Samson Mukaratirwa, DVM, MVSc, PhD

Dr. Samson Mukaratirwa is the Research Professor under the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM) One Health Center for Zoonoses and Tropical Veterinary Medicine.

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”.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Parasitic zoonoses
• Molecular epidemiology of vector-borne parasites (snail and tick-borne parasites)
• Host immunological responses to parasitic co-infections and co-morbidity with non-communicable diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, Experimental parasitology

PUBLICATION HIGHLIGHTS

1. Malatji M.P., Lamb J. and Mukaratirwa S. (2020). Molecular characterization of liver fluke intermediate host lymnaeids (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) snails from selected regions of Okavango Delta of Botswana, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa. Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports. Volume 17: 100318.
2. Ngcamphalala P., Lamb J. and Mukaratirwa S. (2020). Molecular identification of hookworm isolates from stray dogs, humans and selected wildlife from South Africa. Journal of Helminthology DOI: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-helminthology/article/molecular-identification-of-hookworm-isolates-from-stray-dogs-humans-and-selected-wildlife-from-south-africa/0959D30F8673B08598F26ECA57D79E61
3. Ramdas V.M., Mandree P., Mgangira M., Mukaratirwa S., Lalloo R. and Ramchuran S. 2020. Establishing miniaturised structural testing techniques to enable high-throughput screening of microorganisms and microbial components for unpaved road stabilisation application. Journal of Advanced Research. 21: 151-159.
4. Kalinda C., Mushayabasa S., Chimbari M.J. and Mukaratirwa S. (2019). Optimal control applied to a temperature dependent schistosomiasis model. Biosystems 175: 47-56.
5. Kalinda C., Chimbari M.J., Grant W.E., Wang H-H., Odhiambo J.N. and Mukaratirwa S. (2018). Simulation of population dynamics of Bulinus globosus: Effects of environmental temperature on production of Schistosoma haematobium cercariae. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 12(8): e0006651. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006651
6. Simelane M., Nyaba Z., Murambiwa P., Opoku A., Mukaratirwa S. and Shode F. (2018). Isolation, characterization, and biological evaluation of a potent anti-malarial drimane sesquiterpene from Warburgia salutaris stem bark. Malaria Journal 17: 296 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-018- 2439-6.
7. Chitanga S, Simulundu E., Simuunza, M.C., Changula K., Qiu Y., Kajihara M., Nakao R., Syakalima M., Takada; Mweene A.S., Mukaratirwa S. and Hang´ombe B.M. (2018). First molecular detection and genetic characterization of Coxiella burnetii in Zambian dogs and rodents. Parasites & Vectors 11:40, DOI 10.1186/s13071-018-2629-7.
8. Colleen Edith Archer, M Corrie Schoeman, Christopher Charles Appleton, Samson Mukaratirwa, Karen J Hope, and Glenda Beverly Matthews. (2018). Predictors of Trypanosoma lewisi in Rattus norvegicus from Durban, South Africa. Journal of Parasitology 104: 187-195.

For a complete list of publications, please visit Dr. Mukaratirwa's Google Scholar profile.