TAVIANI E.

Microbial contamination of surface waters is of particular relevance in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) since they often represent the only available source of water for drinking and domestic use. In the recent years, a growing urbanization, profound demographic shifts and drastic climate events have greatly affected LMICs...

The biodiversity protection and monitorning is one of main goals of natural history musems worldwide. Conservation issues are particularly important for freshwater fish which are one of the most threatened taxa for the consequences of climate change and human activies. In Mozambique freshwater rivers are poorly explored and the impact of...

Rickettsia africae is a bacterium of zoonotic importance, which causes African tick bite fever (ATBF) in humans. This pathogen is transmitted by ticks of the genus Amblyomma, with Amblyomma hebraeum and Amblyomma variegatum being the major vectors. Tick species other than the above-mentioned have also been reported to carry R. africae DNA....

Recent molecular advances in microbiology have greatly improved the detection of bacterial pathogens in the environment. These improvements and a downward trend in the cost of molecular detection methods have contributed to increased frequency of detection of pathogenic microorganisms where traditional culture-based detection methods have...

Integrative conjugative elements (ICEs) are a class of self-transmissible mobile elements that mediate horizontal gene transfer in bacteria, and play an important role in bacterial evolution. Since 1992, ICEs of the SXT/R391 family have been found to be widely distributed among Vibrio cholerae strains isolated in Asian countries. Here we...

Coconut is one of the main cash crop in Mozambique, which occupied the second position after Tanzania in coconut production in Africa. Coconut production was drastically affected by the occurrence of a devastating Coconut Lethal Yellowing Disease (CLYD) epidemics, which reduced significantly the coconut yields. CLYD symptoms triggered upon...

Cholera is still a major public health concern in many African countries. In Angola, after a decade of absence, cholera reemerged in 1987, spreading throughout the country until 1996, with outbreaks recurring in a seasonal pattern. In 2006 Angola was hit by one of the most severe outbreaks of the last decade, with ca. 240,000 cases reported. We...

Introduction: Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) represents one of the leading cause of diarrhoea in developing countries. In this study a molecular approach was applied for the detection of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) circulating in Maputo, Mozambique. Methodology: All isolates were PCR tested for species-specific genes and for 11...

Introduction: Africa is increasingly affected by cholera. In Mozambique, cholera appeared in the early 1970s when the seventh pandemic entered Africa from the Indian subcontinent. In the following decades, several epidemics were registered in the country, the 1997–1999 epidemic being the most extended. Since then, Mozambique has been considered...