Foetal wastage in camels slaughtered at Sokoto municipal abattoir

The Slaughter of camels at the Sokoto municipal abattoir was evaluated over a five months period from March July, 2007 with the aim of determining foetal wastage due to the slaughter of pregnant camels. Out of the 1174 camels slaughtered during the study period, 592 (50.4%) were females. A total of 137 foetuses were recovered which represent a foetal recovery rate of 23.99%. Attempt was also made to recover some conceptus and embryos by flushing the uterus. Fifty three (53) uteri from genitalia with positive signs of pregnancy were flushed during and 12 (22.64%) had conceptus. Estimated economic loss due to the slaughter of pregnant camels in Sokoto abattoir stands at N24, 960,000 for a period of 10 years. It was concluded that Law against the slaughter of pregnant animals should be enforced. Adequate ante-mortem inspection, literacy campaign amongst butchers should be intensified as effort to improve camel population in this country

Isolation, Characterization and Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Escherichia coli from Diarrhoeic Lambs in Sokoto, Northwestern Nigeria

A total of 127 faecal samples were collected from diarrhoeic lambs and examined for Escherichia coli. The bacterial culture involved pre-enrichment in peptone water before C incubation at 37 for 24 hours. Out of the isolates obtained, 42 (36.84%) were positive for Escherichia coli. Characterization of the isolates revealed serotypes O157 (13), O118 (9), O111 (8), O26 (7), and O103 (5) as the most frequent strains. Their prevalence rates being 31.0%,21.4%, 19.0%, 16.7% and 11.9% respectively. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MICs) of the E coli strains to six antibiotics revealed tetracycline as having the lowest MIC, which ranged from 3.12ìg/ml - 50ìg/ml followed by chloramphenicol with an MIC ranging between 6.25ìg/ml -100ìg/ml. It was concluded that there was need for further research to study the pathogenicity of the E coli strains and that resistance to antibiotics was a problem which might have resulted from indiscriminate use of these drugs

Studies on risk factors of mortality in lambs in Sokoto, Nigeria

Mortality in lambs is complex problem which may result from a variety of climatic, nutritional, management, infectious, genetic and other factors. Associated with death are other factors which could be of maternal or lamb origin that predisposes the young lamb to early death. Records of sex, breed, age, birth weight, type of birth, season of birth and age of ewe from 82 lambs that were dead and posted are recorded and analyzed as the associated risk factors contributing to mortality in these lambs. More male lambs died 49 (59.76%) compared to females 33 (40.24%) whilst mortality in lambs aged 0-7 days was 40 (48.78%). The effect of birth weight showed 47 (57.31%) mortalities in lambs less than 2kg at birth. Higher deaths were seen during the wet season 37 (45.12%) than during cool and hot seasons. Mortality was more in Uda breeds 29 (35.37%) than in other breeds. The outcome of the study showed that the knowledge of when and how mortality occurs could be helpful and to reduce mortality, the management of lambs particularly at early age is imperative

Cancer of the Cervix in Unscreened West African Women

Background: Cancer of the cervix remains an important health problem amongst women worldwide. Widespread comprehensive cervical cancer control programs have resulted in a marked reduction in the incidence and mortality in most developed countries. Developing countries bear over 80% of the global burden, with only 5% of the global resources for the control of cancer. Majority of the cases in these countries present late and are incurable at the time of diagnosis.Aim: To review the presentation and histopathological types of cervical cancer cases seen in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano, over a sixteen-year period (1995–2010).Materials and Methods: Case records of histopathologically diagnosed cases of cancer of the cervix were retrieved. Demographic data, stage of the tumor at presentation, and histopathologic type were extracted. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics.Results: Six hundred and sixty gynecological cancers were seen during the study period, with cancer of the cervix accounting for 58.5% (386/660) cases. Among these cases with cancer of the cervix 71.1% (275/386) were grand multiparous and majority 89.7 % 346/386 presented with advanced disease. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) accounted for 86.3% (333/386) of the cancers, adenocarcinoma contributed 12.4%,(48/386) and others contributed 1.3% (5/386).Conclusion: Cancer of the cervix is the commonest gynecological cancer at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria. SCC is the commonesthistological type. Keywords: Africa, cervical cancer, screenin

Severe ectoparasitism and parasitic gastroenteritis in a two month old Sokoto red kid: A case report

A two month old red Sokoto kid that weighed 3kg from Usmanu Danfodiyo University Farm, Dabagi, was presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, with the complaints of debility and recumbency. Physical examination revealed severe infestation with ticks of both sexes identified as Hyalomma dromedarii, Hyalomma rufipes, Amblyomma variegatum and the louse Linognathus stenopsis. Examination of the blood suggested anaemia and revealed mild infection with Anaplasma ovis. After management for a day, the animal died. At post-mortem, Haemonchus spp. and Oesophagostomum spp. were found infesting the abomasum and caecum respectively. This paper discusses the implication of the condition to the animal production and how best to control it in established farms like the University farm

Isolation and molecular characterization of Mycobacterium bovis causing pulmonary tuberculosis and epistaxis in a Thoroughbred horse

Background: Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) is very uncommon in horses worldwide. Case presentation: In the current study, an eight-year-old male Thoroughbred in good body condition was admitted to the Equine Clinic at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital in 2005 due to bilateral epistaxis accompanied by coughing. Routine examinations were conducted to determine the cause of the condition. Endoscopic examination revealed the major source of the epistaxis as the trachea, whereas thoracic radiography indicated the presence of a primary pulmonary mass. M. bovis was isolated from a broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) sample collected. The pulmonary mass reduced in size three months later following an oral administration of enrofloxacin (7.5 mg/kg PO SID). Genetic fingerprinting by spoligotyping identified the M. bovis isolate as spoligotype SB0868 strain. This M. bovis strain type was never described previously in South Africa (SA). This is the first case of M. bovis infection in a horse in SA which has been fully documented including clinical findings, isolation and genetic characterisation of the causative pathogen. Conclusions: This report indicates that horses may contract and harbour M. bovis despite their lower susceptibility compared to other domestic animals. It also suggests that the infection may be more easily contained and eliminated from the host

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities. This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity. Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017—and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions—was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing—and in some countries reversal—of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI 2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesity. Funding UK Medical Research Council, UK Research and Innovation (Research England), UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK), and European Union

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

AbstractOptimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was &lt;1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.</jats:p