Prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis in Cattle Slaughtered at Sokoto Central Abattoir

This study was undertaken to screen cattle slaughtered at the Sokoto Central Abattoir for antibodies against Mycobacterium bovis. By the lateral flow technique (immunochromatography), using monoclonal antibodies for M. bovis (BioNote, Inc. Gyeonggi-do, Korea) and by post mortem examination. A total of 194 slaughtered cattle were randomly selected (using systematic sampling technique) and screened. Eight (4.12%) were positive for antibodies against M. bovis. No lesions suggestive of bovine tuberculosis were found during post mortem inspection. More females than males appear to have M. bovis antibodies (p<0.005). Also cattle of ages between 24-48 months had the highest prevalence in relation to age groups (P<0.005). Four breeds of cattle were encountered during this work although representation was determined by the sampling method. Sokoto Gudali breed had the highest number of cases of bovine tuberculosis (P>0.005). This study indicate an increase (from 0.69% to 4.12%) in the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in the study area. The public health implications of this findings is that infected animals in the past have been slaughtered and consumed undetected; this will continue to be so long as the relevant authorities do not improve on the current methods of ante mortem screening animals for tuberculosis.Keywords: Antibodies, Cattle, Prevalence, Post mortem examination, Slaughter, Sokoto, Tuberculosi

Health Workers’ Knowledge and Attitude towards Monkeypox in Southwestern Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Monkeypox outbreaks in non-endemic countries emphasize the importance of being prepared to prevent its progression to a pandemic. To effectively control monkeypox, healthcare providers must have sufficient knowledge and good attitudes and practices to limit its spread. We initiated this project to assess the factors associated with health workers’ knowledge and attitude toward monkeypox in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Methods: We included 398 eligible health workers working at various health facilities. Data was collected using an online survey, and participants had an opportunity to consent. We conducted descriptive statistics for all variables and used chi-square statistics, t-test, and multivariate analysis to establish the association between health workers’ demographic characteristics and knowledge of monkeypox disease. Results: The mean age was 30.93 ± 8.25 years for the included participants, and most of them were between 22 and 29 years, male, single, nurses, working in government hospitals, and had worked for at least five years. The chi-square and t-test showed that the participants’ knowledge level was significantly related to age, marital status, job title, and medical practice. Most of the participants had low knowledge and good attitudes toward monkeypox prevention measures. Multivariate analysis showed that higher knowledge was associated with younger age after controlling all other significant bivariate relationships between knowledge and demographics. Conclusions: This study found low knowledge levels and high good attitude levels of monkeypox among the participants. As such, there is a need to support health workers in understanding monkeypox epidemiology, prevention, and treatment. Therefore, Saudi Arabia will be making significant strides to being well prepared and ready to handle future monkeypox outbreaks