Dr. Samson Mukaratirwa

About

Dr. Samson Mukaratirwa is the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM).

Dr. Mukaratirwa is from Zimbabwe and graduated (DVM) from ISCA-Bayamo, Cuba, now the University of Granma, in 1988. After completing his studies he worked briefly as a Government Veterinary Officer in Harare, Zimbabwe, before moving to the Central Veterinary Laboratories where he worked as a Veterinary Research Officer for 3 years. During his tenure at the Central Veterinary Laboratories, he was awarded a scholarship by the Department of International Development (DFID)-UK to study for MVSc in Applied Parasitology at the University of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine which he completed in 1991.

From 1993-1995 he was awarded a fellowship by the Danish Development Agency (DANIDA) to study “Genetic diversity of snail intermediate hosts of schistosomiasis in Zimbabwe and was jointly hosted by the Blair Research 

Laboratory in Harare, Zimbabwe, and the Danish Bilharziasis laboratory in Denmark and was awarded a PhD by the University of Copenhagen in 1995.

Dr. Mukaratirwa is a strong advocate for a “One Health” approach in finding solutions to prevent and control parasitic zoonoses endemic in southern Africa.  His main research interest is in a variety of tropical parasitic diseases of economic and public health importance and he has a passion for “Neglected Parasitic Zoonoses” affecting the resource-communities in sub-Saharan Africa which includes Taenia solium cysticercosis, schistosomiasis, fasciolosis and trichinellosis.

Prior to coming to RUSVM, Dr. Mukaratirwa served in several leadership capacities including the Dean and Head of the School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal and the Dean of Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Zimbabwe. He is a member of various professional organizations and has previously served as a World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, OIE – World Organization for Animal Health temporary expert on neglected zoonotic diseases and Coordinator of the “Pan-African One Health Platform on Neglected Zoonotic Diseases”.

Publications

  1. Anderson, A., Kotzé, J., Shwiff, S.A., Hatch, B., Slootmaker, C., Conan, A., Knobel, D.L. & Nel, L.H. (2019) A bioeconomic model for the optimization of local canine rabies control. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 13(5): e0007377. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007377 
  2. Berrian, A.M., Martínez-López, B., Quan, V., Conrad, P.A., van Rooyen, J., Simpson, G.J.G., Frean, J., Weyer, J., Rossouw, J., Knobel, D.L. & Blumberg, L.H. (2019) Risk factors for bacterial zoonotic pathogens in acutely febrile patients in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Zoonoses and Public Health 66(5): 458-469. doi: 10.1111/zph.12577 
  3. Stewart, K.M., Norton, T.M., Mitchell, M.A. & Knobel, D.L. (2018) Sea turtle education program development, implementation, and outcome assessment in St. Kitts, West Indies. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 17(2): 216-226. 
  4. Conan, A., Meyer, A., Reininghaus, B., van Rooyen, J. & Knobel, D.L. (2018) A live weight-heart girth relationship in Nguni-type and Brahman-type cattle as a tool for small-scale farmers in South Africa. Applied Animal Husbandry and Rural Development 11: 46-52. 
  5. Grover, M., Bessell, P., Conan, A., Polak, P., Sabeta, C.T., Reininghaus, B. & Knobel, D.L. (2018) Spatiotemporal epidemiology of rabies virus at an interface between domestic dogs and wildlife in South Africa. Scientific Reports 8: 10864. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-29045-x 
  6. Simpson, G.J.G., Quan, V., Frean, J., Knobel, D.L., Rossouw, J., Weyer, J., Marcotty, T., Godfroid, J. & Blumberg, L.H. (2018) Prevalence of selected zoonotic diseases and risk factors at a human-wildlife-livestock interface in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases 18(6): 303-310. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2017.2158 
  7. Byaruhanga, C., Collins, N.E., Knobel, D.L., Khumalo, Z.T.H., Chaisi, M.E. & Oosthuizen, M.C. (2018) Molecular detection and phylogenetic analysis of Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma centrale amongst transhumant cattle in north-eastern Uganda. Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases 9: 580-588. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.01.012 
  8. Conan, A., Napier, P., Shell, L., Knobel, D.L., Dundas, J, Scorpio, D. & Ketzis, J. (2017) Heterogeneous distribution of Dirofilaria immitis in dogs in St Kitts, West Indies, 2014-2015. Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports 10: 139-142. doi: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2017.10.006 
  9. Conan, A., Geerdes, J.A.C., Reininghaus, B., Akerele, O.A., Simpson, G.J.G. & Knobel, D.L. (2017) Census and rabies vaccination coverage of owned dog populations in four resource-limited rural communities, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Journal of the South African Veterinary Association  88(0): a1529. doi: 10.4102/jsava.v88i0.1529 
  10. Conan, A., O’Reilly, C., Ogola, E., Ochieng, J.B., Blackstock, A.J., Omore, R., Ochieng, L., Moke, F., Parsons, M.B., Xiao, L., Roellig, D., Farag, T.H., Nataro, J.P., Kotloff, K.L., Levine, M.M., Mintz, E.D., Breiman, R.F., Cleaveland, S. & Knobel, D.L. (2017) Animal-related factors associated with moderate-to-severe diarrhea in children younger than five years in western Kenya: a matched case-control study. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 11(8): e0005795. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005795 
  11. Knobel, D.L, Arega, S.M., Reininghaus, B., Simpson, G.J.G., Gessner, B.D., Stryhn, H. &. Conan, A. (2017) Rabies vaccine is associated with decreased all-cause mortality in dogs. Vaccine 35: 3844-3849. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.05.095 
  12. Hiby, E., Nattras Attema, K., Brimley, R., Hammond-Seaman, A., Jones, M., Rowan, A., Fogelberg, E., Kennedy, M., Balaram, D., Nel, L., Cleaveland, S., Hampson, K., Townsend, S., Lembo, T., Rooney, N., Whay, H.R., Pritchard, J, Murray, J., van Dijk, L., Waran, N., Bacon, H., Knobel, D.L., Tasker, L., Baker, C. & Hiby, L. (2017) Scoping review of indicators and methods used to evaluate the impact of dog population management interventions. BMC Veterinary Research 13:143. doi: 10.1186/s12917-017-1051-2 
  13. Artemiou, E., Conan, A., Knobel, D.L., Thompson, R., Spackman, C. & Kelly, P.J. (2017) Children’s attitudes towards cats on St. Kitts, West Indies. Anthrozoös 30(2): 263-271. doi:10.1080/08927936.2017.1311030 
  14. Gessner, B., Knobel, D.L., Conan, A. & Finn, A. (2017) Could the RTS,S/AS01 meningitis safety signal really be a protective effect of rabies vaccine? Vaccine 35(5): 716-721. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.12.067 
  15. Berrian, A.M., van Rooyen, J., Martínez-López, B., Knobel, D.L., Simpson, G., Wilkes, M.S. & Conrad, P.A. (2016) One Health profile of a community at the wildlife-domestic animal interface, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 130: 119-128. doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.06.007 
  16. Barongo, M.B., Bishop, R.P., Fèvre, E.M., Knobel, D.L. & Ssematimba, A. (2016) A mathematical model that simulates control options for African swine fever virus. PLoS ONE 11(7): e0158658. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0158658 
  17. Byaruhanga, C., Collins, N.E., Knobel, D.L., Chaisi, M.E., Vorster, I., Steyn, H.C. & Oosthuizen, M.C. (2016) Molecular investigation of tick-borne haemoparasite infections among transhumant zebu cattle in Karamoja Region, Uganda. Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports 3-4: 27-35. doi: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2016.06.004 
  18. Keehner, J.R., Cruz-Martinez, L. & Knobel, D.L. (2016) Conservation value, history and legal status of non-native white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. Tropical Conservation Science 9(2): 758-775.  
  19. van Schalkwyk, O.L., De Clercq, E.M., De Pus, C., Hendrickx, G. & Knobel, D.L. (2016) Heterogeneity in a communal cattle farming system in a zone endemic for foot and mouth disease in South Africa. Geospatial Health 11(2): 338. doi: 10.4081/gh.2016.338 
  20. Kolo, A.O., Sibeko-Matjila, K.P., Maina, A.N., Richards, A.L., Knobel, D.L. & Matjila, P.T. (2016) Molecular detection of zoonotic rickettsiae and Anaplasma spp. in domestic dogs and their ectoparasites in Bushbuckridge, South Africa. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases 16(4): 245-252. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2015.1849 
  21. van Schalkwyk, O.L., Knobel, D.L., De Clercq, E.M., De Pus, C., Hendrickx, G. & Van den Bossche, P. (2016) Description of events where African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) strayed from the endemic foot-and-mouth disease zone in South Africa, 1998-2008. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 63(3): 333-347 doi: 10.1111/tbed.12280


     See All OHRF Appointees