Unifying Cassava Brown Streak Disease surveillance

A project aimed at standardising surveillance methods used to monitor Cassava Brown Streak Disease across a number of Sub-Saharan African countries

Cassava Brown Streak Disease devastates one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s most important crops. It is spreading westwards across Africa from its early disease centres in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, potentially threatening Nigeria, the world’s largest cassava producer.

All agencies tackling the disease need to use similar recording and data management systems if a true international picture of the virus epidemiology is to be developed. This will enable targeted disease control measures, both to protect disease-free areas and to minimise further impact where it already exists.

So this project aims to unify surveillance methods for data consistency, and to deploy these methods in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Northern Zambia, North-Western Tanzania, and regions in Uganda where the disease is endemic to get an accurate picture of the current status of CBSD.

Countries
• Tanzania
• Uganda
• UK

International research collaboration
• National Crops Resources Research institute, Uganda
• International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Tanzania
• University of Bristol, UK

People
• Andy Bailey (Principal Investigator)
• James Legg
• Titus Alicai
• Sarah Nanyiti
• Rudolph R Shirima
• Clérisse Casinga Mubasi