International partnership builds veterinary expertise

A partnership between research experts and the first veterinary school in Malawi is bearing fruit in the development of knowledge into livestock diseases that threaten rural livelihoods.

Veterinary undergraduate students at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) are benefiting from teaching, mentoring and project support from experts at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and the Division of Global Agriculture and Food Systems, and the International Livestock Research Institute. 

Students at LUANAR are undertaking research projects with supervision from staff at the partner institutions, as part of a wider ambition to develop a strong research base in the Malawian school.

A study in the Veterinary Research Communications journal represents the first published work to emerge from a developing network between the partners.

The collaboration has worked to gain insights into a common cattle parasite, to characterise for the first time the threat posed by the pest to livestock.

Their study of a common liver fluke, Fascioloa gigantica, in Malawi will inform efforts to manage risks of bovine Fasciolosis, the disease caused by the fluke, which causes weight loss, low productivity and severe or fatal liver damage in cattle. 

The condition is a major concern for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan countries, where livestock are a critical economic resource.

The team analysed samples of the fluke recovered from animal carcases in Malawi, where the infection is a major challenge.

By amplifying DNA in the samples to understand genetic diversity, their findings show that the parasite, which is spread through contact with water snails, may be experiencing population expansion. They also indicate close relatedness in flukes from eastern and southern regions, suggesting flukes have migrated between both areas.

Their insights provide a baseline understanding of the parasite in the country, and highlight the need for coordinated efforts to control disease, for example with regard to movement of livestock across borders.