Forty years of immunology research at ILRI: An impact narrative

Over the years, cutting edge tools, technologies and approaches have been implemented to increase understanding of the bovine immune system and mechanisms of pathogen control. Despite limited funding, compared to human immunological research, ILRAD/ILRI have made tremendous progress in bovine immunological research which remains a research focus at ILRI. Continue reading →

The global impact of ILRI’s epidemiology expertise: An impact narrative

ILRI’s integration of epidemiology with agricultural economics and other social sciences has offered a unique approach for assessing the economic impact of animal disease, and for evaluating the implications of intervention options, whether at farm, national or global level. Continue reading →

New study shows that waterbucks are an important source of tick-borne diseases of livestock

A recent study has found that wildlife are an important source of tick-borne diseases of livestock, with 70% of emerging pathogens originating from wildlife. The study found evidence of previously unknown parasite genotypes that may be infective to both small ruminants and equids (horses). Climate change could fuel the spread of such pathogens through the spread of their tick vector further impacting livestock production. Continue reading →

PENAPH holds successful first technical workshop in Thailand

The Participatory Epidemiology Network for Animal and Public Health (PENAPH) first technical workshop was held on Dec 11-13, 2012 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The committee accepted 34 abstracts out of 55 submissions as oral presentations and an additional 13 were accepted as posters.  The workshop brought together trainers, practitioners and others interested in Participatory Epidemiology (PE) … Continue reading →

Experts discuss strategies for infectious disease pathogen discovery

Scientists conducting research in the area of pathogen discovery, especially virus discovery met for a 4 day workshop on 5-8 Nov 2012. Held at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Nairobi, the aim of the workshop was to enable ILRI to make informed decisions about which technologies to be investing in to support the pathogen … Continue reading →

Republic of Kenya Zoonotic Disease Unit (ZDU) launched

The Kenyan ministries of livestock and development and public health and sanitation yesterday, 3 October 2012 officially launched the Zoonotic Disease Unit (ZDU) in Nairobi. ‘The ZDU is a One Health office in Kenya that was formed to address the gap that exists between animal and human health sectors in terms of prevention and control … Continue reading →

A Day in the Life of the PAZ Project: Fascioliasis in Western Kenya

‘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 George Omondi Acharry, a laboratory … Continue reading →