Seroprevalence of small ruminant brucellosis and owners knowledge, attitude and practices in Chiro and Burka Dhintu Districts, West Hararghe, Ethiopia.

Brucellosis is one of zoonotic bacterial diseases with significant veterinary and public health consequences in sub-Saharan African countries, including Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study design was conducted with the objective of estimating the seroprevalence of small ruminant brucellosis and assessing owners' knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) on brucellosis in Chiro and Burka Dhintu Districts in Eastern Ethiopia. A total sample of 444 animals were taken using a cluster based multistage sampling technique. Screening for Brucella antibodies and confirmation of positive test results were conducted using Modified Rose Bengal Plate Test (MRBPT) and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (I-ELISA) respectively. For the questionnaire survey, 444 randomly selected sheep and goat owners were interviewed using a pretested structured questionnaire. The overall seroprevalence of small ruminant brucellosis was found to be 6.5 % (95 % CI: 4.6-9.3). The multivariable logistic regression analysis identified sex and age as potential risk factors (P < 0.05). More specifically, females were 3.4 times (AOR = 3.4, 95 % CI: 1.2-9.2) more likely to become seropositive than their counterparts, and the odds of seropositivity in adult sheep and goats was 5.6 times (AOR = 5.6, 95 % CI: 1.3-24.7) higher than that of young animals. The knowledge, attitude and practices of animal owners with regard to brucellosis were low, and the level of education was independently associated with the owners' knowledge and attitude. Moderate seroprevalence, combined with inadequate knowledge, attitudes, and practices of animal owners, makes small ruminant brucellosis a threat to animals and the entire community. Hence, strengthening veterinary services and raising community awareness about the disease is essential to reduce the impact on small ruminant productivity and minimize the risks to public health.

Seroprevalence of Brucellosis in Sheep and Goats With Owners' Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices in Garowe District, Nugal region, Somalia.

Brucellosis is an important neglected bacterial zoonotic disease in sub-Saharan Africa, including Somalia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Garowe district, Nugal region, Somalia, from May 2022 to January 2023 to estimate the seroprevalence of small ruminant brucellosis and assess owners' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward brucellosis. A total of 384 sheep and goats were selected using a simple random sampling technique and screened for Brucella antibodies by the Modified Rose Bengal Plate Test, and positive samples were then further confirmed using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. For the questionnaire survey, 384 households were selected randomly, and a structured questionnaire was used to assess owners' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward brucellosis. The overall brucellosis seroprevalence was 4.7% in small ruminants (95% CI: 2.8-7.3), and the true seroprevalence was calculated as 5.2%. According to the multivariable logistic regression analysis, sex was found to be a potential risk factor for small ruminant brucellosis (P < .05). More specifically, female sheep and goats were 9.13 times (aOR 9.13, 95% CI: 1.18-70.33) more likely to become seropositive than males. The owners' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward brucellosis were found to be low, and education level was associated with owners' knowledge (χ2 = 16.78; P < .001), attitudes (χ2 = 19.4; P < .001) and practices (χ2 = 34.0; P < .001). There is also a significant association between owner knowledge, attitudes, and practices and seropositivity of brucellosis in sheep and goats. Moderate seroprevalence, together with insufficient knowledge, attitudes, and practices of owners, makes brucellosis a threat to animals and the entire community. Hence, raising community awareness of the disease is essential to reduce the impact on small ruminant productivity and the risks to public health.

Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, and Risk Perception of Antimicrobial Use and Antimicrobial Resistance Among Dairy Farm Owners/Workers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most significant global health threats to the public, animals, and the ecosystem. Inappropriate use of antibiotics in food animals is considered a major driver of AMR in humans. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, practices, and risk perception (KAPP) of dairy farm owners/workers in Addis Ababa about antibiotic use and resistance. Methods: A face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire was conducted with 281 respondents in four selected subcities of Addis Ababa. The responses provided by each participant were recoded into a binary scale based on the mean score of each domain. Pearson chi-square was used to check the association between the KAPP and sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents and logistic regression analysis was done to explore the factors associated with KAPP. Results: Overall, more than half of the surveyed dairy farm owners/workers had good knowledge (57.7%) and appropriate practice (53.0%), while less than half of the respondents showed desirable attitudes (47.7%) and positive risk perceptions (42.7%). The findings revealed a strong association between the respondents' KAPP and education and between knowledge and risk perception and farming experience. Conclusion: This study found that continuous education of dairy farm owners/workers regarding antimicrobial usage and antimicrobial resistance in dairy farms will increase their awareness and perception of risk as well as motivate them to adopt desirable attitudes and appropriate practices, and consequently limit inappropriate use of antimicrobials leading to mitigating emergence of AMR.

Prevalence and Association of Trypanosomes and Sodalis glossinidius in Tsetse Flies from the Kafue National Park in Zambia.

Tsetse flies are obligate hematophagous vectors of animal and human African trypanosomosis. They cyclically transmit pathogenic Trypanosoma species. The endosymbiont Sodalis glossinidius is suggested to play a role in facilitating the susceptibility of tsetse flies to trypanosome infections. Therefore, this study was aimed at determining the prevalence of S. glossinidius and trypanosomes circulating in tsetse flies and checking whether an association exists between trypanosomes and Sodalis infections in tsetse flies from Kafue National Park in Zambia. A total of 326 tsetse flies were sampled from the Chunga and Ngoma areas of the national park. After DNA extraction was conducted, the presence of S. glossinidius and trypanosome DNA was checked using PCR. The Chi-square test was carried out to determine whether there was an association between the presence of S. glossinidius and trypanosome infections. Out of the total tsetse flies collected, the prevalence of S. glossinidius and trypanosomes was 21.8% and 19.3%, respectively. The prevalence of S. glossinidius was 22.2% in Glossina morsitans and 19.6% in Glossina pallidipes. In relation to sampling sites, the prevalence of S. glossinidius was 26.0% in Chunga and 21.0% in Ngoma. DNA of trypanosomes was detected in 18.9% of G. morsitans and 21.4% of G. pallidipes. The prevalence of trypanosomes was 21.7% and 6.0% for Ngoma and Chunga, respectively. The prevalences of trypanosome species detected in this study were 6.4%, 4.6%, 4.0%, 3.7%, 3.1%, and 2.5% for T. vivax, T. simiae, T. congolense, T. godfreyi, T. simiae Tsavo, and T. b. brucei, respectively. Out of 63 trypanosome infected tsetse flies, 47.6% of the flies also carried S. glossinidius, and the remaining flies were devoid of S. glossinidius. A statistically significant association was found between S. glossinidius and trypanosomes (p < 0.001) infections in tsetse flies. Our findings indicated that presence of S. glossinidius increases the susceptibility of tsetse flies to trypanosome infections and S. glossinidius could be a potential candidate for symbiont-mediated vector control in these tsetse species.

Determination of the Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium Associated with Poultry in Four Districts in Zambia.

The presence of antimicrobial-resistant Enterococci in poultry is a growing public health concern worldwide due to its potential for transmission to humans. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and patterns of antimicrobial resistance and to detect drug-resistant genes in Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium in poultry from four districts in Zambia. Identification of Enterococci was conducted using phenotypic methods. Antimicrobial resistance was determined using the disc diffusion method and antimicrobial resistance genes were detected using polymerase chain reaction and gene-specific primers. The overall prevalence of Enterococci was 31.1% (153/492, 95% CI: 27.1-35.4). Enterococcus faecalis had a significantly higher prevalence at 37.9% (58/153, 95% CI: 30.3-46.1) compared with E. faecium, which had a prevalence of 10.5% (16/153, 95% CI: 6.3-16.7). Most of the E. faecalis and E. faecium isolates were resistant to tetracycline (66/74, 89.2%) and ampicillin and erythromycin (51/74, 68.9%). The majority of isolates were susceptible to vancomycin (72/74, 97.3%). The results show that poultry are a potential source of multidrug-resistant E. faecalis and E. faecium strains, which can be transmitted to humans. Resistance genes in the Enterococcus species can also be transmitted to pathogenic bacteria if they colonize the same poultry, thus threatening the safety of poultry production, leading to significant public health concerns.

Determinants of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Veterinary Drug Dispensers toward Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Main Cities of Malawi: A Concern on Antibiotic Stewardship.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an emerging challenge to global public health. The use of antibiotics in the veterinary field is one of the contributing factors to AMR mostly due to poor knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of dispensers. Veterinary drug dispensers are expected to guide clients on indications, contraindications, and withdrawal periods of veterinary drugs. This study assessed veterinary drug dispensers' KAP toward AMR and associated potential contributing factors. A cross-sectional study, using a structured questionnaire, was conducted in three main cities of Malawi, namely Mzuzu, Lilongwe, and Blantyre. A total of 68 agrovet shops were selected using a simple random sampling technique. The KAP level was presented descriptively. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were run to investigate the relationships between the independent and outcome variable. Overall, the KAP score for knowledge, attitude, and practices was 46.7%, 49.2%, and 41.6%, respectively. The significant determinants of the knowledge were the practice of asking for a written prescription (OR: 16.291, 95% CI: 11.6-24.2) (p = 0.024), female (OR: 0.609, 95% CI: 0.3-0.9) (p = 0.001), and old age (≥35) (OR: 0.227, 95% CI: 0.1-0.5) (p = 0.04). Poor knowledge, negative attitude, and poor practices were observed among most of the participants. Sensitization and training on AMR and antimicrobial stewardship are recommended to address the KAP score gaps and the observed determinants among veterinary drug dispensers.

Prevalence and Molecular Identification of Schistosoma haematobium among Children in Lusaka and Siavonga Districts, Zambia.

Schistosomiasis remains a public health concern in Zambia. Urinary schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma haematobium is the most widely distributed infection. The aim of the current study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of urinary schistosomiasis and identify the strain of S. haematobium among children in the Siavonga and Lusaka districts in Zambia. Urine samples were collected from 421 primary school children and S. haematobium eggs were examined under light microscopy. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on the socio-demographic characteristics and the potential risk factors for urinary schistosomiasis. DNA of the parasite eggs was extracted from urine samples and the internal transcribed spacer gene was amplified, sequenced and phylogenetically analysed. The overall prevalence of S. haematobium was 9.7% (41/421) (95% CI: 7.16-13.08), male participants made up 6.2% (26/232) (95% CI: 4.15-9.03), having a higher burden of disease than female participants who made up 3.5% (15/421) (95% CI: 2.01-5.94). The age group of 11-15 years had the highest overall prevalence of 8.3% (35/421) (5.94-11.48). Participants that did not go fishing were 0.008 times less likely to be positive for schistosomiasis while participants whose urine was blood-tinged or cloudy on physical examination and those that lived close to water bodies were 9.98 and 11.66 times more likely to test positive for schistosomiasis, respectively. A phylogenetic tree analysis indicated that S. haematobium isolates were closely related to pure S. haematobium from Zimbabwe and hybrids of S. haematobium × S. bovis from Benin, Senegal and Malawi. The current study shows that urinary schistosomiasis is endemic in the study areas and is associated with water contact, and S. haematobium isolated is closely related to hybrids of S. bovis × S. haematobium strain, indicating the zoonotic potential of this parasite.

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profiles and Molecular Characterisation of Staphylococcus aureus from Pigs and Workers at Farms and Abattoirs in Zambia.

Pigs have been shown to be a reservoir for recently emerging livestock-associated Staphylococcus aureus (LA-SA), including methicillin resistant strains in many countries worldwide. However, there is sparse information about LA-SA strains circulating in Zambia. This study investigated the prevalence, phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of S. aureus from pigs and workers at farms and abattoirs handling pigs in Lusaka Province of Zambia. A total of 492 nasal pig swabs, 53 hand and 53 nasal human swabs were collected from farms and abattoirs in selected districts. Standard microbiological methods were used to isolate and determine antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of S. aureus. Polymerase Chain Reaction was used to confirm the species identity and detect antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes of isolates, whereas genetic diversity was evaluated using spa typing. Overall prevalence of S. aureus was 33.1%, 37.8% for pigs and 11.8% for humans. The isolates were resistant to several antibiotics with resistance ranging from 18% to 98% but were all susceptible to vancomycin. Typical LA-SA spa types were detected. The presence of plasmid mediated resistance genes such as tetM (12.8%), other resistance determinants and immune evasion cluster genes among the isolates is of great public health concern. Thus, continuous surveillance of S. aureus using a "One health" approach is warranted to monitor S.aureus infections and spread of antimicrobial resistance.

Seroprevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Rift Valley Fever in Livestock from Three Ecological Zones of Malawi.

The epidemiology of Rift Valley fever (RVF) is poorly understood in Malawi. Here, a cross-sectional study was conducted (March-June 2020) to investigate the seroprevalence and potential risk factors of RVF virus (RVFV) in cattle, goats, and sheep in three ecological zones of Malawi. A total of 1523 serum samples were tested for anti-RVFV IgG and IgM antibodies by ELISA. Additionally, a questionnaire survey was used to assess potential RVF risk factors. The overall seroprevalence was 17.14% (261/1523; 95% CI = 15.33-19.11) for individual livestock and 33.24% (120/361; 95% CI = 28.18-38.11) for the livestock herd. Seroprevalence was significantly high in sheep (25.68%, 95% CI = 19.31-33.26) compared with cattle (21.35%, 95% CI = 18.74-24.22) and goats (7.72%, 95% CI = 5.72-10.34), (p = 0.047). At the individual livestock level, the risk was elevated in female livestock (OR: 1.74, 95% CI = 1.08-12.82) (p = 0.016), while at the herd level, areas receiving approximately 1001-1500 mm of rainfall (OR: 2.47, 95% CI = 1.14-5.37) (p = 0.022), areas of rainfall amount greater than approximately 1600 mm (OR: 2.239, 95% CI = 1.07-8.82) (p = 0.023), and mixed species herds (OR: 10.410, 95% CI = 3.04-35.59) (p = 0.001), were significant risk factors. The detection of IgM antibodies confirmed active circulation of RVFV in Malawi. Therefore, monitoring of RVF in animals, humans, and vectors using a "One Health" approach, along with community sensitization among the high-risk populations, could help mitigate the threat posed by this zoonotic disease in Malawi.