Prevalence of bovine fasciolosis at the Ibadan Municipal Abattoir, Nigeria

Food animals are important sources of high quality protein and revenue to man, and can also serve as vehicles for disease transmission. Apart from economic losses, diseased organs in slaughtered cattle can also be sources of epidemiologic and zoonotic threats to man if not detected and  controlled. The study was conducted to evaluate the number of cattle  slaughtered, prevalence, seasonal variation, and socio-economic  consequence of bovine fasciolosis at the Ibadan Municipal abattoir,  Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, between 1994 and 2004 based on retrospective abattoir meat inspection records and a perspective meat inspection survey. Of the 1, 640,095 cattle slaughtered in 11 years, 37, 828 livers were condemned due to fasciolosis, translating into a prevalence of 2.31%. The incidence observed among males 172 (4.24%) was slightly higher than  noted for females 452 (3.73%) though significant at 0.05 level of error. More so, the prevalence recorded in the dry season (October – March) was 19, 816 (2.58%) and 18, 012 (2.07%) for the rainy season (April – September) with a fairly strong positive correlation (+0.76) occurring  between the incidence of the disease in the seasons. The economic impact of the losses due to fasciolosis was estimated at N19, 618,639 Nigerian  Naira ($147, 121) which was a huge loss to the livestock industry and the nation . With these findings, there is need to carry out a more elaborate survey of the disease in selected abattoirs, clinical and parasitological  surveys in ranches and ecological studies in majors rivers and ponds  throughout the country. Public awareness campaigns, planned herd health programmes, flukes and intermediate hosts control and effective meat inspection are also needed. There should be enforcement of ante-mortem examination in all abattoirs in Nigeria in order to reduce wastage while identifying diseases of public health and economic importance before slaughter. This will minimize health risks and the associated huge  economic loss. Compensation of butchers and meat traders with  condemned livers is recommended, in order to salvage constant prevalence of fasciolosis in Nigeria.Key words: Fasciolosis, Cattle, Prevalence, Abattoir, Nigeri

The burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in the WHO African region in 2019: a cross-country systematic analysis

Background A critical and persistent challenge to global health and modern health care is the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Previous studies have reported a disproportionate burden of AMR in low-income and middle-income countries, but there remains an urgent need for more in-depth analyses across Africa. This study presents one of the most comprehensive sets of regional and country-level estimates of bacterial AMR burden in the WHO African region to date. Methods We estimated deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributable to and associated with AMR for 23 bacterial pathogens and 88 pathogen–drug combinations for countries in the WHO African region in 2019. Our methodological approach consisted of five broad components: the number of deaths in which infection had a role, the proportion of infectious deaths attributable to a given infectious syndrome, the proportion of infectious syndrome deaths attributable to a given pathogen, the percentage of a given pathogen resistant to an antimicrobial drug of interest, and the excess risk of mortality (or duration of an infection) associated with this resistance. These components were then used to estimate the disease burden by using two counterfactual scenarios: deaths attributable to AMR (considering an alternative scenario where infections with resistant pathogens are replaced with susceptible ones) and deaths associated with AMR (considering an alternative scenario where drug-resistant infections would not occur at all). We obtained data from research hospitals, surveillance networks, and infection databases maintained by private laboratories and medical technology companies. We generated 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for final estimates as the 25th and 975th ordered values across 1000 posterior draws, and models were cross-validated for out-of-sample predictive validity. Findings In the WHO African region in 2019, there were an estimated 1·05 million deaths (95% UI 829 000–1 316 000) associated with bacterial AMR and 250 000 deaths (192 000–325 000) attributable to bacterial AMR. The largest fatal AMR burden was attributed to lower respiratory and thorax infections (119 000 deaths [92 000–151 000], or 48% of all estimated bacterial pathogen AMR deaths), bloodstream infections (56 000 deaths [37 000–82 000], or 22%), intra-abdominal infections (26 000 deaths [17 000–39 000], or 10%), and tuberculosis (18 000 deaths [3850–39 000], or 7%). Seven leading pathogens were collectively responsible for 821 000 deaths (636 000–1 051 000) associated with resistance in this region, with four pathogens exceeding 100 000 deaths each: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. Third-generation cephalosporin-resistant K pneumoniae and meticillin-resistant S aureus were shown to be the leading pathogen–drug combinations in 25 and 16 countries, respectively (53% and 34% of the whole region, comprising 47 countries) for deaths attributable to AMR. Interpretation This study reveals a high level of AMR burden for several bacterial pathogens and pathogen–drug combinations in the WHO African region. The high mortality rates associated with these pathogens demonstrate an urgent need to address the burden of AMR in Africa. These estimates also show that quality and access to health care and safe water and sanitation are correlated with AMR mortality, with a higher fatal burden found in lower resource settings. Our cross-country analyses within this region can help local governments to leverage domestic and global funding to create stewardship policies that target the leading pathogen–drug combinations. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and Department of Health and Social Care using UK aid funding managed by the Fleming Fund

The effect of aqueous Aloe vera gel extract on serum mineral compositions of Red Sokoto Bucks (Maradi)

This study was conducted to determine the effect of Aloe vera gel extract on the serum mineral compositions of Red Sokoto bucks. Blood samples were collected from 30 bucks before the commencement of administration of Aloe vera gel extract for serum minerals and these served as control group. The bucks were now divided into three groups A, B and C containing ten goats per group. The Aloe vera extract was administered orally at 1.0 ml/kg body weight daily at 3.0%, 4.0% and 5.0% to the group A, B, and C respectively for 14 days period. Five milliliters (5ml) of blood samples were collected from the jugulars vein of Red Sokoto bucks in the respective animals in the groups at 7 and 14 days, deposited into anticoagulant free plastic tubes and allowed to clot at room temperature within 3 hours of collection. Sera samples were analysed for potassium, sodium, calcium, Chloride, total protein, and albumin. Data were analysed using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA).The results showed that there were significant (P<0.05) differences in the values of potassium, calcium, chloride, total protein and albumin in the pretreated control group and posttreatment groups while there were no significant difference in sodium level (P>0.05) in the bucks that were administered with Aloe vera gel extract and control group. This indicated that oral Aloe vera gel administration in Red Sokoto bucks relatively caused some changes in mineral composition which may affect some physiological functions of visceral organs in these animals.Keywords: Aloe vera, serum minerals, Res Sokot

Effects of xylazine on physiological and biochemical parameters of Sahel bucks exposed to twenty-eight hours road transportation

Thirty two apparently healthy animals were used in the study with four bucks per group. There were eight groups in all and two stocking densities. The experimental treatment groups were xylazine at 0.01 mg/kg intramuscularly administered (IM), xylazine at 0.015 mg/kg (IM), xylazine at 0.020 mg/kg (IM) and a control none treated group. Each of the treatments had low and high stocking rates respectively. Thus, 16 animals each were experimented upon for the high and low stocking rates. Xylazine was administered prior and midway into the experimental journey.  Physiological parameters taken were: respiratory and heart rates, rectal  temperature and excitability score. Biochemical parameters analyzed were: alanine aminotransferase (ALT) aspartate amino transferase (AST), glucose, cholesterol, and protein. The electrolytes analyzed were Ca+, Mg++, Na+ K+ and Cl- . Antioxidative stress markers assayed were glutathione transferase, superoxide dismutase, malonyldialdehyde. Full blood count and thyroid hormones  [triiodothyronine (T3) and tetraidothyronine (T4)] were also determined using ELISA. The results show there was no significant (P>0.05) changes at all doses except for cholesterol where the dose of (0.015mg/kg) of xylazine produced a significantly (P<0.05) higher value when compared to the control, and the other treated groups. The serum Na+ and Cl- were significantly higher in the group treated with 0.01 mg/kg of xylazine (155.51±15.11 and 121.32±36.90 mg/dl) compared to the control. Xylazine at 0.015 mg/kg and 0.02 mg/kg dose caused a reduction in the Cl- levels. Xylazine treatment might have improved adaptability in long term transportation.Keywords: Antistress markers, Biochemistry, Bucks, Physiology, Transportatio