Associations between unpasteurised camel and other milk consumption, livestock ownership, and self-reported febrile and gastrointestinal symptoms among semi-pastoralists and pastoralists in the Somali Region of Ethiopia.

Contact with livestock and consumption of unpasteurised dairy products are associated with an increased risk of zoonotic and foodborne infection, particularly among populations with close animal contact, including pastoralists and semi-pastoralists. However, there are limited data on disease risk factors among pastoralists and other populations where livestock herding, particularly of dromedary camels, is common. This cross-sectional study used a previously validated survey instrument to identify risk factors for self-reported symptoms. Adults (n = 304) were randomly selected from households (n = 171) in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, a region characterised by chronic food insecurity, population displacement, recurrent droughts and large semi-pastoralist and pastoralist populations. Multivariable logistic regression assessed associations between self-reported symptoms and type of milk consumed, controlling for demographics and human-animal interaction. Consumption of days-old unrefrigerated raw camel milk was significantly associated with symptoms in the 30 days prior to the survey (AOR = 5.07; 95% CI 2.41-10.66), after controlling for age, refugee status, sanitation, camel ownership and source of drinking water and accounting for clustering. Consumption of days-old unrefrigerated raw ruminant milk was significantly associated with symptoms (AOR = 4.00, 95% CI 1.27-12.58). Source of drinking water and camel ownership, a proxy for camel contact, were significantly associated with the outcome in each model. There were no significant associations between self-reported symptoms and fresh or soured animal milk consumption. Research is needed to identify pathogens and major routes of transmission. Tailored communication campaigns to encourage safe food preparation should also be considered.

Murine transfer factors: dose-response relationships and routes of administration.

Transfer factors are protein immunomodulators that transfer the ability to express cell-mediated immunity from immunized donors to nonimmune recipients. The effects are antigen-specific. The experiments described in this report are a comparison of the relationship of the route of administration of various transfer factors to the magnitude of the delayed hypersensitivity responses (footpad swelling) to the corresponding antigen in the recipients. Three doses of each of four affinity-purified transfer factor preparations were studied. There were no significant differences in the footpad responses by recipients of either oral or subcutaneous transfer factor. These results support proposals for oral administration of transfer factors in clinical trials.