Prevalence of bovine trypanosomosis and tsetse fly density in Loka Abaya and Derara districts in Sidama Regional State, Ethiopia.

Animal trypanosomosis is a significant livestock disease with economic and social repercussions, reducing the supply of animal products and restricting the utilization of animals for traction and transportation. In Ethiopia, it is prevalent and poses a major hindrance to the advancement of animal production. This repeated cross-sectional study was aimed at assessing seasonal variation in bovine trypanosomosis prevalence and tsetse fly density and identifying the potential risk factors in the Loka Abaya and Derara districts of the Sidama National Regional State. Blood samples were collected from 964 cattle, 484 samples during the dry season, and 480 during the wet season. The buffy coat method was employed to analyze these samples. Furthermore, 78 standard NGU traps were set up at various locations in the two districts during both seasons for entomological investigation. The overall apparent prevalence of trypanosomosis was 9% (95% CI 7.3-11.0), without a significant difference (p > 0.05) between the dry season (7.4%) and wet season (10.6%). The apparent prevalence was significantly higher in Loka Abaya (11.8%) than in Derara (6.3%) district (OR = 2.04; p = 0.003) and in cattle with black coat color (29%) than in mixed color (6.8%) (OR = 5.3; p < 0.001). The majority of infections were caused by Trypanosoma congolense (70%), followed by T. vivax (29%), and mixed infections (1%) with the two species. The average packed cell volume (PCV) was significantly (p < 0.0001) lower in infected animals (20.7 ± 4%) compared to uninfected ones (25.5 ± 5.4%), in cattle examined during the dry season (24.1 ± 6%) versus the wet season (26.1 ± 4.7%), in cattle sampled from the Loka Abaya district (24.2 ± 5.5%) versus Derara district (26 ± 5.3%), and in cattle with poor body condition (23.6 ± 5.7%) compared to those with good body condition (26.5 ± 5.3%). A total of 5282 flies were captured during the study, with 4437 (84%) being tsetse flies (Glossina pallidipes), 439 (8.3%) Tabanids, 190 (3.6%) Stomoxys spp., and 216 (4.1%) Musca spp. The apparent density (AD) of G. pallidipes was 28.4 flies/trap/day, showing no statistically significant difference between wet (32.1) and dry (24.6) seasons (p > 0.05). The AD of G. pallidipes was significantly (p < 0.001) higher in the Loka Abaya district (57.3) than in the Derara district (0.9). The study highlights a moderate trypanosomosis apparent prevalence and high AD of G. pallidipes, showing significant variation between the study districts but no seasonal difference. The observed apparent prevalence of trypanosomosis and tsetse fly density notably affects animal health and productivity. As a result, strategies for vector control like insecticide-treated targets, trypanocidal medications for infected animals, and community-based initiatives such as education and participation in control programs are recommended.

Assessment of occupational exposure to lead among workers engaged in a city bus garage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a comparative cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Lead is one of the most nonessential toxic heavy metal agents found in automotive garages. The occupational exposure of garage workers to lead commonly poses acute and chronic health risks that can be prevented. In Ethiopia, there have been limited studies on lead exposure among garage workers, who overemphasize exposure to lead. This study aimed to assess occupational blood lead levels and associated factors in garage workers using a cross-sectional comparative design. METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional study design was used to compare the occupational blood lead levels of 36 randomly selected garage workers and 34 office workers who were matched by age and sex. Blood specimens were collected by trained medical laboratory experts. The collected blood samples were tested in a certified laboratory using a microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometry (MP-AES) device at a wavelength of 405.78 nm. Excel and SPSS Version 26 were used for data management and analysis, respectively. RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of the exposed group was 39.0 (7.5) years, whereas the mean age of the unexposed group was 38.0 (6.1) years. The occupational mean (SD) blood-lead-level in the exposed groups was 29.7 (12.2) µg/dl, compared to 14.8 (9.9) µg/dl among the unexposed groups. The mean blood-lead level among the exposed workers was significantly different from that among the unexposed workers (P < 0.01). Of all the study participants, only 22.2% of the exposed groups had blood lead levels higher than the World Health Organization's recommended limit of 40 µg/dl. The main significant predictors of occupational blood-lead-level exposure among workers were extra working hours, service years, and having a previous (prior) employment history in a garage. The occupations of the two groups did not significantly differ in terms of blood-lead levels (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The BLL of the Garage workers was significantly greater than that of the Non-Garage workers. Hence, it is advised that garage management should encourage workers to use exposure prevention methods, such as washing their hands before eating and taking showers after the completion of work, by providing regular occupational safety training.

Development and validation of liquid chromatography method for simultaneous determination of multiclass seven antibiotic residues in chicken tissues.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotics are routinely used on poultry for therapy and prevention of diseases and to enhance animal growth. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a sensitive and reliable liquid chromatography with UV detection (LC-UV) method for the simultaneous determination of seven multiclass antibiotic residues (amoxicillin, ampicillin, penicillin, sulfamethoxazole, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, and erythromycin) in chicken tissues. METHODS: The liquid chromatography method with UV detection was optimized for complete separation of the seven selected antibiotic compounds with reversed phase and isocratic elution using Hypersil BDS-C18 (3 µm, 100 mm × 4 mm) column. The mobile phase consisted a ratio of 0.05 M Na2HPO4, acetonitrile and methanol (70:10:20), at UV absorption wavelength of 230 nm. The column thermostat was set at 40 °C, the mobile phase flow rate was 1 mL min-1, and the injection volume was 20 µL. RESULTS: All the seven standard compounds were eluted within 14 min. The results for: linearity, precision, sensitivity, accuracy, specificity, decision limit (CCα), detection capability (CCß), suitability and method robustness were validated according to the criteria of Commission Decision 2002/657/EC guidelines. Calibration plot correlation coefficients ranged from 0.9983 to 0.9998 and the percent relative standard deviations for repeated analysis were below 5% indicating acceptable method precision. The limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) ranged from 0.098-0.255 µg kg-1 to 0.297-0.574 µg kg-1, respectively. The accuracy study yielded recoveries in the ranges 98.1-107% for the pure compounds and 94.0-102% for the spiked drug free chicken tissue samples. CONCLUSIONS: The method was found to be appropriate for simultaneous determination of five different classes of seven antibiotic residues in chicken tissues. Furthermore, this is the first instance for the simultaneous determination of seven multiclass, multi-residues analysis using LC-UV from chicken tissue samples. This is a cost-effective and alternative method with simple instrumentation approach for laboratories that lack highly specialized state-of-the-art instrumentation.