There has been a surge in the number of emerging zoonotic vector-borne diseases world-wide. Current research on vector-borne diseases is often focused on interactions between mammalian hosts and pathogens. Relatively little is known of the interactions that take place when pathogens are ingested by vector species. The aim of this project is to develop techniques which would allow us to track zoonotic bacteria within the vector and to identify possible interactions. Two models were used in this study: Bartonella henselae and the flea Ctenocephalides felis, and Anaplasma phagocytophilum and the tick Ixodes ricinus.

A serological and questionnaire study on zoonoses was performed among cattle farms in Tanga, Tanzania. The study revealed that leptospirosis and other zoonoses are common in cattle in Tanga. Herd sero-prevalences were 58% for leptospirosis, 12% for brucellosis. 6% for tuberculosis and 12% for toxoplasmosis. Prevalence was higher in traditional herds than in smallholder herds. The zoonoses were not restricted to rural areas, but also occurred in urban and peri-urban areas, where livestock keeping is expanding.

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