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An interdisciplinary approach addressing tick-borne diseases in Ugandan indigenous cattle

The overall purpose is to improve cattle health through increased understanding of the microbial community in cattle and ticks. Ticks are the most important vectors of disease-causing pathogens in domestic and wild animals. Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are a major threat to both cattle and human health. Understanding the complex interactions within the microbiome is of great importance for understanding how tick borne pathogens spread and cause disease. We will study indigenous cattle and ticks in all 11 agro-ecological zones of Uganda using metagenomics. Metagenomics has proven to be a powerful tool for pathogen detection and for making in depth analysis of the microbial community. The microbiome of ticks feeding on cattle or living in its close proximity will be characterized and compared with the cattle microbiome. We propose to build a smart and user-friendly bioinformatics framework for comparison of metagenomes. Our results will give insights into the microbiome of cattle and its relation to tick microbiome and disease. Possibly, new disease causing agents will be identified. The study will also contribute with knowledge on how cattle owners understand the relationships between ticks, cattle and TBDs. The knowledge generated in this project can contribute to more appropriately designed interventions for diagnosis and prevention of TBDs.

Project ID

SE-0-SE-29-2016-05705_2-285-31182

Activity status

2 - Implementation

Aid type

D02 - Other technical assistance

% to Uganda

100.00

Organisations

Funding

Sweden

Extending

The Swedish Research Council

Implementing

Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet

CRS code	%
Agricultural research (31182)	100.0