Use of the infection and treatment method in the control of East Coast fever in Kenya: does gender matter for adoption and impact?

Immunisation of livestock with high quality vaccines is considered an essential approach to controlling many animal diseases. The only currently available commercial vaccine to protect cattle from East Coast fever (ECF), a tick-borne disease caused by Theileria parva, is an unconventional “infection and treatment method” (ITM) involving administration of a combination of live T. parva isolates, referred to as the “Muguga cocktail”, and simultaneous treatment with long-acting oxytetracycline. Veterinary vaccine research and development typically involves studies designed to demonstrate vaccine quality, safety, and efficacy; however, as there were no such purpose-designed registration studies conducted for the Muguga cocktail, evidence for safety and efficacy is solely based on that which is available in the clinical literature. An extensive systematic review was conducted to analyse the evidence available in the literature in order to establish the safety and efficacy of the Muguga cocktail vaccine. A combination of meta-analyses and narrative summaries was conducted. A total of 61 studies met the criteria to be included in the systematic review. The majority of studies demonstrated or reported in favour of the vaccine with regards to safety and efficacy of the Muguga cocktail vaccine. Proximity to buffalo often resulted in reduced vaccine efficacy, and reports of shed and transmission of vaccine components affected the overall interpretation of safety. Better understanding of control options for this devastating livestock disease is important for policymakers and livestock keepers, enabling them to make informed decisions with regards to the health of their animals and their livelihoods.

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Farm and Livelihood Characteristics After ITM Vaccination Against East Coast Fever in Tanzania

Frontiers in Veterinary Science ◽

10.3389/fvets.2021.639762 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Nils Teufel ◽

Luke Korir ◽

James Hammond ◽

Mark van Wijk ◽

Henry Kiara

Keyword(s):

Distribution System ◽

East Coast ◽

Positive Association ◽

Treatment Method ◽

Farm Management ◽

East Coast Fever ◽

Control Group ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Intermediate Outcomes

East Coast Fever is a critical cattle disease in East and Southern Africa which is currently mainly controlled through frequent chemical removal of ticks, the disease vector. However, a vaccine conveying life-long immunity has existed for some time, known as the infection and treatment method (ITM), although it has so far not been widely adopted because of its cost, demanding distribution system and regulatory reservations. Also, despite having proved effective on the animal level, the promoters of the vaccine have not been able to show much evidence of its benefits on the herd, farm and household levels. This study, based on a cross-sectional survey of 994 cattle keepers throughout Tanzania, aims to provide such evidence by comparing indicators of herd productivity, of farm management and success as well as of household livelihoods between households that have adopted the ITM vaccine for some years with those that have only recently adopted it. Econometric models identify the contribution of ITM adoption to indicator values together with various other determining factors amongst 277 long-term adopters of ITM and the control group of 118 recent adopters as well as 118 matched farmers without access to ITM. The results confirm that ITM adoption is positively associated with all three indicators of herd-productivity considered in this study. However, it does not support any of the three indicators of farm management and only one out of four indicators representing farm success. Nevertheless, the adoption of ITM shows a positive association with all four indicators of household livelihood. Investigating the chain of intermediate outcomes, indicators of herd productivity, such as milk yield, are significantly linked to higher feed expenses, contributing to increased livestock productivity and ultimately income and food availability. Overall, these results therefore support the promotion of ITM as a beneficial technology for the sustainable development of rural livestock keepers.

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Comparison of manual and homogenizer methods for preparation of tick-derived stabilates of Theileria parva: equivalence testing using an in vitro titration model

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s0031182005007365 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 131 (1) ◽

pp. 45-49 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

V. MBAO ◽

N. SPEYBROECK ◽

D. BERKVENS ◽

T. DOLAN ◽

P. DORNY ◽

...

Keyword(s):

East Coast ◽

Treatment Method ◽

Rhipicephalus Appendiculatus ◽

Equivalence Testing ◽

Theileria Parva ◽

Control Option ◽

Infected Adult ◽

Effective Doses ◽

Infection And Treatment Method

Theileria parva sporozoite stabilates are used in the infection and treatment method of immunization, a widely accepted control option for East Coast fever in cattle. T. parva sporozoites are extracted from infected adult Rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks either manually, using a pestle and a mortar, or by use of an electric homogenizer. A comparison of the two methods as a function of stabilate infectivity has never been documented. This study was designed to provide a quantitative comparison of stabilates produced by the two methods. The approach was to prepare batches of stabilate by both methods and then subject them to in vitro titration. Equivalence testing was then performed on the average effective doses (ED). The ratio of infective sporozoites yielded by the two methods was found to be 1·14 in favour of the manually ground stabilate with an upper limit of the 95% confidence interval equal to 1·3. We conclude that the choice of method rests more on costs, available infrastructure and standardization than on which method produces a richer sporozoite stabilate.

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The management and economics of east coast fever.

The impact of the International Livestock Research Institute ◽

10.1079/9781789241853.0239 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 239-273

Author(s):

Philip Toye ◽

Henry Kiara ◽

Onesmo ole-MoiYoi ◽

Dolapo Enahoro ◽

Karl M. Rich

Keyword(s):

East Coast ◽

Treatment Method ◽

East Coast Fever ◽

East African ◽

Simultaneous Treatment ◽

Veterinary Research ◽

The Future ◽

A Subunit ◽

Immunization Procedure ◽

Long Acting

Abstract This book chapter tackles the management and economics of east coast fever. At about the time of ILRAD's establishment in 1973, a vaccination procedure was being developed at the East African Veterinary Research Organization (EAVRO) at Muguga, Kenya. The infection-and-treatment method (ITM) is an immunization procedure against ECF. It involves inoculation of live sporozoites of T. parva, usually in the form of a semi-purified homogenate of T. parva-infected ticks, combined with simultaneous treatment with a dose of a long-acting formulation of the antibiotic oxytetracycline. Whilst safe and very effective when administered correctly, production and delivery of this live ECF vaccine is complicated, expensive and time consuming, and at the time of ILRAD's founding, there were doubts as to whether such a procedure was commercially viable. The future for ILRI in the pathology and immunoparasitology of theileriosis will be guided by the vaccine, balanced against the evolving prospects for a subunit vaccine. The future in the epidemiology and economics of ECF management will be developing and evaluating current or novel control methods.

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