Thulaganyo Domfe

Mrs. Thulaganyo Domfe


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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2 November 2022 in Diagnostics
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
TDThulaganyo Domfe
Thulaganyo Domfe
ZNZikhona Njengele-Tetyana
Zikhona Njengele-Tetyana
NMNikiwe Mhlanga
Nikiwe Mhlanga
PTPhumlani Tetyana
Phumlani Tetyana
ASAmanda Skepu
Amanda Skepu
LSLucky Mashudu Sikhwivhilu
Lucky Mashudu Sikhwivhilu
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic disease that is caused by the Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV); Bunyaviridae: Phlebovirus. RVF disease can affect several different species, including ruminants, camels and humans and thus present a dual threat to public health and livestock food production in endemic regions. In livestock, the RVFV infection is characterised by an acute hepatitis, abortion and high mortality rates in new-born animals. The current RVF diagnostic techniques have shown good sensitivity. However, they require extensive sample processing and complex instrumentation. Owing to speed, low cost, ease of use, and most importantly, the ability to diagnose diseases at sites where they are managed, lateral flow immunoassays (LFIA) are the most widely used point-of-care (POC) tools for disease diagnosis. In this study, a lateral flow assay (LFA) device that is able to detect antibodies against RVFV, with a minimum detectable concentration of 0.125 mg/mL, was successfully developed. The LFA also successfully detected RVFV antibodies in reference RVFV sera. Protein A (ProA), which has the ability to bind immunoglobulins from different species, was used in the detection probe, giving the developed RVFV LFA potential for multi-species diagnosis.