Prevalence and identification of ectoparasites on indigenous chickens in Seharti-Samre District, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

A cross sectional study was conducted from February 2014 to February 2015 to estimate the prevalence of ectoparasites and to assess risk factors in indigenous free scavenging chickens in three sub-districts of Seharti-Samre District, northern Ethiopia. Physical examination, hand picking for visible parasites, skin scraping and laboratory based identification of collected parasites were employed on systematically selected 570 indigenous chickens. An overall prevalence of 68.6% (391/570) ectoparasites with a specific prevalence of 44% (251/570), 14.4% (82/570) and 10.2% (58/570) for Echidnophaga gallinacea, Argus persicus and mixed infestations, respectively were recorded. Prevalence of A. persicus, E. gallinacea and mixed infestation showed statistically significant variation between seasons (OR=2.21, 95%, CI=1.539-3.178), housing in kitchen (OR=3.33,95%, CI=2.0228-5.486) and main house (OR=3.19, 95%, CI=1.910-5.304); age group of birds. The odds of ectoparasites infestation were 3.42 and 7.57 times higher for chick and adults compared with the growers. The current study indicated high prevalence of ectoparasites in backyard poultry management system in the study area. E.gallinacea was found to be the most prevalent ectoparasites identified followed by A. persicus. Designing and implementation of appropriate ectoparasite control measures seems mandatory in order to mitigate economical losses due to ectoparasite infestation.Keywords: Backyard; Ectoparasites; Poultry; Prevalence; Sehart-samr

Community knowledge, attitude and practice on rabies, incidence in humans and animals and risk factors to rabies in selected districts of Tigray Region, Ethiopia

Community awareness and assessing the trend of suspected rabies cases play a significant role in preventing its fatality. Therefore, a cross-sectional study design was employed (October 2016 - April 2017) to assess community knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP), and Incidence and risk factors to rabies (human and animal) in the study area. A semi-structured questionnaire was employed to collect required information from 1440 study participants. Retrospective data of five-year (2012-2016) from hospitals and health centers (human cases), and veterinary clinics (animal cases) was used. Majority of the study participants (64.3%) were rural residents, 95.2% have heard about rabies and 50.1% were found dog owners. Among the study participants, 72.2%, 66.0%, and 62.4% have a good level of knowledge, attitude, and practices about rabies, respectively. A strong association between knowledge, attitude and practice with sex; educational level; occupation, dog ownership and rural/urban dwellers (p<0.05) was recorded. Furthermore, a total dog bite cases of 398 domestic animals and 4617 humans were found registered on casebooks of both veterinary and human health service centers of the study districts during the five years study period among which the highest percentage (36.4%) was recorded from canines. The highest anti-rabies vaccine coverage recorded was 36.0% in the year 2016, and higher human dog bite cases recorded was 50.1% on individuals aged between 5-15 years (both male and female). Hence, the current findings suggest that there is a need for coordinated and integrated effort of government, professionals (medical and veterinarians), community and other stake holders towards rabies control and prevention.Keywords: Animal, Human, Tigray, Rabies, Statu

Effects of skin and hide defects on quality grades and physical characteristics of crust leather

Leather is one of the important export commodities in Ethiopia. However, itsquality and physical characteristics are affected by diseases, handling  and storage problems. A cross-sectional study was conducted to identify major hide and skin defects and assess their effect on quality grades and physical characteristics of crust leather. A total of 6530 hides and skins were inspected at Sheba Tannery and Leather Industry Private Limited Company (PLC) through standard operative procedures. For tests on physical characteristics of crust leather, top 6 defects of skin and hide were identified thereby each 5-crust leather per defect were evaluated by standard experiments for determining testing tensile strength, tear strength and percentage elongation at break. The overall hide and skin rejection was 32.7%. The rejection in wet blue hide (23.5%) was higher than for wet blue salted and dry goatskins (5.1%) and pickled sheepskins (4.1%). Scratch (20.5%), Wound (14.6%) and Cockle (12.7%), were the most common pre-slaughter skin and hide defects found in wet blue hide, goatskin and pickled sheepskin, respectively. Knife cut with proportion of 21.1%, 17.5% and 4.5% respectively in wet blue hide, goatskin and pickled sheepskin was the major slaughter defect. Putrefaction was of the most common post-slaughter defect in wet blue hide (5.3 %), pickled sheepskin (1.6%) and goatskin (2.7%). Among the identified major defects, statistically significant reduction (p<0.05) were noted in tensile strength, tear strength and percent elongation of the crust leather. Major skin and hide defects lead to considerable economical losses through reducing quality and physical performance characteristics of crust leather. Hence, innovative leather grade  correction technologies are timely important. Keywords: Defects; hide; physical characteristics; quality; ski

Epidemiological study of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Saesie Tsaeda-emba district, eastern Tigray, northern Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is one of the endemic and neglected diseases known to exist in Ethiopian highlands. However, little is known about its epidemiological characteristics. Hence, this study was initiated and conducted from November 2011 to April 2012 to assess the epidemiological situation of CL in Saesie Tsaeda-emba District. METHODS: A cross sectional design was employed in six randomly selected Peasant associations and a house to house survey was carried out in the District. Detailed clinical assessment, and smear and culture for Leishmania parasite detection were done to confirm clinical suspension. Polymerase Chain Reaction and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of the ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS-1) sequences was used to type isolates. Sandfly collection was also conducted in possible micro-habitats of the target areas. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of CL in the District was 14.0% (6.7% for active lesion and 7.3% for scar) with the highest prevalence amongst the age group of 10–19 years. Field isolates typed were L. aethiopica. Environmental and host risk factors significantly associated with CL distribution were age, study Peasant associations, presence of cave/gorge, walls with cracks and/or holes, presence of hyrax, animal burrow, animal dung and farm land near to residents’ houses. Five phlebotomine sandflies, Phlebotomus longipes, Sergentomyia bedfordi, S.africana, S.schwetzi and S.antenata were captured. CONCLUSION: All the precipitating factors in the area are indicative of the public health importance of CL although there has been little attention given. The present study is a starter for wider investigation into the mode of its transmission, incrimination of sandfly vectors and possible animal reservoirs. Detailed information will be the basis to launch effective control of CL in the area. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-015-0758-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Free roaming dogs and the communities’ knowledge, attitude and practices of rabies incidence/human exposures: Cases of selected settings in Ethiopia and Kenya

AbstractBackground: According to the recommendation made by World Health organization, vaccinating 70% of the dog population helps to control rabies and prevent rabies virus in human population. However, the exponential increase in the population of free roaming dogs is a serious challenge to this strategy in Eastern African countries including Ethiopia and Kenya. Understanding the dynamics of free roaming dog populations is, thus, a step to be taken prior to designing effective rabies prevention and control strategy in these countries.Objectives: The present study was designed to determine the number of free roaming dogs in selected settings in Ethiopia and Kenya, and describe the level of community knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) on rabies incidence/human exposures. The study also described the socio-cultural value of dog keeping in the areas considered in the study.Methodology: Counting free roaming dogs were a major means of collecting data in both Ethiopia and Kenya. Dog count was made using the markup capture approach. Other than counting, questionnaire was used to obtain data for the study. Three-hundred and ninety-eight copies of questionnaires were administered to the study participants in Ethiopia, while the number of respondents to the questionnaire in Kenya was 351. In addition, a five-year retrospective data on dog/animal bite cases were collected from selected health facilities of the study sites.Results: A total of 2991 and 386 free roaming dogs were counted in Ethiopia and Kenya, respectively. A five-year retrospective data showed cases of 1524 (in Mekelle) and 429 (Assela) individuals who were bitten/infected by rabies-suspected animals. Evidence obtained from the health facilities in Mekelle and Assela showed the bitten/infected individuals took PEP within the specified period.In Kenya, a total of 3441 and 4997 animal bite cases were reported from 2010-2014 in Kisumu and Siaya, respectively. The number of animal bite cases may signify the economic burden incurred (cost of PEP and other related costs), public health impact and social value of the disease. The questionnaire data also indicated the existing dog management practices, awareness of the community about rabies and its zoonotic importance, the first line of action taken at home for individuals bitten by rabies suspected animal, awareness of the community on dog vaccination, importance of free roaming dogs and their management.Conclusion: The significant proportion of free roaming dogs and number of animal bite cases calls for an integrated action between human and veterinary professionals to control the number of free roaming dog population, initiate awareness creation programs in the community and increase the vaccination of owned dogs there by to control and prevent rabies. Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2018;32(1):27-35

Antimicrobial Resistance Profile of E. coli

Aim. Foodborne illnesses represent a public health problem in developed and developing countries. They cause great suffering and are transmitted directly or indirectly between animals and humans and circulate in the global environment. E. coli are among them, causing a major public health problem. The aim of this study was therefore to study the antimicrobial resistance profile of E. coli from raw cow milk and fruit juice. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2016 to June 2017 on 258 samples collected from milk shops (n=86), dairy farms (n=86), and fruit juice (n=86) in different subcities of Mekelle. Bacteriological procedures were used for isolation of E. coli in the collected samples and for identification of the antimicrobial resistance profile. Result. The overall mean viable bacterial count and standard deviation of samples from milk shop, fruit juice, and dairy milk were found to be 8.86 ± 107, 7.2 ± 107, and 8.65 ± 107 CFU/ml and 33.87 ± 106, 6.68 ± 106, and 22.0 ± 106, respectively. Of the samples tested, 39 from milk shops (45.35%), 20 from fruit juice (23.26%), and 24 from dairy farms (27.91%) were found to be positive for E. coli. The isolated E. coli were highly resistant to ampicillin (70%), sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (60%), clindamycin (80%), erythromycin (60%), chloramphenicol (50%), and kanamycin (50%) and were found to be susceptible to some antibiotics like gentamicin (100%), norfloxacin (100%), tetracycline (60%), polymyxin B (90%), and ciprofloxacin (90%). Conclusion. The current study supports the finding that raw milk and fruit juice can be regarded as critical source of pathogenic E. coli. This supports the need for strict monitoring and the implementation of effective hygienic and biosecurity measures in the whole food chain of these products as well as a prudent use of antimicrobials

Prevalence and predictors of acute respiratory infection among children under-five years in Tigray regional state, northern Ethiopia: a cross sectional study

Abstract Background Acute respiratory infection is still one of the leading causes of child morbidity and mortality worldwide. Developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa including Ethiopia continue to share an overburden of this infection. Studies showed that different predictor factors were associated with the occurrence of childhood acute respiratory infection. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated predictor factors of acute respiratory infection among children under-five years in the Tigray Regional State, northern Ethiopia. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study design was done from January 18, 2016, to June 27, 2016. A total of 986 children under-five years were selected for this study. The logistic regression model analysis was employed to examine the predictor factors of childhood acute respiratory infection. Both bi-variable and multivariable data analysis was performed using STATA version 14.0. Results Overall, the study showed that the two weeks prevalence of acute respiratory infection among children under-five years was 16.10% [95%CI: 13.80–18.40]. According to the multivariable logistic regression model analysis, children aged (24–60) months (AOR: 0.59, 95%CI: 0.352–0.98), rich wealth index of households (AOR: 0.60, 95%CI: 0.378–0.959), diarrhea status of children (AOR: 3, 95%CI: 1.97–4.73), and mothers smoking cigarettes (AOR: 4, 95%CI: 1.15–16.50), were significant predictors of acute respiratory infection. Conclusion The prevalence of ARI displays that Tigray regional state was experiencing a higher ARI rate than the national level. The current study identified the low wealth index of households, children aged (24–60 months), mothers smoking cigarettes, and diarrhea status of the children as crucial predictor factors for ARI. Interventions should be improved to these modifiable major predictor factors that significantly decrease the ARI problem among under-five children

Development and Characterization of Sisal Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Composite Materials

In most of the developing countries, plastic polypropylene is not fully recycled and converted in-to use after it is once used. Sisal fiber is also widely available in different developing countries like Ethiopia. Adding this two materials and developing automotive interior part was taken as a primary motive for it reduces cost and is environmentally friendly. Thus, the main purpose of this research is to develop composite material from natural fibre (sisal fiber) reinforced with recycled plastic waste (polypropylene) for interior automobile accessories specifically for internal door trim panel application. This research examines effect of fiber length, fiber loading and chemical treatment of fiber on the physical and chemical properties of the sisal fiber reinforced polypropylene (SFRPP) composite material. The waste polypropylene and the treated and untreated sisal fiber with variable length and weight ratio (fiber/matrix ratio) were mixed. Flammability of sisal fiber reinforced Polypropylene (SFRPP) composites material was examined by a horizontal burning test according to ASTM D635 and chemical resistance of the sisal fibre reinforced PP composites was studied using ASTM D543 testing method. The result on the flammability test shows that treated fiber has lower burning rate than untreated fiber and decreases with increase in fiber length and fiber loading. The resistance of the composites to water has increased as the fiber length increases and decreased as the fiber loading increase. Generally, SFRPP composite is found to have better resistance to water than NaOH and H2SO4 and treating the fiber has brought considerable improvement on chemical resistance of the composite. Fiber loading and fiber length has positive and negative effect on the flammability of the SFRPP composite respectively