With the launch of VERYL® and VerYDiag®, Ceva continues to lead innovation in the fight against trypanosomosis, a deadly disease which threaters both human and animal health.
The vector-borne parasitic disease trypanosomoses and its human form, sleeping sickness threatens the lives of millions of people and cattle in 36 African countries. Parasites belonging to the genus Trypanosoma are transmitted to humans by tsetse fly bites which have acquired their infection from other people or from animals harbouring human pathogenic parasites.
The disease affects the people most exposed to the tsetse fly who live in rural areas and depend on agriculture, fishing and animal husbandry for their livelihoods. Not only does the disease potentially impact their own health but it is also a major constraint to cattle production in both sub-saharan Africa and South America.
Losses due to the disease are estimated to exceed USD 1 billion a year in Africa alone.
Unusually for an international animal health company, for more than a decade Ceva has steadily invested in research and development which has led to the launch of a wide range of products to help vets and cattle keepers in Africa and South America fight back against this disease. In mid-2016, this included the launch of the first-ever penside test for trypanosomosis, VerYDiag®. Eighteen months later, VerYDiag® has been well received by vets, NGOs, animal health institutions and farmers. And Ceva’s R&D pipeline continues to deliver.
Trypanosomosis deprives entire rural regions of a critical resource, cattle. Cows provide milk and meat, essential nutrients in the first 1,000 days of life and are equally important for their work as the major “vehicles” in ploughing for crop production. For these reasons, Ceva has invested for decades in the improvement of treatments and the development of new tools to combat the disease.
VERYL® is a unique formulation that combines a tried and tested drug to treat trypanosomosis, diminazene aceturate, with a medication used to treat parasitic worm infections, levamisole.
Ceva introduced a new combination product, VERYL® which simultaneously treats cattle for trypanosomosis and internal parasites.
VerYDiag®, a diagnostic kit opening up new horizons….
Since its introduction in 2016, we now have some great examples of how the test has been used in different countries:
In Burkina Faso and Mali, where a cattle genetic improvement program is underway. Infection with trypanosomes, the parasites that cause trypanosomosis, can reduce fertility. So, before cows are inseminated with semen from carefully selected bulls of improved breeds, VerYDiag® is used. Any cows which test positive are treated with a trypanocidal drug, such as Veriben®, before artificial insemination (AI) is carried out.
Previously, in some regions of Senegal and Cameroon it was thought that trypanosomosis occurred only at some times of the year. Careful testing with the VerYDiag® has revealed, however, that cattle can be infected throughout the year. This finding has enabled vets and herders to treat their animals earlier, before clinical signs are obvious, thereby minimising any reduction in productivity.
