Physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics of honey from the sudano-guinean zone of West Cameroon

The physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics of honey from the sudano-guinean zone of West Cameroon were determined. The indices obtained were within their respective ranges recorded forhoney in temperate countries, except for calcium content whose value was on the upper side of its reference range. A bacterial type and eight fungi species contamination were found to have contaminated the honey from the local markets. However, there were no microbes present in honey harvested from the Bee Research Farm of the University of Dschang. This indicated contamination from secondary sources, during handling and or adulterations of honey from our local markets. Honey used in this study showed medium crystallisation tendency and granulation was faster when stored under dark than light at similar conditions. The mixed floral or nectar sources, fluctuating environmental conditions and processing procedures played major roles in the physico-chemical differences observed between the local and temperate honeys

Performance and carcass characteristics of broilers fed boiled cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L Walp) and or black common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) meal diets

A total of 256 broiler chicks were used to evaluate the effect of replacing meat meal with boiled cowpea and/or black common bean on the performance and carcass characteristics of broilers. At the starterphase, boiled cowpea and or black common bean meal constituted 11% of S1, S2 and a 1:1 ratio of boiled cowpea and black common (S3) diets replacing 100% of meat meal and 25% of fish meal. For thefinisher phase, 14% boiled cowpea (F1), 14% boiled black common bean (F2) and an equal proportion (1:1) of boiled cowpea and black common bean meals (F3) were used to replace 100% meat meal and25% fish meal. During the starter period, feed intake and weight gain were significantly (P 0.05)difference was observed between treatment groups for feed conversion ratio and feed cost for the production of 1 kg live body weight. At finisher, broilers started with the control starter diet and finishedwith any of the test diets significantly (P < 0.05) consumed more feed and acquired heavier weights compared to the other dietary combinations. Feed cost was significantly (P < 0.05) lower for birdsstarted the control starter diet and finished with either the control finisher diet or boiled cowpea diets. Carcass yield was significantly (P < 0.05) higher for birds finished with boiled cowpea diet compared tothe other treatments. Cowpea and black common bean boiled for 30 min under uncontrolled temperature and pressure could not be recommended for broiler's diet formulation

Abattoir-based estimates of mycobacterial infections in Cameroon

Mycobacteria cause major diseases including human tuberculosis, bovine tuberculosis and Johne’s disease. In livestock, the dominant species is M. bovis causing bovine tuberculosis (bTB), a disease of global zoonotic importance. In this study, we estimated the prevalence of Mycobacteria in slaughter cattle in Cameroon. A total of 2,346 cattle were examined in a cross-sectional study at four abattoirs in Cameroon. Up to three lesions per animal were collected for further study and a retropharyngeal lymph node was collected from a random sample of non-lesioned animals. Samples were cultured on Lowenstein Jensen media and the BACTEC MGIT 960 system, and identified using the Hain® Genotype kits. A total of 207/2,346 cattle were identified with bTB-like lesions, representing 4.0% (45/1,129), 11.3% (106/935), 23.8% (38/160) and 14.8% (18/122) of the cattle in the Bamenda, Ngaoundere, Garoua and Maroua abattoirs respectively. The minimum estimated prevalence of M. bovis was 2.8% (1.9–3.9), 7.7% (6.1–9.6), 21.3% (15.2–28.4) and 13.1% (7.7–20.4) in the four abattoirs respectively. One M. tuberculosis and three M. bovis strains were recovered from non-lesioned animals. The high prevalence of M. bovis is of public health concern and limits the potential control options in this setting without a viable vaccine as an alternative

Prevalence of tuberculous lesion in cattle slaughtered in Mubende district, Uganda

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of gross pathology suggestive of bovine tuberculosis (TB-like lesions) and evaluate animal’s characteristics associated with the risk of having bovine TB-like lesions among cattle slaughtered in Mubende district in the Uganda cattle corridor. METHOD: We conducted a cross sectional study in which 1,576 slaughtered cattle in Mubende district municipal abattoir underwent post-mortem inspection between August 2013 and January 2014. The presence of bovine TB-like lesions in addition to the animal’s sex, age, breed, and sub-county of origin prior to slaughter were recorded. Associations between the presence of bovine TB-like lesions and animal’s age, sex, breed, and sub-county of origin prior to slaughter were initially analysed using a univariable approach with the chi-square test, and subsequently with a multivariable logistic regression model to assess the combined impact of these animal characteristics with the risk of having a bovine TB-like lesion. Additionally, and as a secondary objective, tissue samples were collected from all carcases that had a bovine TB-like lesion and were processed using standard Mycobacterium culture and identification methods. The culture and acid fast positive samples were tested using Capilia TB-neo® assay to identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC). RESULTS: Of 1,576 carcasses inspected, 9.7% (153/1,576) had bovine TB-like lesions from which Mycobacterium spp and Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Complex (MTC) were isolated in 13 (8.4%) and 12 (7.8%) respectively. Bovine TB-like lesions were more likely to be found in females (OR = 1.49, OR 95% CI: 1.06–2.13) and in older cattle (OR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.64–3.7). When compared to Ankole cattle, Cross breed (OR = 6.5, OR 95% CI: 3.37–12.7) and Zebu cattle (OR = 2.57, 95% CI: 1.78–3.72) had higher odds of having bovine TB-like lesions. Animals from Kasanda (OR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.52–4.17) were more likely to have bovine TB-like lesions than cattle from Kasambya. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of study reveals that approximately one in ten slaughtered cattle presents with gross pathology suggestive of bovine TB in Mubende district in the Uganda cattle corridor district, however, we isolated MTC in only 8.4% of these bovine TB-like lesions. Therefore, there is a need to understand the cause of all the other bovine TB-like lesions in order to safe guard diagnostic integrity of meat inspection in Uganda

Knowledge of Bovine Tuberculosis, Cattle Husbandry and Dairy Practices amongst Pastoralists and Small-Scale Dairy Farmers in Cameroon

BACKGROUND:Control of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and zoonotic tuberculosis (zTB) has relied upon surveillance and slaughter of infected cattle, milk pasteurisation and public health education. In Cameroon, like many other sub-Saharan African countries, there is limited understanding of current cattle husbandry or milk processing practices or livestock keepers awareness of bTB. This paper describes husbandry and milk processing practices within different Cameroonian cattle keeping communities and bTB awareness in comparison to other infectious diseases. STUDY DESIGN:A population based cross-sectional sample of herdsmen and a questionnaire were used to gather data from pastoralists and dairy farmers in the North West Region and Vina Division of Cameroon. RESULTS:Pastoralists were predominately male Fulanis who had kept cattle for over a decade. Dairy farmers were non-Fulani and nearly half were female. Pastoralists went on transhumance with their cattle and came into contact with other herds and potential wildlife reservoirs of bTB. Dairy farmers housed their cattle and had little contact with other herds or wildlife. Pastoralists were aware of bTB and other infectious diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease and fasciolosis. These pastoralists were also able to identify clinical signs of these diseases. A similar proportion of dairy farmers were aware of bTB but fewer were aware of foot-and-mouth and fasciolosis. In general, dairy farmers were unable to identify any clinical signs for any of these diseases. Importantly most pastoralists and dairy farmers were unaware that bTB could be transmitted to people by consuming milk. CONCLUSIONS:Current cattle husbandry practices make the control of bTB in cattle challenging especially in mobile pastoralist herds. Routine test and slaughter control in dairy herds would be tractable but would have profound impact on dairy farmer livelihoods. Prevention of transmission in milk offers the best approach for human risk mitigation in Cameroon but requires strategies that improved risk awareness amongst producers and consumers

Molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium bovis in Cameroon

We describe the largest molecular epidemiological study of Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) in a sub-Saharan African country with higher spatial resolution providing new insights into bTB. Four hundred and ninety-nine samples were collected for culture from 201 and 179 cattle with and without bTB-like lesions respectively out of 2,346 cattle slaughtered at Bamenda, Ngaoundere, Garoua and Maroua abattoirs between 2012-2013. Two hundred and fifty-five M. bovis were isolated, identified and genotyped using deletion analysis, Hain® Genotype MTBC, spoligotyping and MIRU-VNTR. African 1 was the dominant M. bovis clonal complex, with 97 unique genotypes including 19 novel spoligotypes representing the highest M. bovis genetic diversity observed in Africa to date. SB0944 and SB0953 dominated (63%) the observed spoligotypes. A third of animals with multiple lesions had multiple strain infections. Higher diversity but little evidence of recent transmission of M. bovis was more common in Adamawa compared to the North-West Region. The Adamawa was characterised by a high frequency of singletons possibly due to constant additions from an active livestock movement network compared to the North-West Region where a local expansion was more evident. The latter combined with population-based inferences suggest an unstable and stable bTB-endemic status in the North-West and Adamawa Regions respectively