Tuberculin screening of some selected Fulani lactating cows in north-central Nigeria

The prevalence of mycobacterial infection among lactating Fulani cows was investigated in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Kaduna State of Nigeria. Tuberculin testing using single comparative intradermal tuberculin test showed a 14.6 % positive, 4 % doubtful, and 81.4 % negative reactors. Mycobacterial infection was found to be present in the nomadic (constantly moving) and seminomadic (limited movement) management systems studied but management showed no significant effect on the prevalence of the disease. However, the prevalence was significantly higher in older age groups than the younger ones (P < 0.05).Peer reviewedSubmitted Versio

The radial pulsation of AI Aurigae

We present an analysis of eleven years of Stromgren by photometry of the red semiregular variable star AI Aurigae. An early period determination of 63.9 days is confirmed by the long-term light curve behaviour. The light curve shows semi-regular changes with a mean period of 65 days reaching an amplitude of 0.6 mag in some cycles. The b-y colour changes perfectly parallel the V light curve, suggesting radial oscillation to be the main reason for the observed variations. We estimate the main characteristics of the star (mass, radius, effective temperature) that suggest radial pulsation in fundamental or first overtone mode.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Diagnostic performance of GeneXpert and Ziehl-Neelson microscopy in the detection of tuberculosis in Benue State, Nigeria

Background: Accurate and timely diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) is key to effective treatment and management. This study was designed to compare the diagnostic performance of GeneXpert and Ziehl-Neelson (ZN) microscopy test using culture as the reference.Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary hospital to compare the performance of GeneXpert and ZN test among HIV and non-HIV patients. Sputum samples were collected from 261 suspected TB patients and analyzed in the laboratory using GeneXpert, ZN test and culture. Statistical analysis included calculation of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value. X2 was used to compare the outcome of diagnostic test and demographic variables. p-value &lt; 0.05 was considered significant.Results: Comparison of TB prevalence among urban versus rural areas using the three diagnostic tests are: ZN test: 32 (12.3%) vs 16 (6.1%; X2 7.63, P = 0.007); GeneXpert: 63 (16.1%) vs 20 (7.7%, X2 9.01, P = 0.003) and culture: 22 (8.4%) vs 10 (3.8% X2 4.44, P = 0.05). Also, prevalence of TB was significantly (P &lt; 0.05) higher among HIV negative 25 (9.6%) than HIV positive 23 (8.8%) patients. The overall prevalence of rifampicin resistance was 12 (4.60%). Out of 261 sputum samples examined for TB, 48 (18.38%) tested positive by ZN test, 62 (23.76%) by GeneXpert and 32 (12.26%) by culture. Two out of 32 samples that tested positive by culture were negative by GeneXpert. GeneXpert had higher sensitivity (93.75%) than ZN test (50.00%). However, they had equal specificity (86.03%). The sensitivity and specificity of ZN and GeneXpert among HIV patients was 58.33% (95% CI = 29.66–84.83) and 79.31% (95% CI; 69.24–87.26) and 91.67% (95% CI 61.51–99.79) and 80.67 (95% CI; 70.58–88.17) while among HIV negative patients; ZN test and GeneXpert assay had 45.00% (23.05–68.45) and 90.14% (84.04–94.50) and 95.00% (75.13–99.87) and 89.44% (83.13–93.96), respectively.Conclusion: GeneXpert demonstrated higher level of performance than ZN microscopy. We recommend the use of GeneXpert for diagnosis of TB in Benue State and Nigeria in general for effective treatment and management of tuberculosis.Keywords: Diagnostic performance, GeneXpert MTB/Rif, Ziehl-Neelson, Tuberculosis, HI

Relationship between Tibial conformation, cage size and advancement achieved in TTA procedure

Previous studies have suggested that there is a theoretical discrepancy between the cage size and the resultant tibial tuberosity advancement, with the cage size consistently providing less tibial tuberosity advancement than predicted. The purpose of this study was to test and quantify this in clinical cases. The hypothesis was that the advancement of the tibial tuberosity as measured by the widening of the proximal tibia at the tibial tuberosity level after a standard TTA, will be less than the cage sized used, with no particular cage size providing a relative smaller or higher under-advancement, and that the conformation of the proximal tibia will have an influence on the amount of advancement achieved

Bovine Tuberculosis Prevalence Survey on Cattle in the Rural Livestock System of Torodi (Niger)

BACKGROUND: Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) is a widespread zoonosis in developing countries but has received little attention in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Niger. Recent investigations confirmed the high incidence of the disease in cattle slaughtered in an abattoir in Niamey. The fact that most of the animals in which M. bovis has been identified were from the rural area of Torodi implied the existence of a probable source of BTB in this region. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of BTB infection in cattle and to identify risk factors for infection in human and cattle populations in Torodi. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A survey was carried out at the level of households keeping livestock (n = 51). The questionnaire was related to the potential risk factors and the presence of clinical signs of TB both in animals and humans. Comparative Intradermal Tuberculin Test was conducted to determine the TB status in cattle (n = 393). The overall apparent individual animal prevalence of tuberculin reactors was 3.6% (CI: 95%, 1.9-5.9), whereas the individual true prevalence was estimated at 0.8% (CI: 95%, 0.0-5.0). Using a multivariate logistic regression analysis and a classification tree analysis, the only household level risk factor that significantly influenced the presence of BTB in cattle was the presence of animals coughing in the herd (OR = 4.7, 95% CI: 1.12-19.71, p-value = 0.034). The lack of the practice of quarantine was borderline significant (OR = 4.2, 95% CI: 0.96-18.40, p-value = 0.056). CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The study confirmed that BTB is endemic in cattle in Torodi and the risk of the transmission of the disease to humans is potentially high. For the control of the disease in livestock, slaughtering of infected animals and the compensation of the owners is needed. Collaboration between the veterinary and the medical sectors, in the diagnosis, monitoring, prevention and control of BTB is strongly encouraged

Predictors of Bovine TB Risk Behaviour amongst Meat Handlers in Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Study Guided by the Health Belief Model

Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) is still a serious public health threat in developing countries. The aim of this study is to determine the social and cognitive factors predicting one of the risk behaviours amongst meat handlers in Nigeria, namely, eating Fuku Elegusi. This is the practice of eating the visibly infected parts of the lung in-order to convince customers to buy meat. The study is guided by the health belief model (HBM).This is a cross-sectional study of 349 randomly selected meat handlers in Oko-Oba Abattoir, in Lagos State. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression analysis were employed to determine perceptions and prevalence of risk behaviours and to identify predictors of eating Fuku Elegusi.Just over a quarter (28.1%) of the study participants knew that eating Fuku Elegusi could be a source of bTB in humans. The prevalence of eating Fuku Elegusi was found to be 22%. Across all knowledge indicators related to bTB, those who don't eat Fuku Elegusi exhibited better knowledge. Strong predictors of eating Fuku Elegusi were: being male (OR: 2.39, 95% CI: 1.10 to 5.19; p = 0.03), not knowing that eating Fuku Elegusi exposes to bTB (OR: 3.72, 95% CI: 1.69 to 8.22; p = 0.001), and the perception that one cannot sell meat without tasting it (perceived barrier) (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.13 to 1.60; p = 0.001). Lower risk of eating Fuku Elegusi was predicted by perceived susceptibility to bTB due to another risk behaviour, namely, not washing hands after handling meat (OR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.64 to 0.96; p-value = 0.021). Television and radio were the most acceptable media for TB prevention messages (78.5% and 75.6% respectively).Meat handlers in developing countries bear high risk to bTB owing to prevailing social and cognition determinants. Findings were largely consistent with the propositions of HBM

Tuberculosis in Humans and Cattle in Jigawa State, Nigeria: Risk Factors Analysis

A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2008 to March 2009 to identify risk factors for BTB in cattle and humans in Jigawa State, Nigeria. A total of 855 cattle belonging to 17 households were subjected to comparative intradermal tuberculin test (CITT) while interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtains information on the risk factors. Twenty-two (22) respondent (5%) amongst the families sampled had TB or clinical signs suggestive of TB, while 9 (2%) had reactor cattle in their herds; However, no statistically significant association (≥0.05) was observed between reactor cattle and human TB cases in the households. The habit of milk and meat consumption was found to be affected by occupation and location of the household residence. None of these risk factors (food consumption, living with livestock in the same house, and presence of BTB-positive cattle) were found to be statistically significant

Systematic review of bovine and zoonotic tuberculosis in the Western Pacific and the Southeast Asia regions of the World Health Organization

IntroductionTuberculosis (TB) remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide. We conducted this systematic review to understand the distribution of bovine and zoonotic tuberculosis in the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Southeast Asia Region (SEAR) and Western Pacific Region (WPR) to inform our understanding of the risk posed by this disease.MethodsA two-pronged strategy was used by evaluating data from peer-reviewed literature and official reports. A systematic search was conducted using a structured query in four databases (Web of Science, Scopus, Medline, and PubMed) to identify any reports of the occurrence of zoonotic TB. No language and time constraints were used during the search, but non-English language articles were later excluded. The official data were sourced from the World Organization for Animal Health’s (WOAH) World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS) and WHO’s global TB database.ResultsThe retrieved records from SEAR and WPR (n = 113) were screened for eligibility, and data about disease occurrence were extracted and tabulated. In SEAR, all of the five studies that conducted Mycobacterium speciation (5/6) in humans were from India, and the reported Mycobacterium species included M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. scrofulacium, M. kansasii, M. phlei, M. smegmatis and M. orygis. In WPR, Mycobacterium speciation investigations in humans were conducted in Australia (8), China (2), Japan (2), NewZealand (2) and Malaysia (1), and the reported Mycobacterium species included M. bovis, M. africanum and M. tuberculosis. Seven countries in WHO’s SEAR have officially reported the occurrence of Mycobacterium bovis in their animals: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. In WPR, the WAHIS information system includes reports of the identification of M. bovis from 11 countries – China, Fiji, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Tonga and Viet Nam. In contrast, human zoonotic TB cases in the WHO database were only listed from Australia, Brunei Darussalam and Palau countries.DiscussionThe available data suggests under-reporting of zoonotic TB in the regions. Efforts are required to strengthen zoonotic TB surveillance systems from both animal and human health sides to better understand the impact of zoonotic TB in order to take appropriate action to achieve the goal of ending the TB epidemic

Genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains isolated from livestock workers and cattle in Nigeria

CITATION: Adesokan, H. K. et al. 2019. Genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains isolated from livestock workers and cattle in Nigeria. PLoS ONE, 14(2):e0211637, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0211637.The original publication is available at https://journals.plos.org/plosoneENGLISH ABSTRACT: Molecular typing techniques are useful in understanding tuberculosis epidemiology; yet, they have been under-utilised at the human-animal interface in Nigeria. Sixty-four Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) isolates including 42 M. tuberculosis, 13 M. bovis and nine M. africanum obtained from livestock workers (LW, n = 47) and their cattle (n = 17) in three geographical zones of Nigeria were genotyped to identify and evaluate the genetic diversity of the circulating MTBC using spoligotyping. Distribution into clades of M. tuberculosis revealed; 45.3% Uganda I- [SIT46- cattle: 1; LW: 28], 14.1% Latin American Mediterranean- [SIT61, cattle: 1; LW: 8], and 1.6% T- [SIT53—LW: 1]. The M. bovis strains were 6.3% SB0944 [cattle: 4] and 1.6% each of SB0300, SB1026, SB1027 and SB1439 [cattle: 4]. Seventeen MTBC isolates [cattle: 7; LW: 10] yielded 14 new spoligotype patterns including three M. tuberculosis strains (three isolates), five M. bovis strains (five isolates) and six M. africanum strains (nine isolates), two of which belonged to MAF1. Only few families namely, the not previously described Uganda I-, LAM and SB0944 are predominant among the LW and cattle, with other types in lower prevalences. The strain population structure indicates an intriguing diversity and possible zoonotic linkage with consequences for TB control in the country. The need to employ newer molecular techniques such as Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Unit-Variable Number Tandem Repeats and whole genome sequence to decipher circulating MTBC strains in Nigeria is advocated.Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund, 2015) under the Staff Training and Development (ST&D) Scheme of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.Publisher's versio

Prevalence and Direct Economic Losses from Bovine Tuberculosis in Makurdi, Nigeria

A retrospective study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis and direct economic losses (DEL) from tuberculosis in cattle slaughtered in Makurdi abattoirs from 2008 to 2012, using abattoir records obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Out of 61654 cattle slaughtered during the study period 1172 (1.90%) were positive for tuberculosis lesions. The annual prevalence of bovine tuberculosis ranges from 0.90% in 2008 to 4.04% in 2012. There was significant (P<0.05) difference in annual prevalence of bovine tuberculosis. It was also observed that there was no seasonal difference in the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis. A total of 1935 affected organs by BTB weighing 3046.50 kg, amounting to 2.91 × 106 Naira (1.82 × 104 USD), were condemned within the study period. Seasonal variation in organ condemnation due to bovine tuberculosis was significantly different (Mann-Whitney U statistics = 774 × 103, P=0.034). It was concluded that bovine tuberculosis is prevalent in Makurdi and accounts for heavy economic losses due to condemnation of edible organs