Improving the water productivity of livestock: an opportunity for poverty reductionLength: pp.57-65

LivestockProductivityWater requirementsPoverty

Health constraints of Cart Horses in the Dry warm, Sub-moist tepid and Moist cool Climatic Zones of Central Ethiopia

The objectives of this study were to identify the major health and welfare constraints of cart horses in the dry warm, sub-moist tepid and moist cool climatic zones of Ethiopia. The study was cross sectional and a total of 837 horses were examined. Five major health problems and welfare issues were identified.  Lymphangitis was recorded in 9.3 % of the horses in the sub-moist zone only. Eye problems were recorded in 32.1 % the horses of which 12.3 % had one blind eye and horses in the tepid sub-moist zone were  more affected than horses in the moist cool zone (OR = 5.25; 95% CI = 2. 94, 9.52). Injuries of the  withers were recorded in 47% of the horses. Unsympathetic drivers’ attitudes were predisposing factors of wounds on the inguinal region (19.7 %) and carpal joints (8%). Lameness and fetlock injuries were  recorded in 13% and 16.6% of the horses respectively. The health constraints and welfare issues are of considerable importance and merit attention. The use of improved harnessing systems, proper shoeing and  sympathetic attitudes of drivers could enable to efficiently utilize horses’ power.Key words: Carthorses, Ethiopia, Health, Welfar

Responses of Abyssinian Jennies to Treatments with Prostaglandin F2 alpha

The objectives of this study were to assess the heat induction and side effects of PGF2 in Abyssinian type jennies. Twenty jennies were used in the study. PGF2 was administered twice at doses of 44.μg/Kg and 22 μg/Kg body weight, 10 to 20 days apart. Observations on clinical and behavioral abnormalities were done before and after drug administration. Heat detection was assisted by a jackass. All jennies were ataxic and depressed after administration of PGF2. No apparent differences were observed in the magnitude of the side effects at both dose levels and jennies were in heat (18/20) post drug administration. PGF2 at 22 μg / Kg body weight could safely be used to induce heat and synchronize estrus in Abyssinian jennies.Key words: Heat induction, Jennies, Prostaglandin, Side effect

Rumen Manipulation for Enhanced Feed Utilization and Improved Productivity Performance of Ruminants: A review

Feed resources are inadequate both in quality and quantity in most developing countries, like Ethiopia. Natural pasture, crop residues and agro-industrial by-products constitute the major proportions of feeds available to most ruminants under smallholder production systems. The rumen has been recognized as an essential fermentation ‘Chamber’. Up to 12% of gross energy, however, is lost in the form of methane from ruminants. Methane is also one of the major green house gasses. Methane is produced by bacteria species, collectively called methanogens. Reduction in methane production increases the efficiency of feed utilization in ruminant animals. Manipulation of ruminal fermentation processes for reducing methane production by ruminants to improve the production performance of ruminants is the current major target of many animal nutritionists. The methods to effectively reduce methane production in the reticulo-rumen include processing of feeds, altering the ration, supplementation of unsaturated fatty acids, defaunation, supplementation of organic acids, halogenated compounds, ionophores, microbial feed additives (probiotics), plant extracts and their secondary metabolites. All these have to be validated in vivo studies in specific dose(s) to make it economically viable.Keywords: Rumen, Fermentation, Methane, Plant Extracts, Ethiopia

Antimicrobial cotton textiles by finishing with extracts of an Ethiopian plant (Solanum incanum) fruit

The use of natural fruits that are non-toxic, non-allergic and eco-friendly on textile as antimicrobial has become a matter of significant importance, may be, as a result of increased environmental awareness and because they prevent some hazardous synthetic antimicrobial. Antimicrobial finishing treatment on cotton textile fabric was carried out using extracts from natural plant Solanum Incanum fruit. The active substance was extracted from fruit by using Soxhlet apparatus and applied on the fabric in different concentrations viz. 15, 20, 25 and 30g/l. The antimicrobial activity of the treated fabric was assessed by Disc Diffusion (SN 195 920) method. High zone of inhibition obtained from 30g/l concentration. The durability of the finish product after five wash for zone of inhibition of fabric was also studied and found to be good. The aim of the present work is imparting antimicrobial finish on cotton by using natural fruit extract to fabric and to reduce the effect of microorganism on human body and a fabric.Keywords: Antimicrobial, Solanum Incanum, Disc Diffusion, zone of inhibition, durability of finis

A hierarchical Bayesian model for inference of copy number variants and their association to gene expression

A number of statistical models have been successfully developed for the analysis of high-throughput data from a single source, but few methods are available for integrating data from different sources. Here we focus on integrating gene expression levels with comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) array measurements collected on the same subjects. We specify a measurement error model that relates the gene expression levels to latent copy number states which, in turn, are related to the observed surrogate CGH measurements via a hidden Markov model. We employ selection priors that exploit the dependencies across adjacent copy number states and investigate MCMC stochastic search techniques for posterior inference. Our approach results in a unified modeling framework for simultaneously inferring copy number variants (CNV) and identifying their significant associations with mRNA transcripts abundance. We show performance on simulated data and illustrate an application to data from a genomic study on human cancer cell lines.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/13-AOAS705 the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Bovine cysticercosis in Ethiopia: A review

Bovine cysticercosis is an infection of cattle caused by Cysticercus bovis, the larval stage of Taenia saginata. It is an infection of public health significance as eating of raw or undercooked beef results taeniasis in human population and an important cause of economic loss mainly due to condemnation, refrigeration and downgrading of infected carcasses. Bovine cysticercosis is prevalent in cattle population of various regions of Ethiopia in a range of 2.2% to 26.25%. The reported rates of prevalence may be an underestimate because employment of the latest diagnostic methods is uncommon and the routine meat inspection is the only method in use. Habit of eating raw beef dishes, low level of toilet use by human population, backyard slaughter, low availability of taenicides, free access of cattle to surface water, and proximity of wastewater are important causes for transmission of bovine cysticercosis to a herd of cattle and taeniasis in human population and such practices are not uncommon in Ethiopia. Competent meat inspection procedure supported by immunodiagnostics, chemotherapy and vaccination are the recommended approaches to prevent bovine cysticercosis and therefore such approaches along with the current status of bovine cysticercosis in Ethiopia are highlighted in the present review

Effect of sesame cake supplementation on feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion efficiency and carcass parameters in the ration of sheep fed on wheat bran and teff (Eragrostis teff) straw

Twenty-five yearling growing intact sheep were arranged in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with five treatments and five replications. The experimental animals were supplied teff straw as basal ration. Different levels of sesame cake were supplemented in various treatment groups i.e. T1 (150 gm wheat bran, 0 gm sesame seed cake DM/day) being control group, T2 (150 gm wheat bran, 150 gm sesame seed cake DM/day), T3 (150 gm wheat bran, 200 gm sesame seed cake DM/day), T4 (150 gm wheat bran, 250 gm sesame seed cake DM/day) and T5 (150 gm wheat bran, 300 gm sesame seed cake DM/day). The experiment was conducted for 90 day of feeding trial and 7 days of digestibility trial. There was significant (p . 0.05) increase in total dry matter intake (TDMI), total organic matter intake (Total OMI) and total crude protein intake (Total CPI) with increase in level of supplementation. There was significantly lower (p . 0.05) crude protein (CP) content in the feces of the control group as compared to the different of level sesame seed cake supplemented groups. There was significant difference in DM, OM and CP (p . 0.05) digestibility between supplemented and control groups. The control treatment had significantly higher (p . 0.05) feed conversion ratio than the supplemented treatments and lower (p . 0.05) feed conversion efficiency as compared to the highest level sesame seed cake supplemented group (T5). Higher (p . 0.05) average daily body weight was gained in sheep supplemented with highest level (T5) of sesame seed cake group than the other supplemented groups and the control treatment. There was increasing trend of body weight gain from control to higher level of supplementation i.e. T1 (7.8), T2 (60.0), T3 (63.2), T4 (72.8) and T5 (77.8). There was increasing trend of slaughter weight (SW), empty body weight (EBW), hot carcass weight (HCW), dressing percentage on slaughter weight base and empty body weight base and rib-eye area with increase in supplementation of sesame seed cake being higher (p.0.05) value for T5 followed by T4, T3, T2 and T1. The size of heart, liver with gallbladder, reticulo-rumen, small intestine, total fat, tail, kidney and total edible organic component (TEOC) were significantly (p.0.05) affected by supplementation. Sheep supplemented with sesame seed cake had significantly higher (p.0.05) visceral fat, and tail than the control treatments. There was a significant difference (p.0.05) due to  supplementation on blood, spleen and pancreas, skin, testicle and penis, feet, head without tongue and total non-edible offal component (TNEOC%).The results of the present study showed that supplementation of 300gDM level of sesame seed cake (T5) increased body weight gain and enhanced carcass parameters which is potentially more beneficial and economically feasible than the other levels of supplements and the control group. Strategic feeding with locally available feed resources will improve efficient use of nutrients by sheep

Reproductive Characteristics of Abyssinian Jennies Exposed to Stallions and Jackasses

The aim of the study was to describe the intraspecies and interspecies sexual interactions and reproductive features Abyssinian type jennies exposed to jackasses and stallions. Twenty post-pubertal jennies, 3 jackasses and 4 stallions were used in the study. Jennies were divided in to two groups of ten each (stallion group and jack group). PGF2a was used to induce heat. A vasectomized jackass was used to assist heat detection. Jennies in the jack group were bred by two jackasses and jennies in the stallion group were bred by a stallion. Mating was on the 6th and 8th days after PGF2a injection and within the last three days after spontaneous return to heat. The durations of estrus and the estrus cycle were 7.4 ± 0.9 (mean ± SD) and 24.3 ± 2.1 (mean ± SD) days respectively. All jennies were receptive to jackasses but not to stallions. The number of cycles per pregnancy in the intraspecies mating was lower than the number of cycles in the interspecies mating (p < 0.05). The lengths of gestation of jennies in foal with jackasses and a stallion were 370.2 ± 4.5 (mean ± SD) and 330 days respectively. The mating resulted in five donkey foals and a hinny. The study showed that Abyssinian jennies have a high intraspecies reproductive potential but low pregnancy rate and abortion appear limitations in interspecies hybridization.Key words: Hinny, Jackass, Jenny, Reproduction, Stallio

Antimicrobial Prescription Practices in the Veterinary Clinics of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The objectives of this study were to assess the adherence of animal health workers to rational antimicrobial prescription guidelines. Data were collected from personnel working in 25 clinics by using structured  questionnaires. The data included the methods of diagnosis and drug selection, the frequently prescribed antimicrobials, methods of prescription and the availability of drug information sources. The study showed that diagnosis was established on a presumptive basis; pen-strep and oxytetracycline were the frequently prescribed drugs and verbal instruction was a common form of prescription. Adherence to the rational guidelines was substantially low and the prescription practices favor the selection of drug resistant pathogens. Educational programs are needed to ensure the perceived benefit of animals and reduce the rates of emergence of drug resistant pathogens of animal origin in Ethiopia.Keywords: Addis Ababa, Animals, Antimicrobials, Health workers, Prescription