Reducing child undernutrition through dietary diversification, reduced aflatoxin exposure, and improved hygiene practices: the immediate impacts in central Tanzania

Open Access Article; Published online: 28 Nov 2019The study aimed to quantify the immediate effects of dietary diversification, food safety, and hygiene interventions on child undernutrition in four rural villages in Kongwa district of central Tanzania. One hundred mothers with their children of less than 24 months old were recruited for this study. The difference-in-difference (DID) method was used to assess the effects of intensive intervention through a learning-by-doing process on the topic of aflatoxin free diversified food utilization and improved hygiene practices. Periodic anthropometric measurements were conducted on the 0th, 7th, 14th, and 21st days, and DID estimator showed the significant and positive average marginal effects of the intervention on Z-Scores being 0.459, 0.252, and 0.493 for wasting, stunting, and underweight, respectively. Notably, at the end of the study, the mean aflatoxin M1 level in urine samples decreased by 64% in the intervention group, while it decreased by 11% in the control group. The study provides quantitative evidence on intensive 21-day training for mothers incorporating integrated technologies yielded positive impacts on their children’s nutritional outcomes

One Health contributions towards more effective and equitable approaches to health in low- and middle-income countries

This research was supported by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/J010367/1) and the UK Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems Initiative (BB/L017679/1, BB/L018926/1 and BB/L018845/1) (S.C., J.E.B.H., J.S., J.B., A.D., J.A.C., W.A.d.G., R.R.K., T.K., D.T.H., B.T.M., E.S.S., L.W.). The Wellcome Trust provided supported for K.H. and A.L. (095787/Z/11/Z) and K.J.A. (096400/Z/11/Z). The US National Institutes of Health provided support for J.A.C. (R01AI121378) and M.P.R. (R01AI121378, K23AI116869).Emerging zoonoses with pandemic potential are a stated priority for the global health security agenda, but endemic zoonoses also have a major societal impact in low-resource settings. Although many endemic zoonoses can be treated, timely diagnosis and appropriate clinical management of human cases is often challenging. Preventive ‘One Health’ interventions, e.g. interventions in animal populations that generate human health benefits, may provide a useful approach to overcoming some of these challenges. Effective strategies, such as animal vaccination, already exist for the prevention, control and elimination of many endemic zoonoses, including rabies, and several livestock zoonoses (e.g. brucellosis, leptospirosis, Q fever) that are important causes of human febrile illness and livestock productivity losses in low- and middle-income countries. We make the case that, for these diseases, One Health interventions have the potential to be more effective and generate more equitable benefits for human health and livelihoods, particularly in rural areas, than approaches that rely exclusively on treatment of human cases. We hypothesize that applying One Health interventions to tackle these health challenges will help to build trust, community engagement and cross-sectoral collaboration, which will in turn strengthen the capacity of fragile health systems to respond to the threat of emerging zoonoses and other future health challenges. One Health interventions thus have the potential to align the ongoing needs of disadvantaged communities with the concerns of the broader global community, providing a pragmatic and equitable approach to meeting the global goals for sustainable development and supporting the global health security agenda.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Epidemiological studies of tickborne diseases in small scale dairy farming systems in Tanzania

Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN051761 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection amongst residents of Tanga District in north-east Tanzania

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease, recognized as a serious public health problem worldwide. Toxoplasma gondii infection has become a major public health concern in recent years due to the ravaging HIV/AIDS pandemic. A serological survey was carried out in Tanga district of north-eastern Tanzania to assess T. gondii infection rates among occupationally-exposed groups including abattoir workers, livestock keepers, animal health workers and other groups. The survey was undertaken in November 2005 using modified Eiken latex agglutination test (LAT). Antibodies to T. gondii were detected in 91 (46%) of the 199 individuals studied. T. gondii seroprevalence was slightly higher amongst males (46.2%) than females (43.3%) although the difference was not significant (P> 0.05). Individuals, ≤20 and ≥60 years old had the highest prevalence of 60% and 61.5%, respectively. The lowest prevalence of (35.7%) was observed amongst the 50-60 years age group. The seroprevalence of toxoplasma antibodies was significantly higher amongst individuals who keep livestock (52.2%) and abattoir workers (46.3%). These results suggest exposure to T. gondii infection is present among residents of Tanga district in Tanzania and strengthen further on previous findings that consumption of raw or undercooked meat and keeping pets especially cats presents more of the risk factors than occupational groups. It also emphasizes on the necessity to create awareness of this disease, and advocate protection of risky groups from exposure to infected meat and contaminated environment

Spatial distribution of non-clinical Rift Valley fever viral activity in domestic and wild ruminants in northern Tanzania

38pRift Valley fever (RVF) is an acute zoonotic viral disease of domestic ruminants in mainland Africa and Madagascar. The disease may exist in non-clinical form in apparently health animals. This study was designed to investigate the existence and spatial distribution of non-clinical form of RVF virus (RVFV) activity in wild and domestic animals in six districts in northern Tanzania. A retrospective cross-sectional study involved testing a total of 285 and 100 serum samples from domestic ruminants and wildlife species, respectively. The samples were subjected to IgG and IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as well as to the Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Based on ELISA test, the seroprevalence of RVF-specific IgG antibodies was: African buffalo (40.9%, n=22), African elephant (33.3%, n=3), cattle (11.8%, n=93), sheep (11.3%, n=97) and goats (8.4%, n=95). Two serum samples from goats tested positive for IgM. All samples tested were RVFV-negative based on RT-PCR test. The highest intravillage sero-prevalence of IgG was observed in two villages (Kimotorok and Lormorije) of Simanjiro district. Domestic ruminants from herds that were located at an elevation below 1000m were at higher risk (OR=2.32, 95% CI 1.05 – 5.16, p=0.04) of RVFV infection. Findings of the current study indicate existence of a wide range of domestic and wildlife hosts which could serve as potential reservoirs of RVFV during inter-epidemic period. This calls for adoption of one health approach in responding to RVF epidemics as well as during implementation of RVF controlling measures with the ultimate goal of eradicating RVF in Tanzania

Spatial distribution of non-clinical Rift Valley fever viral activity in domestic and wild ruminants in northern Tanzania

38pRift Valley fever (RVF) is an acute zoonotic viral disease of domestic ruminants in mainland Africa and Madagascar. The disease may exist in non-clinical form in apparently health animals. This study was designed to investigate the existence and spatial distribution of non-clinical form of RVF virus (RVFV) activity in wild and domestic animals in six districts in northern Tanzania. A retrospective cross-sectional study involved testing a total of 285 and 100 serum samples from domestic ruminants and wildlife species, respectively. The samples were subjected to IgG and IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as well as to the Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Based on ELISA test, the seroprevalence of RVF-specific IgG antibodies was: African buffalo (40.9%, n=22), African elephant (33.3%, n=3), cattle (11.8%, n=93), sheep (11.3%, n=97) and goats (8.4%, n=95). Two serum samples from goats tested positive for IgM. All samples tested were RVFV-negative based on RT-PCR test. The highest intravillage sero-prevalence of IgG was observed in two villages (Kimotorok and Lormorije) of Simanjiro district. Domestic ruminants from herds that were located at an elevation below 1000m were at higher risk (OR=2.32, 95% CI 1.05 – 5.16, p=0.04) of RVFV infection. Findings of the current study indicate existence of a wide range of domestic and wildlife hosts which could serve as potential reservoirs of RVFV during inter-epidemic period. This calls for adoption of one health approach in responding to RVF epidemics as well as during implementation of RVF controlling measures with the ultimate goal of eradicating RVF in Tanzania

Spatial and temporal distribution of rabies in the northern zone of Tanzania in the period of 1993-2002

A retrospective study was carried out to investigate the occurrence and distribution patterns of rabies cases in northern Tanzania. Data on laboratory confirmed brain samples and associated case reports submitted to the Arusha Veterinary Investigation Centre, for a period of ten years (1993-2002) was retrieved and reviewed. A total of 98 suspected rabies brain specimens from different animal species and geographical areas were submitted and processed during the period under review. Rabies was confirmed using Fluorescent Antibody Technique test. Of the 98 brain specimens processed, 65(66.3%) were confirmed to be rabies cases. Canine rabies accounted for 73.8% of the cases and was in diagnosed in dogs (43), jackals (4) and hyenas (1). Rabies in wildlife accounted for 5 out of 48 canine confirmed cases. Most of the cases were from Arusha (20) followed by Arumeru (19), Ngorongoro (9) and Moshi (8) districts. Rabies positive cases in other animal species were in the following order of frequencies: bovine (9 out of 11); feline (5 out of 10); equine (1 out of 2); caprine (2 out of 2). One porcine brain specimen was rabies negative. The high proportion of rabies positive cases confirmed suggests the level of their endemicity in the northern region of Tanzania. Moreover, the findings highlights the need for sustained surveillance and institution of control measures among dog population and awareness creation particularly among general public and children whom are at high risk of contracting rabies because of their close contact with dogs

Prevalence of genital campylobacteriosis and trichomonosis in crossbred breeding bulls kept on zero-grazed smallholder dairy farms in the Tanga region of Tanzania

A survey to demonstrate the presence or absence of genital campylobacteriosis and trichomonosis in cross-bred breeding bulls kept under smallholding dairy farms in the Tanga region of Tanzania was carried out during the period of January-June 1996. Sheath washings, swabs and preputial scrapings were collected from 58 randomly selected bulls. Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis was demonstrated in 3/58 (5.1 %) and Tritrichomonas foetus in 0/58 (0 %) of all bulls tested. Bull-level variables of level of taurine genes (62.5 % taurine genes, F2; 75 % taurine genes, F3) and age were not significantly associated with campylobacteriosis (P > 0.05). The result of the study identifies Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerelias as the agent of enzootic infertility in smallholder herds and suggests that may be a significant problem