Pathology of Camel Tuberculosis and Molecular Characterization of Its Causative Agents in Pastoral Regions of Ethiopia

A cross sectional study was conducted on 906 apparently healthy camels slaughtered at Akaki and Metehara abattoirs to investigate the pathology of camel tuberculosis (TB) and characterize its causative agents using postmortem examination, mycobacteriological culturing, and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR), region of difference-4 (RD4)-based PCR and spoligotyping. The prevalence of camel TB was 10.04% (91/906) on the basis of pathology and it was significantly higher in females (χ2 = 4.789; P = 0.029). The tropism of TB lesions was significantly different among the lymph nodes (χ2 = 22.697; P = 0.002) and lung lobes (χ2 = 17.901; P = 0.006). Mycobacterial growth was observed in 34% (31/91) of camels with grossly suspicious TB lesions. Upon further molecular characterization using multiplex PCR, 68% (21/31) of the colonies showed a positive signal for the genus Mycobacterium, of which two were confirmed Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) by RD4 deletion typing. Further characterization of the two M. bovis at strains level revealed that one of the strains was SB0133 while the other strain was new and had not been reported to the M. bovis database prior to this study. Hence, it has now been reported to the database, and designated as SB1953. In conclusion, the results of the present study have shown that the majority of camel TB lesions are caused by mycobacteria other than Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. And hence further identification and characterization of these species would be useful towards the efforts made to control TB in camels

Emergency medicine development in Ethiopia: Challenges, progress and possibilities

Ethiopia does not have the facilities, equipment and human resource with the essential skills to support a coordinated emergency medical care system and as such lacks the basic infrastructure for delivering emergency care. The country has made significant improvements in the last two decades, particularly with regard to training of key Emergency Medical personnel. Nevertheless, much remains to be done, and numerous opportunities exist to make additional improvements in both the short and long term. This article provides a historical overview of the development of emergency medicine in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, critically examines the specific challenges faced and presents the various efforts over the past several years by national and international partners trying to address these challenges. It describes what has been achieved and proposes key recommendations for further improvement and scaling-up of Addis Ababa, emergency medical services initiative to other regional states of Ethiopia

Natural Disaster—Environmental Health Preparedness

This article will summarize a short, simple, and comprehensive description of natural disaster preparedness and response. In particular, it will focus on the following: • What they are in terms of qualitative and quantitative perspectives; • How they can be addressed in terms of prevention and management; • Innovations that may be piloted, evaluated, adopted, and diffused if appropriat

Metals Exposures of Residents Living Near the Akaki River in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background. The Akaki River in Ethiopia has been found to contain elevated levels of several metals. Our objectives were to characterize metals exposures of residents living near the Akaki River and to assess metal levels in their drinking water. Methods. In 2011, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 101 households in Akaki-Kality subcity (near the Akaki River) and 50 households in Yeka subcity (distant to the Akaki River). One willing adult in each household provided urine, blood, and drinking water sample. Results. Urinary molybdenum (p<0.001), tungsten (p<0.001), lead (p<0.001), uranium (p<0.001), and mercury (p=0.049) were higher in Akaki-Kality participants compared to Yeka participants. Participants in both subcities had low urinary iodine; 45% met the World Health Organization (WHO) classification for being at risk of moderate iodine deficiency. In Yeka, 47% of households exceeded the WHO aesthetic-based reference value for manganese; in Akaki-Kality, only 2% of households exceeded this value (p<0.001). There was no correlation between metals levels in water samples and clinical specimens. Conclusions. Most of the exposures found during this investigation seem unlikely to cause acute health effects based on known toxic thresholds. However, toxicity data for many of these metals are very limited

Gel electrophoresis separation of PCR products by RD4 deletion typing of mycobacteria isolated from naturally infected camels.

<p>Lane 1 = 100bp DNA ladder, Lane 2 = <i>M. tuberculosis</i> positive control, Lane 3 = Qiagen H₂O (negative control), Lane 4 = <i>M. bovis</i> positive control, Lane 5–7 were isolates from camel, Lane 6 and 7 were positive for <i>M. bovis</i>.</p

Tuberculous lesions from camels on different organs.

<p>(A1) Disseminated and distinct tuberculous lesions in mediastinal parts of the lung. (A2) Tuberculous lesion in mediastinal lymph node and nodules on other parts as indicated by arrows. (A3) Tuberculous lesions in hepatic lymph node. The arrows show that pea-sized lesions throughout the lymph node. (B) Tuberculous lesion in mesenteric lymph nodes as indicated by arrow.</p