Overall aim

The mission of the Department (DAH) is to improve the health and well-being of the human populations in the tropics by developing, disseminating and applying scientific knowledge of tropical livestock diseases. Our work includes innovative and applied research, post-graduate training and education, and support to control programmes of tropical animal and zoonotic diseases. Our current focus is on the biology, epidemiology and prevention of trypanosomiasis, theileriosis and taeniasis-cysticercosis and on chemo-resistance against anthelmintics and trypanocides.

In the field of research and/or teaching there is a close collaboration between the department, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Ghent and the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the University of Pretoria. The department organises each year (alternately in French and in English) a Master of Science Course in Tropical Animal Health and provides Ph.D. training in the field of tropical veterinary medicine. The department is involved in several projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The Unit Animal Disease Control aims at contributing to the improved control or prevention of (i) livestock diseases which endanger trade, food security and are recognized as contributing to poverty and (ii) important often neglected zoonotic diseases affecting the poor.

The Unit will support the development of frameworks for priority setting and informed decision making for area-specific control of those diseases.  It will contribute to the development and evaluation of effective and appropriate control tools or control approaches that take into account the particularities of the environment (e.g. ecological, environmental, socio-economic, institutional, political) in which the priority livestock diseases and zoonoses are controlled and the changes in that environment (e.g. urbanisation, globalisation, population growth).  The Unit will support the implementation of improved decision making and control by contributing to capacity building at the various levels involved in the development and implementation of disease control strategies. 

The Unit aims at achieving those objectives through a multidisciplinary approach by collaborating closely with the other units of the Animal Health Department, other Departments of the ITM and institutions in Europe or overseas.

The Unit of Veterinary Protozoology focuses its research activities on trypanosomiasis and theileriosis. These parasitic diseases have a serious impact on productivity of livestock in the tropics and consequently their control will greatly contribute to poverty alleviation.
The specific objectives in the field of trypanosomiasis are:

• Study of the molecular epidemiology and control of bovine trypanosomiasis.

Molecular biological studies have demonstrated a much greater genetic diversity in trypanosome populations than previously described. This observation and its impact will be further studied in various epidemiological settings (in close collaboration with the Unit of Disease Control).

• Study of the animal reservoir of sleeping sickness caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense.

In contrast to sleeping sickness caused by T. b. rhodesiense, for which cattle has been shown to be an important reservoir, the impact of livestock as reservoir of sleeping sickness in West- and Central Africa, where it is caused by T. b. gambiense has been poorly studied. Development of appropriate molecular tools will enable studies that will contribute to a better understanding of the role of animals in the epidemiology of T. b. gambiense sleeping sickness.

• Development and validation of molecular techniques for the detection of resistance against trypanocidal drugs in trypanosomes of livestock.

Development of drug resistance in trypanosome populations is a major concern that threatens the current control programmes of animal trypanosomiasis. More accurate techniques need to be developed to enable rapid detection of resistant populations and to better understand underlying mechanisms of resistance development and epidemiology.
The specific objectives in the field of theileriosis are:

• Study of the molecular epidemiology and control of theileriosis

Research of the population genetics of Theileria spp. should provide better insights in the evolution of interactions of the parasite and its host and vector and the correlation with pathogenic and immunogenic properties.

• Study of the cellular immunity of infection with Theileria parva and the development of vaccines

T. parva, a protozoon that is phylogenetically related to Plasmodium, is an interesting model for the study of cellular immune reactions. Preliminary observations on the use of Theileria DNA vaccine have shown promising results. Studies in livestock will now have to demonstrate whether a DNA vaccine will provide sufficient cellular response to protect the animals against the parasite.