RESUMEN
Introduction: International organizations now actively promote and implement One Health collaborative approaches to prevent, detect, and control diseases in humans and animals, recognizing the critical importance of the veterinary and agricultural sectors. Moreover, Veterinary Services are chronically under-resourced, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Given the importance of National Veterinary Services to food security, nutrition, poverty alleviation, and global health security, strengthening veterinary capacity is a priority for the international community. The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) outlines a set of minimum competencies veterinarians need to support National Veterinary Services effectively. To improve the quality of veterinary education, Ethiopia has developed a new 2020 national curriculum that is harmonized with the WOAH competencies. Methods: A mixed methods needs assessment was conducted to identify barriers and challenges that Ethiopian veterinary medicine programs have faced in implementing the new WOAH-harmonized national curriculum. Representatives from active veterinary programs granting a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree were invited to share their experiences via an online survey and follow-up focus group discussion. Results: Fourteen veterinary programs, representing 93% of eligible programs nationwide, participated in the needs assessment. Quantitative analysis indicated that the most difficult topics associated with the new curriculum included Organization of Veterinary Services (Competency 3.1), Inspection and Certification Procedures (3.2), and practical applications of the regulatory framework for disease prevention and control (multiple competencies). Challenges associated with specific instructional methodologies, particularly the facilitation of off-site (private and public sector) student training, were also perceived as barriers to implementation. Focus group discussions elucidated reasons for these challenges and included limitations in faculty expertise, resource constraints (e.g., supplies, infrastructure), and access to off-site facilities for hands-on teaching. Conclusion: The results of this needs assessment will be used to identify and prioritize solutions to implementation challenges, helping Ethiopian veterinary medicine programs move the new WOAH-harmonized curriculum from theory to practice. As veterinarians are integral partners in advancing One Health, strengthening the capacity of Veterinary Services can ultimately safeguard animal and human health, grow economies, and improve lives.
RESUMEN
This cross-sectional study with a cluster random sampling method was undertaken from November 2018 to May 2019 to estimate the prevalence and assess the potential risk factors of T. gondii seropositivity, and to assess the association of the T. gondii seropositivity with reproductive losses in small ruminants in Northwest Ethiopia. A total of 576 blood samples from 135 small ruminant flocks were collected and assayed for T. gondii IgG antibodies using the Toxo-latex slide agglutination test. A questionnaire survey was also conducted to gather information on the potential risk factors of T. gondii seropositivity and on the status of reproductive losses in the small ruminant flocks. The study demonstrated a high flock and animal level T. gondii seroprevalence of 96.3% (95% CI: 91% - 98%) and 70.48% (95% CI: 68% - 79%), respectively. Mixed effect logistic regression analysis of the potential risk factors showed that the odds of seropositive for T. gondii was significantly higher in sheep (OR = 1.7, 95%CI: 1.19-2.46) than in goats, in adult (OR = 1.6, 95%, CI: 1.11-2.31) than in young, in the presence of cats (OR = 2, 95%CI:1.32-3.04) than in the absence of cats, in the lack of knowledge on the role of cats as a pathogen source than knowing it (OR = 1.82, 95% CI:1.21-2.77). The study also showed that the likelihoods of experiencing the abortion, neonatal death and weak birth in the previous one year in T. gondii seropositive flocks were 20.76 (95% CI: 2.2-195.1, p < 0.001), 8.90 (95% CI: 1.99-83.0, p = 0.021) and 9.33 (95% CI: 1.1-86.2, p = 0.019) times more than the seronegative flocks, respectively. In conclusion, this study revealed high flock and animal level seroprevalence of T. gondii in the small ruminant population in northwest Ethiopia, suggesting that lamb and goat might be a source of this pathogen for human infection if their infected meat is consumed undercooked or uncooked. Besides, the observed association of T. gondii seropositivity with reproductive losses may suggest the economic importance of the pathogen for the small ruminant producers. Therefore, it warrants control attention to reduce its economic and public health burden in the study areas. Further works on the economic impacts, bioassay, isolation, and genetic characterization of the pathogen are suggested.