Spatio-temporal investigation of reported cases of animal rabies in Ghana from 2010 to 2017.

BACKGROUND: Rabies is a zoonotic disease transmitted mainly by animals, especially dogs. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the article was to examine reported cases of animal rabies in Ghana for trends to provide information that could be helpful to control the disease. METHOD: Retrospective analyses of reported cases of rabies in Ghana from 2010 to 2017. RESULTS: In all, 328 rabies cases were recorded in animals in the period under review. The predominant species involved were dogs (299; 91.2%) and cats (12; 3.7%). Other species included pigs (4; 1.2%), goats (4; 1.2%), monkeys (4; 1.2%), sheep (2; 0.6%), bats (2; 0.6%) and cattle (1; 0.3%). The numbers of reported cases in animals were markedly higher than those in humans except in 2013 and 2017. There was a positive but weak correlation between cases in animals and humans which could be due to lack of reporting collaboration between institutions responsible for these. Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions were identified as hotspots in the period under review, while January and August were the months with the highest peaks for cases reported. Cases reported in rainy season were significantly higher than those in dry season. Poisson regression for spatio-temporal analyses showed no statistical significance in predicting number of rabies cases (response variable) from year, month, season, region and affected species (predictor variables). CONCLUSION: Rabies remained endemic in Ghana during 2010-2017 with cases reported in nearly every month of the year during this period. There was a significant seasonal pattern with higher proportion of cases reported in the rainy/wet season compared to the dry season.

Haematology of N'Dama and West African Shorthorn cattle herds under natural Trypanosoma vivax challenge in Ghana.

Background: Animal trypanosomosis is a major cause of economic loss in livestock production in Africa. A suggested control measure is to use breeds with traits of trypanotolerance. The study examines the effect of natural Trypanosoma vivax challenge on haematological parameters in two trypanotolerant cattle [N'Dama and West African Short Horn (WASH)] herds. Methods:T. vivax-specific primers were used to diagnose T. vivax infection in an N'Dama herd at Cape Coast in southern Ghana and a WASH herd at Chegbani in northern Ghana from May to July 2011 in a cross-sectional study. Levels of haematological parameters comprising packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb) concentration and total red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) counts; differential WBC counts (neutrophils, lymphocytes, eosinophils, monocytes and basophils); and RBC indices of mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were determined in blood samples and then compared between infected and uninfected cattle. Results: We found that haematological indices for infected and uninfected animals in both breeds were within the normal range. However, the mean PCV values for T. vivax-infected WASH and N'Dama were lower in infected compared to uninfected animals. The difference was significant ( p< 0.05) in N'Dama but not in WASH. The RBC indices were higher in infected N'Dama compared to infected WASH with a significant difference in total RBC ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: We conclude from our findings that despite the presence of infection by T. vivax, N'Dama and WASH cattle maintained their haematological parameters within acceptable normal ranges, and this underscores the need for routine diagnosis and treatment so that such trypanotolerant cattle do not serve as potential reservoirs of trypanosome parasites.

Assessment of practices, capacities and incentives of poultry chain actors in implementation of highly pathogenic avian influenza mitigation measures in Ghana.

The animal health services-seeking behaviour of animal owners related to prevention and control of animal diseases may influence their decisions as to whether or not to use services provided by the public or private sectors. The specific objective of this paper was to assess the practices, capacities and incentives of actors involved in highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) control to provide information for prevention and control in Ghana. Questionnaires were designed based on specific practices, incentives and capacities associated with each mitigation measure that was being assessed. Two peacetime preventive mitigation measures (biosecurity and reporting) and two outbreak containment measures (culling with compensation and movement control) were selected for evaluation. Supply chain actors were characterised based on baseline information. Tables were generated showing proportions of respondents in the various response categories in Likert-scale type itemised questionnaire. Mean scores (and their standard deviations) for the various actors with regard to mitigation measures were calculated. Pair-wise comparisons were done using t-ratio statistic and significance of differences were determined at a Bonferroni adjusted P-value of 0.0024. The study found statistically significant differences between certain actors for practices (biosecurity, reporting, culling and compensation and movement controls), incentives (reporting and movement control) and capacities (reporting and movement control). The findings provide lessons to help improve education and messages on HPAI and to help provide technical assistance targeted at specific actors to prevent and control future HPAI H5N1 outbreaks in Ghana.

Relationship between haemoglobin concentration and packed cell volume in cattle blood samples.

A convention that has been adopted in medicine is to estimate haemoglobin (HB) concentration as a third of packed cell volume (PCV) or vice versa. The present research set out to determine whether a proportional relationship exists between PCV and Hb concentration in cattle blood samples, and to assess the validity of the convention of estimating Hb concentration as a third of PCV. A total of 440 cattle in Ghana from four breeds (Ndama, 110; West African Short Horn, 110; Zebu, 110 and Sanga, 110) were bled for haematological analysis, specifically packed cell volume, using the microhaematocrit technique and haemoglobin concentration using the cyanmethaemoglobin method. Means, standard deviations, standard errors of mean and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Trendline analyses generated linear regression equations from scatterplots. For all the cattle, a significant and consistent relationship (r = 0.74) was found between Hb concentration and PCV (%). This was expressed as Hb concentration (g/dL) = 0.28 PCV + 3.11. When the Hb concentration was estimated by calculating it as a third of PCV, the relationship was expressed in linear regression as Hb concentration (g/dL) = 0.83 calculated Hb + 3.11. The difference in the means of determined (12.2 g/dL) and calculated (10.9 g/dL) Hb concentrations for all cattle was significant (p < 0.001), whereas the difference in the means of determined Hb and corrected calculated Hb was not significant. In conclusion, a simplified relationship of Hb (g/dL) = (0.3 PCV) + 3 may provide a better estimate of Hb concentration from the PCV of cattle.

Predictors of clients' satisfaction with delivery of animal health care services in periurban ghana.

The study used logistic regression modelling to determine predictors of satisfaction with delivery of animal health care services for 889 clients (livestock and poultry keepers) in periurban Ghana. Of the 15 indicators tested as predictors of satisfaction in this study, 8 were included in the best fit model. These were accessibility, availability of services, service charge, effectiveness, efficiency, quality of services, meeting client needs, and getting help. Efficiency and effectiveness were perceived by the respondents to be synonymous, as were service quality and effectiveness, as suggested by ORs > 10 when cross tabulated. Therefore, one or the other could be used in future studies but not both to avoid collinearity. The identified predictors could be targeted for improvement in quality of service delivery to livestock and poultry keepers in Ghana.

Salmonella enterica serovars from pigs on farms and after slaughter and validity of using bacteriologic data to define herd Salmonella status.

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the validity of using data obtained from slaughtered pigs for farm-level epidemiologic studies of Salmonella. The study involved groups of pigs from five farms. Salmonella isolates were obtained from on-farm samples, and a total of 370 on-farm and an additional 486 isolates from samples collected after commercial slaughter were subsequently tested. Preharvest samples included feces of individual animals from defined groups of nursery and finishing pigs on commercial farms and swabs from trucks. Postslaughter samples were cecal contents and mesenteric lymph node samples. The concordance between Salmonella serovars isolated from on-farm samples and those serovars isolated after slaughter varied widely among farms. Results of paired lymph node and cecal cultures were strongly associated (odds ratio, 7.0), but the agreement between on-farm and postslaughter results at the pig level was poor (kappa = 0.34). The results support recent findings that risk of exposure to Salmonella during transport and lairage remains a concern under contemporary industry conditions. The findings further imply that slaughter plant studies based on phenotyping of Salmonella alone (such as serovars) may not reliably indicate the Salmonella status of commercial swine farms.

Characterization of antimicrobial-resistant phenotypes and genotypes among Salmonella enterica recovered from pigs on farms, from transport trucks, and from pigs after slaughter.

The main objectives of this study were to determine antimicrobial resistance patterns among Salmonella serotypes and to evaluate the role of transport trucks in dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant strains of Salmonella. Salmonella from groups of nursery and finishing pigs on farms, from trucks, and from pigs after slaughter were compared using serotyping, patterns of antimicrobial resistance, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns. The five farms included in the study yielded 858 isolates representing 27 Salmonella serovars. The most common resistance observed (80% of all isolates) was to tetracycline; resistance to ampicillin (42%), chloramphenicol (31%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (30%), and piperacillin (31%) also were common. We found a correlation between serovar and antimicrobial resistance. High correlation was found between Salmonella Typhimurium var. Copenhagen and chloramphenicol resistance (Spearman rank correlation, rho = 0.7). Multidrug resistance was observed primarily in Salmonella Typhimurium var. Copenhagen (94%) and Salmonella Typhimurium (93%) and was much less common in the other common serovars, including Salmonella Derby (7%) and Salmonella Heidelberg (8%). Of the 225 isolates exhibiting the most common pentaresistance pattern in this study, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid-ampicillin-chloramphenicol-piperacillin-tetracycline, 220 (98%) were Salmonella Typhimurium var. Copenhagen, and 86% of the isolates of this serovar had this pattern. Isolates from the trucks were similar, based on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns, to those from the cecum and mesenteric lymph nodes of pigs on two of the farms, suggesting the probable infection of pigs during transport. Class I integrons were also common among various serovars.