Filaria zoogeography in Africa: ecology, competitive exclusion, and public health relevance

Filaria zoogeography in Africa: ecology, competitive exclusion, and public health relevance.

Six species of filariae infect humans in sub-Saharan Africa. We hypothesise that these nematodes are able to polyparasitise human hosts by having successfully, through competitive exclusion, adapted to distinct niches. Despite inhabiting the same host, adult stages reside in different tissue sites. Microfilariae of some species exhibit temporal separation by reaching peak levels in the blood at...

Ecology and Zoogeography of Parasites

Parasitism is a ubiquitous phenomenon that is probably as old as heterotrophic organisms themselves. It is one of the major types of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species. The development of the biological sciences brought about a broader definition of parasitism. By the end of the nineteenth century, it was known that parasites thrive at the expense of their hosts and u...

Public health ecology.

Veterinary Public Health in Africa

These reports were analysed taking three major criteria into consideration: location of Veterinary Public Health (VPH) responsibilities, scope of VPH activities, level of Veterinary Services/VPH collaboration with other sectors. Individual reports were reviewed to answer the following questions: Does a VPH unit exist and if so, where is it located? If not, what administrative structure(s) carri...

Public health research and practice in Africa

We are delighted to present the maiden edition of the Journal of Public Health in Africa (JPHIA). Like most great innovations, the idea behind JPHIA was spontaneously conceived upon observing the precarious state of public health care delivery in the African continent. The JPHIA is set up as non-profit making open source that will compete with other world class journals. The strength of JPHIA i...