Assessment of marketing systems, customer preference and health management of chickens in free range and intensive poultry production systems in Minjar Shenkora District, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

A cross sectional study was conducted from November 2016 to April 2017 in Minjar Shenkora district, Amhara region, to assess marketing, customer preference and health management of chickens kept in intensive and in free production systems. Eight out of twenty nine Kebeles were purposively selected based on their poultry production potential and level if intensification. Data was collected from randomly selected 250 poultry producers by interview using structured and semi-structured questionnaire survey, group focused discussion and observation. The production systems were, intensive (36%) and free range (64%), and 66.6% of the producers were rearing chickens for income generation. Chickens in the present study were, cross breed (48.4%), and local breed (51.6%). This study indicated that, 93.6% of the poultry producers complained that, Newcastle Castle Disease (24%), Fowl pox (40%), Gumboro (20%), Coccidiosis (8) and others (8%) as the major poultry diseases in the study area. It was revealed that, 94.4% of the poultry producers have lack of market for their products due to fasting periods and customers preference. Age, sex, color, breed and other traits of the chickens were identified as the major customers’ selection criteria. Therefore, designing disease control strategies, creating market linkage and rearing of chickens with desirable traits is very important to develop the poultry sector and improve the livelihood of the poultry producers in the study district.Keywords: Chickens; Customer preference; Free range; Intensive; Marketing; Minjar Shenkora distric

Prevalence of intestinal protozoan infections among individuals living with HIV/AIDS at Felegehiwot Referral Hospital, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Background: HIV infection continues to pose a serious challenge to global health by predisposing patients to opportunistic infections. A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2012 to February 2013 to assess the enteric protozoan infection status among individuals living with HIV/AIDS in Felegehiwot Referral Hospital, Bahir Dar, northwest Ethiopia. Methods: Stool specimens from 399 HIV-positive individuals were examined for the presence of trophozoites, cysts, and oocysts using direct wet mount, formol–ether sedimentation and modified Ziehl–Neelsen techniques. In addition, CD4+ T-cell counts were measured to evaluate the immune status of the study subjects. Results: An overall prevalence of 30.6% enteric protozoan infections was recorded. Pre-ART (antiretroviral treatment) individuals were more infected than patients on ART, although this was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The highest prevalence of enteric protozoan infection was due to Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar (19.3%), followed by Cryptosporidium spp (5.8%), Giardia lamblia (4.3%), and Isospora belli (1.3%). A CD4+ T-cell count of <200 cells/μl and status of being diarrhoeic were significantly associated with the overall prevalence of enteric protozoan infection. Conclusions: A relatively high prevalence of enteric protozoan infection was observed among individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Routine stool and CD4+ T-cell examinations should be conducted to monitor the status of HIV/AIDS patients

CHARACTERIZATION OF LITHIC COMPLEXES FROM BUIA (DANDIERO BASIN, DANAKIL DEPRESSION, ERITREA)

This paper discusses a very partial sampling of the archeological evidence found in more than 200 sites containing lithic artefacts and faunal remains which have been surveyed in the Dandiero (Buia) Basin (Danakil Depression, Eritrea). All the lithic complexes are referred to the Acheulean. The authors present the results of  a preliminary study carried on some of the most important assemblages, especially the complex referred to the Homo-bearing levels. The lithic assemblages are characterized by different frequencies of hand-axes, cleavers, choppers and flakes. The techno-typological characters of the artefacts, all of which coform to an Acheulean standard, allow us to propose some preliminary hypotheses about their variability. The analyzed assemblages are then compared to the Early Paleolithic lithic complexes in east Africa.