scholarly journals Characterisation of Peste Des Petits Ruminants Disease in Pastoralist Flocks in Ngorongoro District of Northern Tanzania and Bluetongue Virus Co-Infection

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryony Anne Jones ◽  
Mana Mahapatra ◽  
Chobi Chubwa ◽  
Brian Clarke ◽  
Carrie Batten ◽  
...  

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) disease was first confirmed in Tanzania in 2008 in sheep and goats in Ngorongoro District, northern Tanzania, and is now endemic in this area. This study aimed to characterise PPR disease in pastoralist small ruminant flocks in Ngorongoro District. During June 2015, 33 PPR-like disease reports were investigated in different parts of the district, using semi-structured interviews, clinical examinations, PPR virus rapid detection test (PPRV-RDT), and laboratory analysis. Ten flocks were confirmed as PPRV infected by PPRV-RDT and/or real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and two flocks were co-infected with bluetongue virus (BTV), confirmed by RT-qPCR. Phylogenetic analysis of six partial N gene sequences showed that the PPR viruses clustered with recent lineage III Tanzanian viruses, and grouped with Ugandan, Kenyan and Democratic Republic of Congo isolates. No PPR-like disease was reported in wildlife. There was considerable variation in clinical syndromes between flocks: some showed a full range of PPR signs, while others were predominantly respiratory, diarrhoea, or oro-nasal syndromes, which were associated with different local disease names (olodua—a term for rinderpest, olkipiei—lung disease, oloirobi—fever, enkorotik—diarrhoea). BTV co-infection was associated with severe oro-nasal lesions. This clinical variability makes the field diagnosis of PPR challenging, highlighting the importance of access to pen-side antigen tests and multiplex assays to support improved surveillance and targeting of control activities for PPR eradication.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 348-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rand H.M. Agha ◽  
John M. Kamara

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the adaptations that have been made to traditional courtyard houses (TCHs) in Baghdad, Iraq. The aim is to develop an understanding of various factors in the adaptation of these buildings to suit contemporary lifestyles, which will contribute to the wider field of building adaptability. Design/methodology/approach Empirical evidence was collected through case studies of 12 TCHs in the Al-Kadhimiya area of Baghdad, which involved a physical survey of buildings and semi-structured interviews with 24 occupants. Findings Case study analysis show that building adaptability involves both a change to physical spaces and also to lifestyles; with the latter being more likely when there are limitations in how much change can be made to the physical structure. Research limitations/implications The focus of this research is mainly on users’ adaptation of spaces and therefore does not consider the full range of stakeholders involved in the adaptation process. The findings also only apply to the cases considered and may not be applicable to other house types or locations. Originality/value Studies on building adaptability mostly focus on the ease of change to the building fabric, although the role of users is acknowledged. This study provides insights into the complexity and variety of changes that users can make, which are influenced by lifestyles and driven by the need for comfort. These insights are represented in an adaptation model, which can serve as a basis for further research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2110481
Author(s):  
Gabriel Kalombe Kyomba ◽  
Joêl Nkiama Numbi Konde ◽  
Diafuka Saila-Ngita ◽  
Thomas Kuanda Solo ◽  
Guillaume Mbela Kiyombo

Incineration is the most used healthcare waste (HCW) disposal method. Disease outbreaks due to Ebola virus and SARS-CoV2 require attention to HCW management to avoid pathogens spread and spillover. This study describes HCW management prior to incineration and hospital incinerators performance by analysing bottom ashes from hospitals in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. We used semi-structured interviews to capture information on pre-incineration waste management and analysed the chemical composition of 27 samples of incinerator bottom ashes using the energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence. Neither sorting nor waste management measures were applied at hospitals surveyed. Incinerator operators were poorly equipped and their knowledge was limited. The bottom ash concentrations of cadmium, chromium, nickel and lead ranged between 0.61–10.44, 40.15–737.01, 9.11–97.55 and 16.37–240.03 mg kg−1, respectively. Compared to Chinese incinerator performance, the concentrations of some elements were found to be lower than those from China. This discrepancy may be explained by the difference in the composition of HCW. The authors conclude that health care waste in Kinshasa hospitals is poorly managed, higher concentrations of heavy metals are found in incinerator bottom ashes and the incinerators quality is poor. They recommend the strict application of infection prevention control measures, the training of incinerator operators and the use of high-performance incinerators.


Author(s):  
Catherine Byrnes Smoyer ◽  
Rocky J Dwyer ◽  
Janice K. Garfield ◽  
Brandon D. Simmons

Leaders of nonprofit organizations in the United States must build workforce capabilities to meet increasing demands for services. This single-case study explored strategies nonprofit leaders used to build workforce capability to address increasing service demands. The conceptual lens for this study was the full-range leadership theory. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with senior executives of a single nonprofit organization located in the Midwestern region of the United States, which included internal organizational and workforce performance data, strategy plans, annual reports internal and external financial documents, and publicly available information. Four major themes related to building workforce capacity emerged from a thematic analysis of the data: (1) an emphasis on employee development, (2) the expansion of technology systems, (3) a concentration on developing a culture of autonomy and trust, and (4) the introduction of processes and measurements. The findings from this study might contribute to positive social change by providing nonprofit leaders with strategies and data to support a deeper understanding of how to effectively build workforce capability to address increasing service demands.


2022 ◽  
pp. 318-336
Author(s):  
Germain Miteu Tshinu

The third theme of the book seeks to understand the role of mineral resources in the African continent's socio-economic development. The case study of the DRC is used to understand the role played by the state-owned mining company Gecamines to socio-economic conditions of employees and the country's development at large. Resource curse and realism theories are utilised in this case study to unpack the role of mineral resources to Gecamines employees' access to education and healthcare in particular and to the entire country in general. The chapter employed a case study design with a qualitative approach research in its endeavour of exploring Gecamines' socio-economic contribution to its employees. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Gecamines' managers, unskilled mine workers, and the Provincial Department of Mines' officers.


Author(s):  
Samuel Mantip ◽  
Melvyn Quan ◽  
David Shamaki ◽  
Moritz Van Vuuren

Peste-des-petits-ruminants virus (PPRV) is a highly contagious, fatal and economically important viral disease of small ruminants that is still endemic and militates against the production of sheep and goats in endemic areas of the world. The aim of this study was to describe the viral strains within the country. This was carried out by collecting tissue and swab samples from sheep and goats in various agro-ecological zones of Nigeria. The phylogeny of archived PPRV strains or isolates and those circulating and causing recent outbreaks was determined by sequencing of the nucleoprotein (N)-gene. Twenty tissue and swab samples from apparently healthy and sick sheep and goats were collected randomly from 18 states, namely 3 states in each of the 6 agro-ecological zones visited. A total of 360 samples were collected. A total of 35 samples of 360 (9.7%) tested positive by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction, of which 25 were from oculo-nasal swabs and 10 were from tissue samples. Neighbour-joining phylogenetic analysis using Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony (PAUP) identified four different lineages, that is, lineages I, II, III and IV. Interestingly, the Nigerian strains described in this study grouped in two separate major lineages, that is, lineages II and IV. Strains from Sokoto, Oyo, Plateau and Ondo states grouped according to the historical distribution of PPRV together with the Nigerian 75/1 strain of lineage II, while other strains from Sokoto, Oyo, Plateau, Akwa-Ibom, Adamawa, Kaduna, Lagos, Bauchi, Niger and Kano states grouped together with the East African and Asian strains of lineage IV. This finding confirms that both lineage II and IV strains of PPRV are circulating in Nigeria. Previously, only strains of lineage II were found to be present in the country.


2007 ◽  
Vol 191 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni De Girolamo ◽  
Angelo Barbato ◽  
Renata Bracco ◽  
Andrea Gaddini ◽  
Rossella Miglio ◽  
...  

BackgroundLegislation in 1978 led to the gradual replacement of mental hospitals in Italy with a full range of community-based services, including facilities for acute in-patient care.AimsTo survey the main characteristics of Italian public and private in-patient facilities for acute psychiatric disorders.MethodStructured interviews were conducted with each facility's head psychiatrist in all Italian regions, with the exception of Sicily.ResultsOverall, Italy (except Sicily) has atotal of 4108 public in-patient beds in 319 facilities, with 0.78 beds for every 10 000 inhabitants, and 4862 beds in 54 private in-patient facilities, with 0.94 beds per 10 000 inhabitants. In 2001 the rates of psychiatric admissions and admitted patients per 10 000 inhabitants were 26.7 and 17.8 respectively. In the same year the percentage of involuntary admissions was 12.9%, for atotal of 114 570 hospital days. Many in-patient facilities showed significant limitations in terms of architectural and logistic characteristics. Staffing showed a great variability among facilities.ConclusionsThe overall number of acute beds per 10 000 inhabitants is one of the lowest in Europe. The survey has provided evidence of two parallel systems of in-patient care, a public one and a private one, which are not fully interchangeable.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zixiang Zhu ◽  
Xiaocui Zhang ◽  
Gulizhati Adili ◽  
Jiong Huang ◽  
Xiaoli Du ◽  
...  

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) is the causative agent of peste des petits ruminants (PPR). The spread of PPR often causes severe economic losses. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the surveillance of PPR emergence, spread, and geographic distribution. Here we describe a novel mutant of PPRV China/XJBZ/2015 that was isolated fromCapra ibexin Xinjiang province in China 2015. The sequence analysis and phylogenetic assessment indicate that China/XJBZ/2015 belongs to lineage IV, being closely related to China/XJYL/2013 strain. Interestingly, the V protein sequence of China/XJBZ/2015 showed lower homology with other Chinese PPRVs isolated during 2013 to 2014 (94%~95%), whereas it shared 100% identity with three Tibet strains isolated in China 2007. The 3′ UTR, V gene, and C gene were determined to be highly variable. Besides, 29 PPR genomic sequences available in GenBank were analyzed in this study. It is the first time to use PPRV genomic sequences to classify the different lineages which confirmed the lineage clustering of PPRVs using N gene 255 bp fragments and F gene 322 bp fragments. In conclusion, our findings indicate that the PPRVs continue to evolve in China, and some new mutations have emerged.


2011 ◽  
Vol 169 (15) ◽  
pp. 389-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Brenner ◽  
C. Batten ◽  
H. Yadin ◽  
V. Bumbarov ◽  
O. Friedgut ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Semerita Kavira Kamundu

This study focuses on learning climate in universities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Learning climate constitutes one of the most important criteria for educational quality as it influences the learning outcome. The study is conducted in the DRC, one of the developing countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, where the quality of education is very important to remedy the traditional educational system applied in several schools and universities. Using a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews (n = 32) based on a theoretical sampling, following grounded theory, four types of climate were revealed in the data analysis: The climate based on learning where the learner feels better considered, the climate based on social relations where the interactions between the teacher and the learner are positive, the climate based on the teacher where the learner is passive, and the climate based on the use of authority where the learner only submits to the decisions of the authority. These four types are discussed in relation to their functionality to learning and recommendations for the further development of universities are given.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-376
Author(s):  
Lena K. Webster ◽  
James J. Ebersole

Abstract Semi-structured interviews with 26 Maasai adults in one pastoralist, northern Tanzanian community showed that dogs were considered owned by one household, allowed to roam, and fed regularly. Interviewees strongly valued that dogs warn of wild predators threatening livestock, which provide nearly all human food and income, but most liked dogs only moderately, and only a few expressed affection for dogs. Participants disliked that dogs steal food, create disturbances, sometimes threaten people, and spread disease to humans. The strong utilitarian attitude toward dogs might be from poor economic security, frequent death of all Maasai non-human animals, and mostly non-expressive culture. Although dogs cause nearly all of the substantial Tanzanian human rabies cases, few dogs were vaccinated although most people would pay if the vaccine were available. These dogs also present disease risks to wildlife, so vaccination programs, facilitated by perceived ownership of all dogs, could reduce hazards to people and wildlife.


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