An international multidisciplinary project aims to identify the most important infections affecting African cattle, and to provide practical tools to lessen their impact.

Cattle are central to the lives of many African farmers. Infectious disease has a huge impact on these animals and, indirectly, on the farmers that rely on them. Yet our understanding of disease in African cattle is sketchy at best.

With new Wellcome Trust programme grant funding, an international collaboration led by Professor Mark Woolhouse at the University of Edinburgh aims to provide a much clearer picture of the impact of infectious disease in East African cattle.

While research usually focuses on individual diseases, this project will look at more than 80. By following a group of 500 calves in the first year of life, the group will be able to find out which infections are most important, how they affect the animals, and what genetic or immunological factors are associated with either resistance or susceptibility to disease.

As well as providing a much clearer picture of disease as it is experienced in the field, the research will also generate practical diagnostic tools suitable for use within resource-poor settings.