Preliminary assessment of bovine trypanosomiasis and its vectors in Santa, Bali and Bafut Sub-Divisions of the, North West Region, Cameroon

A cross-sectional study involving a questionnaire, parasitological examination of cattle and entomological prospection were conducted in the Mezam Division of Cameroon from December 2013 to May 2014 in two seasons for the first time. The objectives were to determine the prevalence of bovine trypanosomiais and its vectors. Peasant farmers ﴾n=95﴿ were interviewed. Standard protocols for parasitological, hematocrit analysis as well as trypanosome identification were used. Acetone baited blue biconical traps ﴾n=5﴿ were used for entomological survey. Questionnaire survey revealed that trypanosomiasis was one of the major health problems affecting animals and a hindrance to agricultural activities. The overall prevalence was 10.3% ﴾31/301﴿. Trypanosome species identified consisted of: T. vivax (58.1%), T. brucei (25.8%), T. congolense (9.6%) and a mix infection (Trypanosoma congolense + Trypanosoma vivax) (6.5%). Vector survey revealed highest fly catch in Bafut subdivision as compared to others with a significant difference ﴾P<0.05﴿. Fly types recorded included: Tabanus 125 (71.4%), Stomoxys 31 (17.7%) and Glossina morsitans submorsitans 19 (10.9%). The overall Apparent Density (AD) was 1.53 fly per trap per day (f/t/d). Therefore, vector transmission and impact of the disease on production is alarming and should not be neglected. Control strategies have to be designed and implemented in Mezam Division in order to eradicate trypanosomiasis and its vectors.© 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Cattle, trypanosomiasis, Glossina, prevalence, Bafu

Assessing the performance of a Fasciola gigantica serum antibody ELISA to estimate prevalence in cattle in Cameroon

BACKGROUND:Cattle rearing in Cameroon is both economically and culturally important, however parasitic diseases detrimentally impact cattle productivity. In sub-Saharan Africa bovine fasciolosis is generally attributed to F. gigantica, although understanding of Fasciola species present and local epidemiology in individual countries is patchy. Partly limited by the lack of representative surveys and understanding of diagnostic test perfromance in local cattle populations. The aims of this paper were to determine the Fasciola species infecting cattle, develop a species specific serum antibody ELISA, assess the performance of the ELISA and use it to assess the prevalence of F. gigantica exposure in two important cattle-rearing areas of Cameroon. RESULTS:A random sample of Fasciola parasites were collected and were all identified as F. gigantica (100%, CI:94.0-100%, n = 60) using RAPD-PCR analysis. A F. gigantica antibody ELISA was developed and initially a diagnostic cut-off was determined using a sample of known positive and negative cattle. The initial cut-off was used as starting point to estimate an optimal cut-off to estimate the best combination of sensitivity and specificity. This was achieved through sampling a naturally infected population with known infection status (cattle slaughtered at Bamenda abattoir, North West Region (n = 1112) and Ngaoundere abattoir, Vina Division, Adamawa Region (n = 776) in Cameroon). These cattle were tested and results analysed using a Bayesian non-gold standard method. The optimal cut-off was 23.5, which gave a sensitivity of 65.3% and a specificity of 65.2%. The prevalence of exposure to F. gigantica was higher in cattle in Ngaoundere (56.4% CI: 50.2-60.0%) than Bamenda (0.6% CI: 0.0-1.4%). CONCLUSION:Fasciola gigantica was identified as the predominant Fasciola species in Cameroon. Although the sensitivity and specificity F. gigantica antibody ELISA requires improvement, the test has shown to be a potentially useful tool in epidemiological studies. Highlighting the need for better understanding of the impact of F. gigantica infections on cattle production in Cameroon to improve cattle production in the pastoral systems of Central-West Africa. This paper also highlights that non-gold standard latent class methods are useful for assessing diagnostic test performance in naturally-infected animal populations in resource limited settings

The evolution and phylodynamics of serotype A and SAT2 foot-and-mouth disease viruses in endemic regions of Africa

Abstract Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a major livestock disease with direct clinical impacts as well as indirect trade implications. Control through vaccination and stamping-out has successfully reduced or eradicated the disease from Europe and large parts of South America. However, sub-Saharan Africa remains endemically affected with 5/7 serotypes currently known to be circulating across the continent. This has significant implications both locally for livestock production and poverty reduction but also globally as it represents a major reservoir of viruses, which could spark new epidemics in disease free countries or vaccination zones. This paper describes the phylodynamics of serotypes A and SAT2 in Africa including recent isolates from Cameroon in Central Africa. We estimated the most recent common ancestor for serotype A was an East African virus from the 1930s (median 1937; HPD 1922–1950) compared to SAT2 which has a much older common ancestor from the early 1700s (median 1709; HPD 1502–1814). Detailed analysis of the different clades shows clearly that different clades are evolving and diffusing across the landscape at different rates with both serotypes having a particularly recent clade that is evolving and spreading more rapidly than other clades within their serotype. However, the lack of detailed sequence data available for Africa seriously limits our understanding of FMD epidemiology across the continent. A comprehensive view of the evolutionary history and dynamics of FMD viruses is essential to understand many basic epidemiological aspects of FMD in Africa such as the scale of persistence and the role of wildlife and thus the opportunities and scale at which vaccination and other controls could be applied. Finally we ask endemic countries to join the OIE/FAO supported regional networks and take advantage of new cheap technologies being rolled out to collect isolates and submit them to the World Reference Laboratory

Cattle transhumance and agropastoral nomadic herding practices in central Cameroon

Abstract Background In sub-Saharan Africa, livestock transhumance represents a key adaptation strategy to environmental variability. In this context, seasonal livestock transhumance also plays an important role in driving the dynamics of multiple livestock infectious diseases. In Cameroon, cattle transhumance is a common practice during the dry season across all the main livestock production zones. Currently, the little recorded information of the migratory routes, grazing locations and nomadic herding practices adopted by pastoralists, limits our understanding of pastoral cattle movements in the country. GPS-tracking technology in combination with a questionnaire based-survey were used to study a limited pool of 10 cattle herds from the Adamawa Region of Cameroon during their seasonal migration, between October 2014 and May 2015. The data were used to analyse the trajectories and movement patterns, and to characterize the key animal health aspects related to this seasonal migration in Cameroon. Results Several administrative Regions of the country were visited by the transhumant herds over more than 6 months. Herds travelled between 53 and 170 km to their transhumance grazing areas adopting different strategies, some travelling directly to their destination areas while others having multiple resting periods and grazing areas. Despite their limitations, these are among the first detailed data available on transhumance in Cameroon. These reports highlight key livestock health issues and the potential for multiple types of interactions between transhumant herds and other domestic and wild animals, as well as with the formal livestock trading system. Conclusion Overall, these findings provide useful insights into transhumance patterns and into the related animal health implications recorded in Cameroon. This knowledge could better inform evidence-based approaches for designing infectious diseases surveillance and control measures and help driving further studies to improve the understanding of risks associated with livestock movements in the region

Analysis of trends in P. aeruginosa antibiotic resistance of animal and human isolates: a retrospective observational study in central Italy.

Objectives: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is a clinically significant pathogen responsible of nosocomial and community infections both in human and veterinary medicine. The high level of acquired resistance as well as the horizontal and clonal spread of resistant PA strains has become a serious problem, representing a limit for adequate antibiotic therapy and resulting in a serious threat to Public Health. A retrospective observational study was carried out to assess the antibiotic resistance trends in PA strains of animal and human origin from 2006 to 2011. Methods: A total of 384 isolates of PA were obtained from different clinical specimens from animals (n=298) and humans (n=86) living in central Italy. The isolates were identified by PCR and were tested against 12 different antibiotics usually active against PA by disk diffusion method (Table 1). The significance of differences in resistance was evaluated using chi squared test (STATA software version 9.1), and P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The microorganisms were cultured from ear (43%), tonsillar swabs and bronchial alveolar washes (19%), naso-pharyngeal swabs (17%), wound swabs (13%), high vaginal swabs and urine samples (8%). During six-year period, the development of PA resistance to antibiotics is given in Table 1. There was evidence of increased resistance to gentamicin (P=0.0431), fluoroquinolones (P=0.0167), cefalosporins, and carbapenems in human isolates. At the same time, the resistance of PA to amikacin decreased from 6.4% in 2006 to 3.2% in 2011. Similar trends were observed for PA of animal origin: a significant increased resistance was observed for tetracyclines (P=0.0483), and penicillins (P=0.0325). Different trends were obtained for amikacin, cefquinome and carbapenems for which PA animal strains demonstrated a decreased, but not significant, resistance (P>0.05). Conclusion: This study confirms that resistance profile of PA is changing in central Italy, acquiring gradually less antibiotic susceptibility to molecules used both in veterinary and human medicine. Considering the potential role of PA as zoonotic microorganism, due care must be taken in the antibiotic treatment to prevent the increase of the spread of multidrug resistant zoonotic PA. This study confirms that the widespread antibiotic misuse could be the main risk factor for the occurrence of multiresistant PA strains

A comparative study of serum and milk ELISAs for the diagnosis of ovine paratuberculosis (Ovine Johne's disease - OJD)

To evaluate the possibility of replacing serum with milk sample in the identification of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) infected ovine flocks, a comparative study was carried out in Central Italy on 6 dairy farms with history of Paratuberculosis. Fresh milk and serum samples were collected from 192 randomly chosen sheep and tested by indirect ELISA (Pourquier®, France). The sheep were of the Comisana, Massese, and Sarda breeds, above two years of age, at early or peak lactation period. MAP infection was diagnosed in 28 (14.6%) and in 14 sheep (7.3%; 2= 5.43, P=0.02) by serum and milk ELISA, respectively. Higher mean OD values were observed in milk (1.96 ± SD 0.82) than in serum positive samples (1.77 ± SD 0.53; t=-0.90, P=0.37). The concordance between tests was moderate (k=0.5), higher at early (k=0.6) than in peak (k=0.4) lactation, in agreement with the Immunoglobulin G (IgG) rising in the milk in the beginning and at the end of lactation. The serum ELISA was able to identify more MAP positive sheep; nevertheless milk ELISA could be an available, cheaper and more feasible test to detect MAP infection in dairy sheep flocks by bulk tank milk analysis. Key words: Ovine Paratuberculosis, diagnosis, ELISA, milk, serum

Trends of antimicrobial drug susceptibility of clinical Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolates in veterinary medicine.

Objectives: Infections due to multidrug-resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (SM) has emerged globally as important nosocomial infections. The role of this bacterium in animal diseases is still less investigated. SM was considered to be the cause of fleece rot in sheep and it has been isolated from fish, lizards, frogs, rabbit feces, captive snakes, and African crocodiles. SM DNA was also detected in dogs with knee arthritis/degenerative anterior cruciate ligament rupture, in squirrel feces, in porcine semen, in bovine and ovine milk, and from the gastrointestinal tract of laboratory animals. In veterinary medicine, trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole resistant SM strains have been observed from horses, dogs and cats with chronic respiratory disease and urinary tract infections. The purposes of the present retrospective observational study were: - to establish the frequency of occurrence of SM infections in animals by body site of infection; - to evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility of SM isolates; - to assess the antibiotic resistance trends in animal SM strains from 2008 to 2013. Methods: Over 6-yrs period, 77 SM clinical isolates from dog/cat (n=46), horse/cattle (n=27), and snake/turtle/parrot (n=4) were identified by biochemical tests (Remel, Oxoid, Italy) and were subsequently tested by Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method using single veterinary and human antibiotics. Chi squared test (STATA software version 9.1) was used for data analysis. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: SM strains were cultured from tracheal/bronchial alveolar lavages (38%), nasal/pharyngeal/tonsillar- (31%), uterine- (10%), cutaneous- (9%), ear-swabs (7%) and synovial fluid/abscess/fecal samples (5%). The multi-resistance percentages observed are listed in the Table. No significant differences (P>0.05) were recorded in relation to the source of specimens and between animal species both for veterinary and human drugs. In the 6-yrs study period about two/thirds of SM isolates were resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and cefadroxil. From 2008 to 2013, an increasing, but not significant, resistance trends was observed for trimethoprim-sulphametoxazole (P=0.9381), ciprofloxacin (P=0.8632) and enrofloxacin (P=0.9605), while a significant decrease was recorded for cefadroxil (P=0.030), amikacin (P=0.0152), and amoxicillin and clavulanic acid (P=0.033). A decrease trends were observed for cefquinome, gentamicin, and imipenem (P>0.05). Conclusion: Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is often considered the drug of choice in the treatment of SM infections; however, this study reveales that SM strains cultured from different animal species are highly resistant to this drug and to other human and veterinary antimicrobials. Thus, because of the emerging complex resistance patterns found in SM strains, surveillance programs should be increased for monitoring the spread of antibiotic-resistant SM strains in animals, and for analyzing the risk for the public health. Key Words: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, antibiotic resistance, Public Health