Assessment of indigenous Shaka cattle structural indices reared in Shaka zone, south west Ethiopia.

The study encompassed quantitative traits of the Shaka cattle reared in Shaka zone, Anderacha and Masha weredas of south western, Ethiopia. The study covered quantitative parameters which were taken from 240 cows and 120 bulls from randomly slected120 households. The means for the quantitative traits were compared using Duncan's Multiple Range test, the values were considered significant at P < 0.05 and P < 0.01. The results of morphometrical measurements of bulls reared at Masha wereda had wider (P < 0.05) values for their pelvic width and the Chest Depth for the bulls aged ≥7 years was higher (P < 0.01). While the canon bone circumference was also wider when compared to the bulls reared at Anderacha wereda. Contrary the bulls aged ≤5 years and reared at Anderacha wereda had higher (P < 0.05) for Body Weight, Height at Withers and Chest Depth. Morphometrical measurement for cows ≤5 year age group and reared at Masha wereda have longer (P < 0.05) Neck Length and for cows ≥7 years have wider (P < 0.05) Hock Bone Circumference and Pelvic Width. Contrary the cows aged ≤5 years raised at Anderacha wereda has wider (P < 0.05) for Cannon Bone Circumference, and (P < 0.01) for Chest Girth, higher Body Weight, Rump Length, Ear Length, Neck Circumference and Chest Depth. Among the cows aged ≥7 years have longer (P < 0.01) face length and deeper (P < 0.05) Chest. There is a significant difference in the length index (LI2) and body ratio (BR) (P < 0.05) throughout the research locations, with Anderacha wereda having the higher result, and Masha wereda having the higher depth index (DI) and transverse pelvic index (TPI) (P < 0.05).The results of body indices of both sex indicate that, the cattle is suited for grazing in the forest areas and are of dual type.

Isolation, molecular detection and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Salmonella from raw cow milk collected from dairy farms and households in southern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Salmonella is one of the foodborne pathogens affecting public health around the globe. A cross-sectional bacteriological study was conducted from December 2019 to November 2020. This study aimed to isolate, molecularly detect and determine antibiotic susceptibility patterns of Salmonella from raw cows' milk collected from dairy farms and households in Hawassa, Arsi Negele, and Dale districts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 384 raw milk samples were collected using a simple random sampling technique. Standard bacteriological and biochemical tests were used to isolate Salmonella. The positive samples were further confirmed by the molecular test. Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was used for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Salmonella. RESULTS: Using bacteriological and biochemical detection tests, Salmonella was isolated from 10.42% (N = 40) of the total sample. However, in molecular detection, only 32 of the 40 isolates were confirmed to be Salmonella using PCR test. The prevalence was 8.54, 12.69, and 10.46% in Hawassa, Dale, and Arsi Negele districts, respectively. Bacteriological prevalence did not vary significantly between the districts (P > 0.05). Likewise, no significant (P > 0.05) variation was observed in the Salmonella isolation rate between households (12.5%) and farms (8.33%) as well as between dry (8.85%) and wet (11.98%) seasons. Based on herd size, the isolation rate of Salmonella was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in large-scale farms (19.51%) than in small (5.1%) or medium (5.6%) scale dairy farms. The result of the antibiotic susceptibility test showed that Salmonella isolates were 100% resistant to ampicillin, while they were 100% sensitive to ciprofloxacin. Multi-drug resistance (MDR) was demonstrated in all isolates. CONCLUSION: This study showed that Salmonella is widespread in the raw milk samples and developing MDR, which may be of public health concern in the study area. It is therefore important that dairy farmers and raw milk sellers in the study area take serious measures to avoid contamination of the milk with Salmonella spp. In addition, the active commitment of the animal health departments in the respective districts to sensitizing dairy farmers and the sensible use of antibiotics at the farm level can help to reduce the antibiotic resistance of Salmonella spp.

Aflatoxin contamination of human breast milk and complementary foods in southern Ethiopia.

Exposure to unsafe level of aflatoxin in early life may lead to growth faltering. However, the extent of contamination of breast milk and complementary foods is poorly examined. We determined aflatoxin M1 (AFM1 ) and B1 (AFB1 ) contamination of human breast milk and cereal-based cooked complementary foods, respectively, among households having children 6-23 months of age in Sidama zone, southern Ethiopia. Data were collected through two cross-sectional surveys implemented in the wet (n = 180) and dry (n = 180) seasons. Eligible households (n = 360) were recruited from three agroecological zones (lowland, midland and highland, each with sample size of 120) using a multistage sampling technique. AFB1 and AFM1 levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed to compare aflatoxin levels between seasons and across the agroecological zones. Among 360 breast milk samples tested, 64.4% had detectable AFM1 and 5.3% exceeded the 0.025 parts per billion (ppb) limit set by the European Union for infant milk. The median AFM1 in the lowlands was significantly higher than in the other agroecological settings (P < 0.001). By season, AFM1 was higher in breast milk samples collected in the dry season (P = 0.041). AFB1 was detected in 96.4% of the food samples tested, and 95.0% had concentration exceeding the permissible European Union limit of 0.1 ppb. The median AFB1 was significantly higher in the lowland (P = 0.002), but there was no difference between the seasons (P = 0.386). The study indicated that, in southern Ethiopia, foods intended for infants are heavily contaminated with AFB1 . Contamination of breast milk is also a significant health concern.

Aflatoxin exposure among lactating women in southern Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia and many other low-income countries, little is known about the exposure of lactating women to aflatoxin, which is a major health concern to the mother and her nursing infant. We determined the aflatoxin B1 contamination of family foods (AFB1) and urinary aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) of lactating women in Sidama, southern Ethiopia, and compared the levels across agroecological settings (lowland, midland, highland) and two seasons. We conducted two surveys (n = 360) that represented the dry and wet seasons of the locality. AFM1 and AFB1 were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis was made using Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test. The median (interquartile range) AFB1 was 0.94 (0.63-1.58) ppb. AFB1 was detected in 95.6% of the food samples, and 13.6% exceeded the 2.0 ppb threshold. We observed an increasing trend for aflatoxin exposure from highland to lowland (p < .001), but there was no difference between seasons (p = .743). The median (interquartile range) urinary AFM1 was 214 (undetectable to 2,582) ppt, and AFM1 was detectable in 53.3% of the samples. Urinary AFM1 showed significant difference among agroecological zones (p < .001) but not between seasons (p = .275). A significant but weak correlation was observed between AFB1 and urinary AFM1 (rs  = 0.177, p = .001). We concluded that lactating women in Sidama, especially those in the lowland area, have unsafe exposure to aflatoxin.