Campylobacter species are a major cause of foodborne bacterial infections in both developed and developing countries worldwide.Campylobacter jejuni is responsible for the majority of infectio ns.This study was con duc...Campylobacter species are a major cause of foodborne bacterial infections in both developed and developing countries worldwide.Campylobacter jejuni is responsible for the majority of infectio ns.This study was con ducted to identify virule nceassociated genes in Campylobacter species isolated from livestock production systems in South Africa.A total of 250 fecal samples consisting of cattle(n=50),chickens(n=50),goats(n=50),sheep(n=50)and pigs(n=50)were randomly collected from livestock in Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa between April and October 2018.The samples were an a lyzed for the presence of virule nee genes in Campylobacter species using molecular PCR-based methods.It was found that 77 and 23%of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli respectively were isolated from all the livestock samples.There were positive significant(P<0.05)correlations amongst all the virulenee genes that were investigated.Chisquare and Fisher's exact tests were implemented to test for the effect of livestock species on the presenee or absenee of virule nee gen es.The study dem on strated that most of livestock species can pote ntially cause zoonotic infecti on s and food pois oning due to the high prevale nee of Campylobacter.The high prevale nee of virule nee genes highlights the sign ifica nee of Campylobacter\r\livestock production systems in South Africa.This requires the implementation of one-health approaches to reduce the impact of foodborne and zoonotic diseases for the welfare of human and animal health.展开更多
COVID-19 has been a global health concern since 2019 until date.Global concerted efforts to combat this pandemic has resulted in a number of vaccines distributed across the globe.Although the presence of these vaccine...COVID-19 has been a global health concern since 2019 until date.Global concerted efforts to combat this pandemic has resulted in a number of vaccines distributed across the globe.Although the presence of these vaccines produced quick interventions,dynamic mutation in the causal virus and the continuous evolution of new stains that defy available vaccines has given rise to pertinent questions.The most recent emergence of a new COVID-19 virus variant(omicron),the rapid spread and overwhelming rate of morbidity and mortality has reopened these questions for debate.This commentary summarizes major view on these questions and concludes that multiple approach including social behavioural measures,vaccination and antiviral drug would speed up elimination process.展开更多
The South African population consists of four ethnic groups,i.e.,Blacks,Coloreds,Indians,and Whites,and is considered the most diverse conglomeration of humans.In addition to autosomal short tandem repeat(STR)variatio...The South African population consists of four ethnic groups,i.e.,Blacks,Coloreds,Indians,and Whites,and is considered the most diverse conglomeration of humans.In addition to autosomal short tandem repeat(STR)variation,an important tool to study population diversity is Y-chromosome(Y)-STR analysis.Y-STRs aid in forensic investigations and provide essential data about paternal lineage origins.Y-STR kits consisting of an array of stable and rapidly mutating markers offer crucial information on a given population’s genetic and haplotype diversity.This review discusses the development of Y-STR kits over the years and highlights some prominent Y-STR studies conducted on the South African population.The earliest Y-STR kit developed was the Y-PLEX™6,with the most recent being the UniQTyper™Y-10 Multiplex.The South African population studies show varying data,with the“minimal haplotype”having low discrimination capacity among the ethnic groups and the UniQTyper™Y-10 showing high genetic diversity among the ethnic groups of the country.There is a dearth of Y-STR studies on the South African population.With the advent of new Y-STR kits with increased discriminatory markers,additional studies are required to represent the South African population in the Y-STR databases.Considering the diversity of the South African population,establishment of a local/regional population database would be beneficial.In addition,data on the origins and prevalence of mutations and silent alleles should be obtained from STR datasets generated during kinship investigations(specifically,parentage tests)so that detailed information about the frequencies of mutations,silent alleles,and uniparental disomy in the South African population at Y STR loci can be estimated.展开更多
基金We would like to thank the South African National Research Foundation for supporting this research through the Thuthuka Funding Instrument(TTK170411226583).We would also like to thank the College of Agriculture,Engineering and Science as well as the School of Life Sciences at University of KwaZulu-Natal(Westville Campus),South Africa for their support during the execution of this research.Authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments that significantly improved the manuscript.
文摘Campylobacter species are a major cause of foodborne bacterial infections in both developed and developing countries worldwide.Campylobacter jejuni is responsible for the majority of infectio ns.This study was con ducted to identify virule nceassociated genes in Campylobacter species isolated from livestock production systems in South Africa.A total of 250 fecal samples consisting of cattle(n=50),chickens(n=50),goats(n=50),sheep(n=50)and pigs(n=50)were randomly collected from livestock in Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa between April and October 2018.The samples were an a lyzed for the presence of virule nee genes in Campylobacter species using molecular PCR-based methods.It was found that 77 and 23%of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli respectively were isolated from all the livestock samples.There were positive significant(P<0.05)correlations amongst all the virulenee genes that were investigated.Chisquare and Fisher's exact tests were implemented to test for the effect of livestock species on the presenee or absenee of virule nee gen es.The study dem on strated that most of livestock species can pote ntially cause zoonotic infecti on s and food pois oning due to the high prevale nee of Campylobacter.The high prevale nee of virule nee genes highlights the sign ifica nee of Campylobacter\r\livestock production systems in South Africa.This requires the implementation of one-health approaches to reduce the impact of foodborne and zoonotic diseases for the welfare of human and animal health.
文摘COVID-19 has been a global health concern since 2019 until date.Global concerted efforts to combat this pandemic has resulted in a number of vaccines distributed across the globe.Although the presence of these vaccines produced quick interventions,dynamic mutation in the causal virus and the continuous evolution of new stains that defy available vaccines has given rise to pertinent questions.The most recent emergence of a new COVID-19 virus variant(omicron),the rapid spread and overwhelming rate of morbidity and mortality has reopened these questions for debate.This commentary summarizes major view on these questions and concludes that multiple approach including social behavioural measures,vaccination and antiviral drug would speed up elimination process.
文摘The South African population consists of four ethnic groups,i.e.,Blacks,Coloreds,Indians,and Whites,and is considered the most diverse conglomeration of humans.In addition to autosomal short tandem repeat(STR)variation,an important tool to study population diversity is Y-chromosome(Y)-STR analysis.Y-STRs aid in forensic investigations and provide essential data about paternal lineage origins.Y-STR kits consisting of an array of stable and rapidly mutating markers offer crucial information on a given population’s genetic and haplotype diversity.This review discusses the development of Y-STR kits over the years and highlights some prominent Y-STR studies conducted on the South African population.The earliest Y-STR kit developed was the Y-PLEX™6,with the most recent being the UniQTyper™Y-10 Multiplex.The South African population studies show varying data,with the“minimal haplotype”having low discrimination capacity among the ethnic groups and the UniQTyper™Y-10 showing high genetic diversity among the ethnic groups of the country.There is a dearth of Y-STR studies on the South African population.With the advent of new Y-STR kits with increased discriminatory markers,additional studies are required to represent the South African population in the Y-STR databases.Considering the diversity of the South African population,establishment of a local/regional population database would be beneficial.In addition,data on the origins and prevalence of mutations and silent alleles should be obtained from STR datasets generated during kinship investigations(specifically,parentage tests)so that detailed information about the frequencies of mutations,silent alleles,and uniparental disomy in the South African population at Y STR loci can be estimated.