Cassava brown streak virus disease

Cassava brown streak virus disease (CBSD) is a damaging disease of cassava plants, especially troublesome in East Africa, first identified in 1936 in Tanzania and since spread to other coastal areas from Kenya to Mozambique. Two distinct viruses are responsible, Cassava brown streak virus and Ugandan cassava brown streak virus, both with positive-sense single-stranded RNA genomes in the genus Ipomovirus, family Potyviridae, producing generally similar symptoms. Root rot renders the cassava tuber inedible, causing severe loss of economic value, so current research focuses on cultivars that do not develop the necrotic rot; the disease is considered the biggest threat to food security in coastal East Africa and around the eastern lakes. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/