Database of infectious cattle diseases in East Africa
A database of East African cattle health has been developed over three years by an international team of researchers led by the Roslin Institute.
The Infectious Diseases of East African Livestock (IDEAL) database, developed from a study of more than 500 East African calves, gives users free access to extensive data on genetics and physical traits, as well as study protocols.
The database is also linked to an extensive biobank of more than 20,000 serum, DNA and tissue samples that were collected during the study.
The project gathered information on 548 East African shorthorn zebu calves in Western Kenya throughout their first year of life.
Clinical data, blood and tissue samples were collected at regular visits, and samples were screened for more than 100 infectious organisms, such as viruses and bacteria.
Samples are held under an open access policy at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya. Researchers may apply for access to the samples to support their studies.
To improve the accessibility and functionality of the database for future studies, the team extracted information from the database and reduced its 200 separate datasets to eight linked, fully searchable tables.
Free access to samples and data from the IDEAL project is intended to support research in the dynamics of infectious disease, by saving other teams from carrying out time-consuming, costly field work.
Details of the study are highlighted in a paper published in Nature Scientific Data.
The field work was funded by Wellcome, and the database development was funded by the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health.
Article: Callaby, R., Pendarovski, C., Jennings, A., Mwangi, S. T., Van Wyk, I., Mbole-Kariuki, M., Kiara, H., Toye, P. G., Kemp, S., Hanotte, O., Coetzer, J., Handel, I. G., Woolhouse, M., de Clare Bronsvoort, B. M. (2020). IDEAL, the Infectious Diseases of East African Livestock project open access database and biobank. Scientific Data, 7(1), 224, doi: 10.1038/s41597-020-0559-7
[SOURCE: The Roslin Institute]