Jan Naessens, is an immunology expert in livestock research working with the International Livestock Research institute (ILRI) Biotechnology Theme. In this interview we look at his career from the moment when he hardly dreamt of becoming a scientist, his contributions to immunology research, current research as well as other interests.   1. Did you always [...]

PENAPH will be holding a technical workshop to bring together trainers, practitioners and others interested in Participatory Epidemiology (PE) and its applications in animal health, one health and ecohealth. The organization of the workshop is supported by a grant to the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) from the Rockefeller Foundation through the Empowering National and [...]

The next generation vaccine for East Coast fever (EFC), an important cattle disease was the discussion agenda in a 3 day workshop organized by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural-Research Service (USDA-ARS) and Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) on April 16-18. Stakeholders from Nairobi-ILRI, USA, UK, Belgium, [...]

Ranked 11th of the 25 most downloaded article of livestock science between January to December 2011 is the article ‘Genetics of adaptation in domestic farm animals: A review‘. ‘This review summarizes available information on genetics of adaptation in major livestock species focusing on small ruminants. Adaptation to humans and consequences of domestication on predator aversion, [...]

‘A Day in the Life of the People, Animals and their Zoonoses (PAZ) Project’, is series of blog articles by several members of ILRI staff working on the PAZ project based in Busia. These staff members, share their first hand experiences, challenges, and highlights of the project, in this post Lorren Alumasa, a clinical technician [...]

A new project titled, Mali Dairy Genetics on peri-urban dairy systems in Mali under the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) – Biotech, Improving utilization of farm animal genetics resources (BT03) group, that works on identifying appropriate genotypes, breeds & breed combination and finding the best options for multiplication and delivery in different production systems commenced [...]

A recent study on ‘Identification of virulence factors of Theileria parva’ has confirmed the existence of a low virulent strain and identified the mechanism that was at the basis of this low virulence, showing some promising new avenues to develop a product that could help in the control of Theileriosis. This low virulent strain, Chitonga [...]

This study estimated economic values (EVs) for disease resistance traits for dairy/crossbred goats in Kenya. The traits mean somatic cell count (SCC, cells/μl) and faecal worm egg count (FEC, epg) were taken as indicator traits for the most prevalent diseases in the smallholder farms i.e., mastitis and helminthiosis, respectively. Economic weights were objectively assigned to [...]

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), jointly with the University of Edinburgh (UK) and the Kenya Medical Research Institute, with additional support from the Kenyan Department of Veterinary Services, operates a laboratory in the town of Busia, in Western Kenya.  It is here that the People, Animals and their Zoonoses (PAZ) project operates a joint [...]

Sheila Ommeh, ILRI scientist with Olivier Hanotte, former ILRI scientist and her PhD supervisor at the meeting with British parliamentarians on March 7 (photo credit: AWARD/Karen Homer) ‘On the eve of International Women’s Day and against the backdrop of deepening food crises across sub-Saharan Africa, two leading African women agricultural scientists joined U.K. experts at [...]

In this article James Gachanja, who has just retired from ILRI, the place that has been his home for the past 23 years, looks back on his journey at ILRI as he excitedly goes to pursue his farming dream. From an early age, James Gachanja understood the value of livestock. He was educated and brought [...]

Busia County, in Western Kenya is the main research area for the People, Animals and their Zoonoses (PAZ) project. Farmers in this County and its environs are slowly adopting pig farming as an alternative way of earning their livelihoods. There is close interaction between pigs and people as they are either tethered within the homestead [...]

“Animal diseases make up 60 per cent of all human pathogens and have a significant impact on poverty. Yet for many years, the worst diseases were sorely neglected by the international community. Eric Fevre describes how this turned around, and what researchers are now doing to tackle it. ‘In the far west of rural Kenya, [...]

Sheila Ommeh is one of the few scientists who are devoted chicken research, in this interview, we connect the dots from the moment her initial curiosity on agricultural research was stirred to her current research highlights. Q: Have you always wanted to be a scientist? SO: Yes, my curiosity started in the early 1990s when [...]

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides, is an important livestock disease in Africa. The current control measures rely on a vaccine with limited efficacy and occasional severe side effects. Knowledge of the protective arms of immunity involved in this disease will be beneficial for the development of an improved vaccine. In [...]

Western Kenya is a part of the world with high human and livestock population densities, representative more largely of the whole Lake Victoria Crescent ecosystem.  This is a rural area (around 95% of households depend on agriculture as their primary source of livelihoods) where farmers are mixed crop-livestock small-holders – families generally grow crops and [...]

On January 18, the CBPP team at ILRI Nairobi had the pleasure of hosting Prof. Joachim Frey from the University of Bern in Switzerland. Prof. Frey, the current chair of the International Organization of Mycoplasmology, and one of the world’s leading experts on CBPP gave a seminar to ILRI staff on ‘Molecular epidemiology of CBPP [...]

Abstract African bovine trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma sp., is a major constraint on cattle productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Some African Bos taurus breeds are highly tolerant of infection, but the potentially more productive Bos indicus zebu breeds are much more susceptible. Zebu cattle are well adapted for plowing and haulage, and increasing their tolerance of [...]

The Dairy Genetics East Africa (DGEA) project’s success hinges on the participation of small holders dairy farmers and their willingness to share their knowledge and practices.  Selected project sites include Kaptumo, Siongiroi, Meteitei, Kabras, Butere/Khwisero in Kenya and Wakiso, Bushyenyi in Uganda.  On 27th of June, a field trip in the Kenyan sites to monitor [...]

Causing up to 100 per cent mortality in previously unaffected animals, African Swine Fever (ASF) is a devastating disease of pigs. Endemic across much of Africa, the disease poses a wider threat to global food security, particularly in East Asia, where at least 50 per cent of the protein consumed is pork, much of it [...]