 months of age. Porcine cysticercosis was diagnosed in 5.6% (95% CI: 2.1-11.7%), 33.3% (95% CI: 23.7-44.1%) and 66.7% (95% CI: 55.5-76.9%) of the animals, for the first, second and third s ling rounds, respectively, and varied by village. The mean incidence rate of the disease increased significantly from 6.2 cases per 100 pig-months between 4 and 9 months of age, to 21.2 cases per 100 pig-months between 9 and 12 months of age (incidence rate difference=15.0 95% CI: 6.8-23.3). Risk factors for the disease are present in the study area, thus control and educational programmes for the community should be initiated to build awareness of the transmission and impact of T. solium infections.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 02-02-2010
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 29-05-2012
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 06-2011
DOI: 10.1017/S1466252311000077
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to critically review and summarize available scientific and lay literature, and ongoing studies on human and porcine cysticercosis in Mozambique to identify knowledge gaps and direct immediate and long-term research efforts. Data on the spatial distribution and prevalence of the disease in human and swine populations are scarce and fragmented. Human serological studies have shown that 15–21% of apparently healthy adults were positive for cysticercosis antibodies or antigen, while in neuropsychiatric patients seroprevalence was as high as 51%. Slaughterhouse records indicate a countrywide occurrence of porcine cysticercosis, while studies have shown that 10–35% of pigs tested were seropositive for cysticercosis antibodies or antigen. Current research in Mozambique includes studies on the epidemiology, molecular biology, diagnosis and control of the disease. Future research efforts should be directed at better understanding the epidemiology of the disease in Mozambique, particularly risk factors for its occurrence and spread in human and swine populations, documenting the socio-economic impact of the disease, identifying critical control points and evaluating the feasibility and epidemiological impact of control measures and development of local level diagnostic tools for use in humans and swine.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-11-2017
DOI: 10.1007/S11250-017-1474-6
Abstract: A community-based intervention combining health education (HE) and treatment of pigs for control of porcine cysticercosis (PC), gastrointestinal (GI) helminths, African swine fever (ASF) and external parasites was tested involving six villages of resource-poor smallholder pig farmers. Farmers and pigs of six rural villages were randomly allocated into group 1 (HE), which served as controls, and group 2 (HE + OFZ) pigs received a single oral dose of 30 mg/kg OFZ. Farmers were trained in pig health, housing and feeding. The proportion of farmers with confined pigs, the adoption rate of the introduced pig pen, the sero-prevalence of PC and ASF, the prevalence and intensity of GI nematodes and the prevalence of ectoparasites were measured at 9, 15 and 24 months after initiation and compared to a baseline survey to seek the effectiveness of the interventions. There was no clear effect of the intervention on the sero-prevalence of PC, but analysis of the rate of change in prevalence between the two groups showed significant effect with the rate of change to lower prevalence in the HE + OFZ group compared to the HE group. Although HE managed to improve the farmer's knowledge in the control and prevention of ASF and ectoparasites, there was no significant reduction in the sero-prevalence of ASF and the prevalence of ectoparasites throughout the two-year period. The reported ineffectiveness of the intervention in this study suggested that more research is needed to develop more effective methods for controlling PC, ASF and pig parasites.
No related grants have been discovered for Alberto Pondja.