ABSTRACT A study on rapid detection and diagnosis of foot and mouth disease (FMD) field outbreaks was carried out in field settings using a Svanodip® foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV)- antigen (Ag) test lateral flow device (LFD) in Serengeti and Ngorongoro districts of Tanzania. Epithelial tissues from cattle (n=80) were collected from different villages and tested at penside using Svanodip® FMDV-antigen test to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of LFDs relative to gold standard re...
ABSTRACT Fungi are eukaryotic microorganisms that have simple multicellular or unicellular cell structures. They are distributed in terrestrial soils, forests, aquatic habitats and in extreme environments with high ambient salts, temperature, pH and pressure. Fungi from extreme environments are potential sources of novel biocatalysts for example antimicrobial agents that can help solve the rising cases of drug resistance. However, the diversity of fungi recovered and described from less studi...
ABSTRACT Microbial diversity and function in agro-ecosystems is influenced by various aspects linked to soil and agronomic practices for example, tillage, irrigation, crop rotation and application of organic and inorganic inputs. Farming systems practices may affect the dynamic interactions existing between soil, plant and microorganisms in different agricultural biomes. Due to limitations associated with conventional microbial cultivation strategies, only a fractional number of cultivable sp...
ABSTRACT Viruses and fungi are the major threat to sweet potato production because they reduce yield by up to 90% thereby threatening food security. A study was carried out to identify pathogenic viruses and fungi affecting sweet potato and to determine their distribution across varieties and sites in Gweru. A total of 28 samples belonging to five different sweet potato varieties were collected from nine sites in Gweru. Plants were screened for viruses using two methods namely direct observat...
This work concerns one of the most important tools to solve well-posed problems in the theory of evolution equations (e.g diusion equation, wave equations, ...) and in the theory of stochastic process, namely the semigroups of linear operators with application to dierential equations.
ABSTRACT Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis are important food and water borne pathogens that has recently emerged world wide. This study was aimed at characterizing the prevalence of Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis in human and selected animal populations in Jos and its environment. Three thousand stool samples from human and selected animal species from 5 different locations in Jos and its environs were surveyed over a period of three years. Huma...
Abstract Over the years, nomadic Fulani herdsmen have established different settlement camps outside the traditional villages of their indigenous host communities in Ebonyi State. With increasing concerns about the health condition of the nomads, this study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence and distribution of some microbial and parasitic infections amongst the spartially distributed population of the nomadic Fulani herdsmen in Ebonyi State. This investigation was carried out betwe...
Mature apple trees were sprayed using a Knapsack mistblower fitted with 3 different nozzle systems, one of which provided an induced electrostatic charge on the spray droplets. Spray distribution was assessed by examining fluorescent tracer deposits on Kromekote cards which had been positioned in different parts of the tree canopy. Subsequently, bioassays with codling moth (neonate larvae) and formulations of cypermethrin examined the biological effect of deposits. Small uncharged droplets (3...
A parasitological examination of 2,500 faecal samples of cattle was carried out in Plateau State, Nigeria, to determine prevalence, seasonal distribution and sources of various species of Eimeria in both sexes, age groups, breeds and husbandry systems. Effects of temperatures on sporulation of Eimeria oocysts and chemical analysis of the Eimeria oocysts were also determined. Out of 2500 samples examined, 1567 i.e 62.68% were positive for twelve species of Eimeria. E. alabamensis occurre...
ABSTRACT This paper analysed policy correlates of agricultural production and agricultural production sustainability outcomes in Ghana and Nigeria. It underscores the influence of political systems and international development agendas as correlates of agricultural production and agricultural production sustainability outcomes. This is to the extent of providing evidence policy on agricultural production and agricultural production sustainability outcomes. Ghana and Nigeria have comparable fa...
Vitamin C and Coronavirus: Not a Vaccine; Just a Humble Cure Commentary by William F. Simmons and Robert G. Smith, PhD During the pneumonia epidemic in North Carolina in the 1940's, after American soldiers returned from the war in Europe, a small-town physician used an anti-infective protocol of intravenous vitamin C to cure 42 cases of viral pneumonia. [1] During the same period, the physician used a similar treatment to cure 60 cases of viral poliomyelitis. All patients were clinicall...
Vitamin C and Coronavirus: Not a Vaccine; Just a Humble Cure Commentary by William F. Simmons and Robert G. Smith, PhD During the pneumonia epidemic in North Carolina in the 1940's, after American soldiers returned from the war in Europe, a small-town physician used an anti-infective protocol of intravenous vitamin C to cure 42 cases of viral pneumonia. [1] During the same period, the physician used a similar treatment to cure 60 cases of viral poliomyelitis. All patients were clinically well...
ABSTRACT Acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) in children under five years is predominantly cause by Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) but in recent times Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) has also been implicated in ALRTI. In Ghana, the few studies on ALRTI have focused on the prevalence of RSV and the viral etiological agents causing acute bronchiolitis, bronchopneumonia and pneumonia. This cross sectional study sought to detect, characterize and genotype respiratory syncytial virus ...
ABSTRACT Background: Outbreaks of Cerebrospinal meningitis, which occur seasonally and periodically continue to be a burden in the African meningitis belt in spite of improved control and preventive mechanisms. Although, immunoprophylaxis remains the most effective strategy to manage meningococcal meningitis, early detection of the causative pathogen could improve the prognosis. However, Hospital (Case) Based Surveillance System (HBSS) is limited at providing information (lags-in-time) on th...
Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) is a major public health problem in Nigeria. It was declared a national emergency in 2006 after which an emergency plan for the control of TB in Nigeria was developed. The country is currently ranked 10th among the 22 high TB burden countries in the world. Tuberculosis is an important opportunistic infection in HIV/AIDS. Benue state is the highest HIV endemic state in Nigeria and investigation of tuberculosis cases and Mycobacterial resistance patterns are needed....