Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. isolated from ovine carcasses and faeces in Ethiopia

The foodborne thermophilic Campylobacter species are considered to be the leading cause of human gastroenteritis worldwide with emerging antimicrobial resistant strains. Consumption of raw or undercooked meat is an important source for zoonotic infection. A cross-sectional study was conducted on sheep destined for slaughter at a slaughterhouse in Addis Ababa to determine the prevalence of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. A total of 160 carcass swabs and 160 rectal swabs were bacteriologically examined from which 21 (13.1%) and 12 (7.5%) thermophilic Campylobacter spp. were isolated, respectively. Biochemical test results of the carcass isolates indicated 12 (57.1%) to be C. jejuni, 6 (28.6%) C. coli and 3 (14.3%) C. lari. Similar examination of abattoir environment pool samples of eight sampling days revealed 7 (87.5%) to be positive for the thermophilic Campylobacter spp. None of the wash water samples were positive for the bacteria. Antimicrobial susceptibility pattern test towards twelve antimicrobials using standard disc diffusion method revealed higher resistance (38.1%) for amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and kanamycin (38.1%) followed by streptomycin, oxytetracycline and compound sulphonamide (33.3% each). Most isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone and clindamycin (4.8% each) and to a lesser degree to erythromycin (9.5%). Multidrug resistance was observed in 52.4% of the isolates examined. Isolation of thermophilic Campylobacter spp., with higher isolation rate for C. jejuni, the primary cause of human campylobacteriosis, from sheep meat and the existence of resistant isolates highlight the potential threat to public health. Therefore, implementation of Campylobacter prevention and control strategies from farm production to consumption of sheep meat are crucial

Isolation of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli O157 from goat caecal contents and carcasses in the Somali region of Ethiopia

Background: Toxigenic E. coli is an important cause of gastroenteritis in developing countries. In Ethiopia, gastroenteritis due to foodborne disease is a leading cause of death. Yet, there is no surveillance for E. coli O157 and little is known about the carriage of this pathogen in Ethiopia’s livestock. Also, antimicrobial resistance patterns are not well known in this part of the world. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 to determine the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of E. coli O157 in goat meat, caecal content, and environmental samples collected at a large abattoir in the Somali region of Ethiopia. The samples were enriched in modified tryptone broth containing novobiocin, and plated onto sorbitol MacConkey agar. Isolates were confirmed using indole test and latex agglutination. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was conducted using the disc diffusion method. Results: A total of 235 samples, including 93 goat carcass swabs, 93 caecal contents, 14 water, 20 hand and 15 knife swabs were collected. Overall, six (2.5%) samples were contaminated with E. coli O157 of which two (2.1%) were isolated from caecal contents, three (3.2%) from carcass swabs and one (7.1%) from water. All isolates were resistant to at least two antibiotics. Two isolates (33.3%) were resistant to over five antimicrobials tested. Abattoir facilities and slaughter technique were conducive to carcass contamination. Conclusions: This study highlights how poor hygiene and slaughter practice can result in contaminated meat, which is especially risky in Ethiopia because of the common practice of eating raw meat. The presence of multidrug-resistant strains of E. coli O157 in goats in a remote pastoralist system may be due to natural resistance and/or transfer of resistance from humans

Food safety in low income countries

Population growth, urbanization and increasing consumer demand for products of animal origin couldprovide poor smallholder farmers with income and help alleviate poverty. By 2050 there will be anadditional one billion consumers in Africa alone consuming ever more meat, milk and fish.Today, up to 95% of this food is marketed through traditional or ‘informal markets, that largely escaperegulation and where traditional products and processing dominate. Even as incomes steadily rise indeveloping countries, informal markets are predicted to still meet more than half of the consumers’demand for food by 2040. Most of this food is produced locally by smallholder farmers.There are approximately two billion cases of diarrhea per year of which up to 90% are attributed tocontaminated food and water. Foodborne and waterborne diarrhoeal diseases kill an estimated 2.2million people annually, of which the majority are children under five years from Africa and South Asia.Pathogens in perishable foods such as milk, meat, fish, eggs, fruits and vegetables are the major cause offoodborne diseases in developed countries, and probably in developing countries too. At the same timethey are the most nutritious foods and their lack in diets contributes to micro-nutrient deficiency inaround 2 billion people annually.One in eight Canadians, one in six US Americans, one in four Chinese and Britons and one in threeGreeks fall ill each year from foodborne disease. Data is lacking from developing countries where theinfrastructure of health care facilities carrying out differential diagnosis and attribution of diarrhea tosource is poor; foodborne diseases are likely to be underreported and its burden is likely to beunderestimated.Participatory methods from social science have been incorporated to the Codex AlimentariusCommission framework for food safety risk assessment for generating data for exposure assessment andrisk characterization. Group discussions with actors in the food chain help understanding the food chain,including production, harvesting, processing, handling and consumption practices. Many of our studiesfound that hazards in the raw product, especially milk, were eliminated through the common practice ofboiling or thorough cooking in Eastern Africa, while cultural groups that traditionally consume raw milk,especially in West Africa are exposed to higher risks of milk borne diseases such as brucellosis, listeriosisand tuberculosis. Also, an initially safe product is often contaminated post-harvest, i.e. with coliforms,due to poor food handling practices. Participatory methods also help prioritizing interventions based onthe most common and most severe foodborne disease in a given community and incorporate indigenousrisk mitigation strategies such as slaughter-on-demand and fermentation.Emerging food safety risks in developing countries include Aflatoxins, antibiotic residues and resistancein food, or other chemical residues

Assessment of the parasitic burden in smallholder pig value chains and implications for public health in Uganda

Pig production has only recently become a popular income-generating activity among smallholder farmers in Uganda; over the past 30 years, pig numbers have increased by a tenfold and pork consumption in East Africa is highest in Uganda. Pigs are not a traditional livestock species to Uganda and little is known about the occurrence of parasitic diseases that reduce growth performance and may have implications for public health. An initial systematic literature review conducted by Ocaido et al. (forthcoming), revealed huge data gaps as most zoonotic pig parasites have never been researched in East Africa. As part of comprehensive smallholder pig value chain assessments carried out by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in three administrative districts of Uganda, the presence and importance of pig parasites along the food chain was investigated. Thirty-five focus group discussions with more than 300 pig farmers showed that parasites are perceived to be a big production constraint with intestinal worms and sarcoptic mange ranking second and third after swine fever (Dione et al., 2014). Knowledge about zoonotic pig parasites is limited and practices such as free-ranging and tethering, erratic treatment and self-medication as well as lack of good hygiene on farm are common. This study presents preliminary findings on parasitic diseases that potentially compromise farm productivity (e.g. gastrointestinal helminths and sarcoptic mange) and public health (e.g. Trypanosoma spp., Trichinella spp. and Toxoplasma gondii). The research was carried out with the financial support of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany, and the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health, led by the International Food Policy Research Institute, through the Safe Food, Fair Food project at ILRI

The occurrence of porcine Toxoplasma gondii infections in smallholder production systems in Uganda

Pig production is an emerging agribusiness in Eastern Africa but baseline information on pig diseases including zoonoses is still scarce. Infection with Toxoplasma gondii does not usually present with clinical signs in pigs, yet it is considered an important source of human infection when pork containing tissue cysts is poorly handled or consumed raw or undercooked. In a cross-sectional survey between April and July 2013, we sampled 932 pigs between three months to three years of age in 22 villages at smallholder farms. The sera were tested for the presence of antibodies to T. gondii using a commercial ELISA (PrioCHECK Toxoplasma Ab porcine) and an in-house assay (TgSAG1 p30). The overall seroprevalence based on the commercial ELISA was 28.7% (95% CI: 25.8-31.7%). Seropositive animals were found in all villages with significant differences across the three districts (P<0.05) and 12 sub-counties (P<0.01) in the survey area. Cohen’s kappa statistic showed a very good level of agreement (κ=0.7637) between the two serological assays. Preliminary univariate analysis suggests a significant association between seropositivity and pig age, value chain type, feeding of crop residues, source of drinking water, keeping cats on farm compound, and frequent sightings of wildlife (especially antelopes, hares, wild and stray dogs) near the village. The present report is the first survey documenting the seroprevalence of T. gondii in domestic pigs in the East African Community (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) and investigating potential risk factors that may need attention when promoting smallholder pig keeping as a livelihood activity in Central and Eastern Uganda. The research was carried out with the financial support of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany, the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health, led by the International Food Policy Research Institute, through the Safe Food, Fair Food project at ILRI as well as the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock & Fish at ILRI as part of the Smallholder Pig Value Chain Development Project

Principaux parametres demographiques des ovins et caprins des parcours du centre de la Somalie

Presentation d'une etude effectuee au centre de la Somalie, en vue de determiner les performances zootechniques des moutons Somali a tete noire et des chevres blanches Somali, montrant un niveau de productivite lie aux conditions climatiques tout en considerant l'age a la premiere mise-bas, l'intervalle entre parturitions, la saison de mise-bas precedente et la fecondite, et ces parametres conduisant a une baisse sensible du cheptel pendant la secheresse et l'etude de ces memes parametres en periode postsecheresse devrait fournir des indications importantes sur la capacite de ces populations a surmonter les conditions climatiques