Animal Brucellosis: Seropositivity rates, Isolation and Molecular Detection in Southern and Central Ethiopia.

Introduction: Brucellosis is a neglected bacterial zoonosis with serious veterinary and public health importance throughout the world. A cross-sectional study on animal brucellosis was conducted aiming to estimate seroprevalence and molecular detection. Methods: Blood samples were collected from a total of 4274 individual animals (cattle, small ruminants and camel) from 241 herds/flocks for serology and PCR. Serum samples were tested using multispecies I-ELISA. Blood clots from seropositive animals were also tested for brucellosis via PCR. Additionally, 13 vaginal swab samples were collected from animals (2 from bovine and 11 from small ruminants) with recent abortion history for bacterial isolation and molecular detection. Results: The overall individual animal and herd level seroprevalence was 3.95% (169/4274) and 18.26% (44/241) respectively. The animal level seroprevalence at species level was 1.58% (47/2982), 8.89% (97/1091) and 12.44% (25/201) in bovine, small ruminants (sheep and goat) and camel, respectively. Herd level seroprevalence were 5.43% (10/184), 52.08% (25/48) and 100% (9/9) in bovine, small ruminant and camel, respectively. The animal level seroprevalence of bovine from intensive and extensive systems was 1.10% (31/2808) and 2.87% (5/174) respectively. Blood clots tested for brucellosis via PCR were negative by RT-PCR. Brucella species was isolated from 6/13 (46.15%) vaginal swab samples cultured on Brucella selective agar, and shown to be B. melitensis using Real-Time PCR. Conclusion: Overall, seropositivity for camels was higher than what has been reported previously. Also, there was a notable difference in this study in cattle seroprevalence when comparing extensive with intensive systems, with the extensive system having much greater seropositivity.

Fasciolosis in sheep and goats slaughtered at abattoirs in Central Ethiopia and associated financial losses.

Fasciolosis is a serious animal health problem in Ethiopia where livestock is crucial for the domestic economy. A study was conducted in two Ethiopian abattoirs to estimate the prevalence of Fasciola infection in goats and sheep, and the monetary losses resulting from liver condemnation. Post-mortem examination of 925 animals (424 sheep and 501 goats) were examined by incision of the liver parenchyma for presence of the liver fluke, Fasciola. The direct financial losses were calculated based on the estimated prevalence, the market price of the liver, and the average number of sheep and goats slaughtered annually. The overall prevalence of fasciolosis was 10.4% (20.7% sheep and 1.6% goats). Among the studied variables, species of the study animal and age in sheep showed a statistically significant association with infection (p < 0.05). Based on the annual average of 89,054 sheep and 76,374 goats slaughtered, the annual average economic loss due to the condemned liver was estimated at 3700 US$ (185,232 ETH Birr) for sheep and 245 US$ (12,220 ETH Birr) for goats. This study revealed that the prevalence of fasciolosis was higher in sheep than in goats, and substantial economic losses occur for the sheep and goat industry. Hence, considering the irrigations schemes in the country, strategic control programs targeting Fasciola infection and intermediate hosts are warranted.

Knowledge, attitude, and practices of the community and meat industry workers towards Taenia saginata taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis in and around Jimma and Ambo towns of Ethiopia.

Taenia saginata taeniosis and bovine cysticercosis are prevalent in Ethiopia, however, data on the knowledge/attitude, and practice (KAP) of the community and meat industry workers in this regard is scarce. The present study aimed to investigate the KAP of the community and meat industry workers about T. saginata taeniosis/cysticercosis in Jimma and Ambo towns of Ethiopia. A cross-sectional KAP survey was performed on 293 community members selected using multistage random sampling and 97 meat industry workers from the two study towns. A questionnaire was constructed to collect sociodemographic variables, knowledge/attitudes about taeniosis/cysticercosis, raw meat consumption, latrine usage, and taeniosis treatment practices. Mixed effect (generalized) linear models were used to assess the association of self-reported taeniosis as well as the KAP scores with the demographic variables. The predicted proportion of self-reported taeniosis was 54% and 75% for Jimma and 44% and 70% for Ambo community and meat industry workers, respectively. The odds of self-reported taeniosis was higher for men (ORadj, 1.68, 95%CI, 0.97-2.93), and elementary/illiterate (ORadj, 1.46, 95%CI, 0.75-2.86) and high school education level (ORadj, 2.65, 95%CI, 1.45-4.93) compared to their counterparts. Most of the community members and the vast majority of the meat industry workers were knowledgeable about taeniosis but less conscious about cysticercosis. The knowledge/attitude score of the community was positively associated with the Jimma community (ßadj= 1.20, 95%CI 0.60-1.80), age (ßadj=0.03 points higher per year, 95%CI 0.00- 0.04), and men (ßadj = 1.20, 95%CI 0.64-1.76), while it was lower in elementary education/illiterate (ßadj = -1.60, 95%CI -2.31 to -0.95) and secondary/high school (ßadj = -0.83, 95%CI -1.46 to -0.23). The good practice scores of the community within both towns were negatively associated with increasing age (ßadj=-0.01 per year, 95%CI, -0.02 to 0.00), elementary/illiterate (ßadj = -0.60, 95%CI -1.01 to -0.19) and secondary/high school education (ßadj = -0.09, 95%CI -0.45 to -0.28), and urban community (ßadj = -0.47 95%CI, -0.82 to -0.12), while protestant/other (ßadj = 0.76, 95%CI 0.36 1.16) religion had higher scores compared to Orthodox religion. In conclusion, the predicted self-reported taeniosis proportion was moderately high, and the knowledge/attitude was substantial whereas, the practice was inferior. The association between the knowledge/attitude score and practice score was very weak. Therefore, public education to improve hygienic practices, risky culinary habits, taeniosis treatment, and backyard slaughtering were suggested.

Identification of risk areas and practices for Taenia saginata taeniosis/cysticercosis in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Bovine cysticercosis (BCC) is an infection of cattle with the metacestode stage of Taenia saginata, the beef tapeworm, which causes taeniosis in humans. BCC is responsible for considerable economic losses in the meat sector worldwide. This systematic review and meta-analysis summarizes the prevalence, risk factors and treatment efforts made so far on T. saginata infections in Ethiopia, providing a detailed analysis of different factors influencing the varying prevalence estimates in Ethiopia to gain more insight into the occurrence and risk factors of T. saginata taeniosis and cysticercosis to date. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted on data collected from published and grey literature accessed through an electronic database and manual search. RESULTS: The literature search resulted in 776 outputs of which 132 conformed to the predefined criteria. The average zonal prevalence of meat inspection-based BCC ranged from 2% in Buno-Bedele to 24.6% in Sidama zone. The pooled prevalence of BCC was influenced by the number of muscle/organs inspected, ranging from 3.4% (95% CI: 1.7-5.1%) using fewer predilection sites to 19.4% (95% CI: 13.3-25.4%) using inspection of a maximum number of predilection sites. None of the tested variables were significantly associated with BCC. Questionnaire-based taeniosis ranged between 19.0% in Halaba special woreda to 70.0% in Gedeo zone and stool test-based taeniosis varied from 0.6% in central Tigray to 10.7% in Gurage zone. Questionnaire-based prevalence of taeniosis was higher in people with a frequent raw beef consumption habit (pooled OR, pOR: 10.5, 95% CI: 6.0-17.9), adults (pOR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.7-3.6), men (pOR: 2.8, 95% CI: 2.1-3.6), and Christians (pOR: 2.0, 95% CI: 1.4-2.8) compared to less frequent raw beef consumers, younger people, women and Muslims, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This review revealed a widespread but variable occurrence of BCC and taeniosis in Ethiopian regions and zones, urging for harmonized and enhanced detection for improved control of the parasite. Accurate prevalence estimates using more sensitive tests, detailed risk factor analysis, as well as data on financial losses are needed to develop effective control strategies for the Ethiopian epidemiologic condition.

Toxoplasmosis in camels (Camelus dromedarius) of Borana zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia: seroprevalence and risk factors.

Toxoplasmosis is one of the most prevalent parasitic infections of medical and veterinary importance. A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2013 to January 2014 to estimate the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in camels from four districts of Borana zone, Southern Oromia, Ethiopia. In addition, a questionnaire survey was administered to 124 pastoralists to identify possible risk factors and to assess the awareness level of pastoral communities about toxoplasmosis. A total of 396 serum samples were examined for anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies using the direct agglutination test (DAT). Fisher's exact test and logistic regression were used for data analysis. An overall seroprevalence of 8.33 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] 5.60 %, 11.07 %) at animal-level and 37.5 % (95 % CI: 20.1 %, 57.4 %) at herd-level was found. The seroprevalence was significantly high in Moyale district (23.07 %) followed by Yabello (7.20 %), Dirre (3.77 %), and Arero (0.0 %) districts (P < 0.001). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that the likelihood of acquiring T. gondii infection was significantly higher in camels of Moyale district (adjusted OR = 5.89, 95 % CI 2.15, 16.12; P = 0.001) than Dirre district, in camels of >8 years old (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 4.95, 95 % CI 1.68, 14.55; P = 0.004) than camels of ≤4 years old. There was no significant association between herd-level seroprevalence of T. gondii infection and abortion history, herd size, and presence of domestic cats and wild felids (P > 0.05). The majority of interviewees were uneducated (82.25 %), and all had no knowledge of toxoplasmosis. All camel herders drink raw camel milk but consume cooked meat (90.32 %). Of the interviewees, 93.06 % are aware about soil-eating habit of camels and provide salt supplement for their camels. Majority of the respondents practice improper disposal of aborted materials (throw along the way) (88.70 %), and 73 % of the study participants do not wash their hands after handling aborted fetus. The results of the present study confirm relatively lower prevalence of T. gondii infection in camels reared in Borana zone. Age and study district are significant predictors of T. gondii seropositivity. The vast majorities of interviewed pastoralists were uneducated and practice poor biosecurity measures to prevent diseases. Education of pastoralists about biosecurity measures to prevent toxoplasmosis and further studies are warranted to unravel the economic and public health consequences of T. gondii infection.