Occurrence of Salmonella spp. in flies and foodstuff from pork butcheries in Kampala, Uganda

Food-borne diseases such as salmonellosis are a major cause of human gastroenteritis worldwide, especially in the developing world due to poor sanitary conditions. Flies feed on food and breed in feces and other organic material. As such they are known vectors of Salmonella spp. Given that pork consumption in Uganda is rapidly increasing while good food safety practices remain absent, this study aims to assess the occurrence of Salmonella spp. in pork butcheries as a contribution to improve hygiene. Seventy-seven pork butcheries out of 179 mapped in a previous survey in Kampala were randomly selected. From June–October 2014, samples of house flies, foodstuff and equipment were collected from all butcheries. Cultural isolation of Salmonella spp. was performed according to ISO 6579:2002. Among 693 samples, 64 (9%) tested positive for Salmonella enteritidis. Among the positives, 32% were samples of raw pork (25), 25% flies’ midguts (19), less than 9% water (7), tomatoes (6), cabbage (4), onions (2) and one case on roasted pork1, respectively. Positive flies coincided with contaminated foodstuff in 29% of the butcheries. All 154 samples from either butchers’ hands or their equipment were negative for Salmonella spp. The prevalence of S. enteritidis, especially on raw pork and in flies, illustrates the need for improving food safety in pork butcheries. Further research is required clarifying the gaps; especially the role of flies as microbiological carriers. In this context investigations are ongoing to identify Salmonella serotypes and their antimicrobial drug-resistance situation. However, these findings merit increased attention and can be used to improve knowledge, attitudes and practices amongst butchers. The research was carried out with the financial support of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), 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. Martin Heilmann got a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

Eradication of human African trypanosomiasis? Don't forget the pigs!

Animal African Trypanosomosis (AAT) and Human African Trypanosomosis (HAT), caused by a protozoa of the genus Trypanosoma (section Salivaria), are both diseases of significant importance to sub-Sahara Africa. Several species of Trypanosoma are found in Africa but only two subspecies of T. brucei, are relevant to humans. They either cause the chronic (T. b. gambiense) or the acute (T. b. rhodesiense) form of human sleeping sickness, both with a fatal outcome if left untreated. While wildlife have long been known to be reservoirs for both HAT and AAT and show no clinical symptoms, infection in livestock, especially cattle, causes severe losses to local producers and are potential reservoirs for rhodesiense-HAT. Domestic pigs, too, are preferred hosts of Glossina spp. and have been reported to be potential reservoirs of both forms of HAT. Pigs are increasingly important as a source of income and food for smallholder livestock farmers in East Africa, especially in Uganda where both forms of HAT as well as AAT are endemic. Except for T. suis and T. brucei gambiense, all Trypanosoma species known to infect pigs have been reported from pigs in Uganda. The authors present findings from a review on the potential role of pigs as a livestock reservoir for HAT. We will discuss how and why infection with Trypanosoma spp. in pigs should be considered in differential diagnoses in clinically sick animals as well as in national HAT surveillance and eradication programs

Knowledge, attitudes and practices among customers at pork butcheries in Kampala, Uganda

Of all East African countries, Uganda boasts the highest pork consumption at 3.4 kg per capita per year (2011). Yet, there is little documentation how pork is produced, marketed and consumed, or on the implications this may have on public health. Up to 70% of produced pork is estimated to be consumed in urban/periurban areas mainly through informal butcheries and so-called pork joints, which are a combination of road-side butchery selling raw pork and a bistro for cooked pork often served with alcoholic drinks. This study was aimed at gaining better insight into this increasing pork business at the consumer level. Between June and July 2014, a baseline survey was conducted with 240 customers in 60 randomly selected pork butcheries in Kampala to assess their knowledge, attitudes and practices. Data was collected during face-to-face interviews by enumerators trained to conduct structured questionnaires in both English and the local language Luganda. Pork was most commonly purchased raw (48%), followed by fried (38%), roasted (9%) and cooked (5%). It was the second most common meat consumed at home after beef, followed by poultry, sheep, goat and fish. Pork was consumed on average 2.18 times per week. One third of households bought raw pork occasionally, while rates of “once per two weeks” (20%), “once a week” (20%), a few times a week (15%) or every day (15%) were also noted. Most (82%) customers ate their pork with raw and cooked vegetables, including matoke (59%), cassava (51%), tomatoes (9%), cabbage (5%), Irish potatoes (4%), onions (3%), greens (2%) and others. The main source of information for customers were television (68%), radio (29%), newspaper (15%), internet (10%), friends (9%), colleagues (2%) or others. Health aspects influenced the majority of respondents’ purchase decisions a lot (89%), while 9% stated “a bit” and 2% “not at all”. The high demand for pork along with the potential for cross contamination between raw pork and vegetables, indicates a food safety risk at not just pork butcheries but also at household level. Promotion of health aspects through public information channels can be used to influence purchase decisions and contribute to healthier clients and improved public health. This 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

Antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella enterica in pork and vegetable servings at pork joints in Kampala, Uganda

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovars including the presence of shared plasmids in pork and related fresh vegetables served in pork joints in Kampala, Uganda. Pork butcheries in three of the five administrative divisions of Kampala were included for the survey. Samples included raw pork, roasted pork, water, onions, tomatoes, cabbage, butcher’s hands (swabs), utensils (swabs) and fly midgut extracts. A total of 693 samples were collected from 77 pork butcheries from June- October 2014. Overall 53.2% pork joints had samples positive for Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovars. Isolation rates ranged from 31.2% (24/77) for raw pork, 1.3% (1/77) for roasted pork, 7.8% (6/77) for tomatoes, 2.6% (2/77) for onions, 5.2% (4/77) for cabbage, 9.1% (7/77) in water, and 22.1% (17/77) from fly midguts. Swab samples taken from utensil and butcher’s hands swabs were found negative (Heilmann et al., 2015). In the isolates obtained, resistance towards 22 antibiotics was tested. Resistances were found towards 11 out of the 22 antibiotics tested. High resistances were found to Cephazolin (97%), Cefotixime (93%), Gentamicin (88%), and Ceftazidime (86%). Intermediate resistance was found to Ciprofloxacin (59%) and Amoxicillin-Clavulanic acid (57.6%). Most isolates (85%) were susceptible to Levofloxacin, Ofloxacin, Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim. Identification of plasmids by PCR-based replicon typing was performed recognizing FIA,FIB,FIC,HI1,HI2,I1- 1ᵞ,L/M,N,P,W,T,A/C,K,B/O,X,Y,F and FIIA. Six incompatibility groups were identified: FIA, W, FIC, FIB, P, Y with more than one incompatibility group existing among different isolates. A high resistance rate among Salmonella strains was found while the total number of incompatibility groups detected was with approximation 2.4. Thus, even though the total number of plasmids per strain is low, resistance rates detected remain high. The high resistance rates are probably resulting from intensified food animal production driving a greater use of antibiotics, which is a crucial aspect of public health concern

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

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

Polyploid plants have faster rates of multivariate niche differentiation than their diploid relatives

Polyploid speciation entails substantial and rapid postzygotic reproductive isolation of nascent species that are initially sympatric with one or both parents. Despite strong postzygotic isolation, ecological niche differentiation has long been thought to be important for polyploid success. Using biogeographic data from across vascular plants, we tested whether the climatic niches of polyploid species are more differentiated than their diploid relatives and if the climatic niches of polyploid species differentiated faster than those of related diploids. We found that polyploids are often more climatically differentiated from their diploid parents than the diploids are from each other. Consistent with this pattern, we estimated that polyploid species generally have higher rates of multivariate niche differentiation than their diploid relatives. In contrast to recent analyses, our results confirm that ecological niche differentiation is an important component of polyploid speciation and that niche differentiation is often significantly faster in polyploids.Polyploid speciation entails substantial and rapid postzygotic reproductive isolation of nascent species that are initially sympatric with one or both parents. Despite strong postzygotic isolation, ecological niche differentiation has long been thought to be important for polyploid success. Using biogeographic data from across vascular plants, we tested whether the climatic niches of polyploid species are more differentiated than their diploid relatives and if the climatic niches of polyploid species differentiated faster than those of related diploids.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153074/1/ele13402-sup-0001-TableS1.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153074/2/ele13402_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153074/3/ele13402-sup-0007-TableS7.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153074/4/ele13402-sup-0003-TableS3.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153074/5/ele13402-sup-0005-TableS5.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153074/6/ele13402.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153074/7/ele13402-sup-0006-TableS6.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153074/8/ele13402-sup-0002-TableS2.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153074/9/ele13402-sup-0004-TableS4.pd

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

Inter-epidemic Rift Valley fever virus seropositivity in an irrigation scheme in Bura, southeast Kenya

Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is an acute mosquito-borne viral zoonosis that causes cyclical epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa, with recent incursions into the Arabian Peninsula. Outbreaks of RVF are associated with above average rainfall and flooding, in which large numbers of vectors emerge. Recent studies into the interepidemic maintenance of RVF virus (RVFV) suggest that both vertical transmission in vectors and direct transmission between hosts, in combination with predisposing ecosystems, are responsible for persistence of the virus. A longitudinal survey was carried out in Tana River County, Kenya, in three ecosystems (irrigated, riverine and pastoral) from September 2014 – June 2015. The objectives of the study were to investigate possibility of low-level RVFV transmission during an inter-epidemic period, to examine variation in RVFV seroprevalence in sheep and goats across these ecosystems and to determine the risk factors for RVFV transmission. 316 small ruminants were selected and tested for immunoglobulin G antibodies against RVFV nucleoprotein using a competitive ELISA during 6 visits. Data on potential risk factors was also captured. The overall RVF virus seropositivity was 12.3% (95%CI = 9%-16.6%) by the end of the study. This varied across the sampling sites with the pastoral ecosystem having a significantly higher seroprevalence at 26.1% (95%CI = 16.6%-38.3%, p0.05) in the irrigated area (7) and in the riverine area (11). Seroconversions were significantly associated with presence of water either due to rainfall or irrigation (p<0.05). This study indicates that RVFV is circulating in the studied area. It also highlights the risk posed by land use changes, such as the creation and expansion of irrigation schemes, in increasing the risk of inter-epidemic RVFV transmission. This is through provision of necessary environmental conditions for vegetative growth thus providing vectors with more breeding grounds, shade and resting places, which further prolong their lifespans thereby propagating the virus. The findings provide policy makers with the evidence needed for vector and RVF prevention and control within this changing environment