Sunguru virus: a novel virus in the family Rhabdoviridae isolated from a chicken in north-western Uganda.

Sunguru virus (SUNV), a novel virus belonging to the highly diverse Rhabdoviridae family, was isolated from a domestic chicken in the district of Arua, Uganda, in 2011. This is the first documented isolation of a rhabdovirus from a chicken. SUNV is related to, but distinct from, Boteke virus and other members of the unclassified Sandjimba group. The genome is 11056 nt in length and contains the five core rhabdovirus genes plus an additional C gene (within the ORF of a phosphoprotein gene) and a small hydrophobic protein (between the matrix and glycoprotein genes). Inoculation of vertebrate cells with SUNV resulted in significant viral growth, with a peak titre of 7.8 log10 p.f.u. ml(-1) observed in baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells. Little to no growth was observed in invertebrate cells and in live mosquitoes, with Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes having a 47.4% infection rate in the body but no dissemination of the virus to the salivary glands; this suggests that this novel virus is not arthropod borne as some other members of the family Rhabdoviridae.

Evidence that rodent control strategies ought to be improved to enhance food security and reduce the risk of rodent-borne illnesses within subsistence farming villages in the plague-endemic West Nile region, Uganda.

Rodents pose serious threats to human health and economics, particularly in developing countries where the animals play a dual role as pests: they are reservoirs of human pathogens, and they inflict damage levels to stored products sufficient to cause food shortages. To assess the magnitude of the damage caused by rodents to crops, their level of contact with humans, and to better understand current food storage and rodent control practices, we conducted a survey of 37 households from 17 subsistence farming villages within the West Nile region of Uganda. Our survey revealed that rodents cause both pre- and post-harvest damage to crops. Evidence of rodent access to stored foods was reported in conjunction with each of the reported storage practices. Approximately half of the respondents reported that at least one family member had been bitten by a rat within the previous three months. Approximately two-thirds of respondents practiced some form of rodent control in their homes. The abundance of rodents was similar within homes that practiced or did not practice rodent control. Together, our results show that current efforts are inadequate for effectively reducing rodent abundance in homes.