Serological and parasitological survey of dourine in the Arsi–Bale highlands of Ethiopia

This study was conducted from August 2005 to January 2007 to determine prevalence and distribution of dourine in horses and to investigate the occurrence of clinical and carrier cases in donkeys and mules in the Arsi–Bale highlands. Study methodology was based on questionnaire, serological, clinical and parasitological survey. The questionnaire indicated that dourine is a major health problem of equines in the Arsi–Bale highlands. Though dourine is commonly observed throughout the year, it has a seasonal character and occurs mostly during the breeding season from June to late September. Serological screening of 646 horses showed a seroprevalence of 184 (28%), 161 (25%) and 125 (19%) for card agglutination test for trypanosomosis, LATEX and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Risk factors were parity number, previous history of abortion and body condition score. No trypanosomes could be detected by Giemsa staining or by haematocrit centrifugation technique. Ten puppies inoculated with blood samples, genital washes and oedematous fluids remained parasitologically negative. Different characteristic signs of dourine were observed. During the genital stage, mares showed vaginal oedema, discharge and presence of depigmented scars over the external genitalia. In stallions, oedema of the scrotum and prepuce, prepucial and urethral discharge, and ulceration of the genital mucosae mainly of the penile were observed. In both sexes, lameness in one or both legs, partial dragging and stiffness of the hind legs and incoordination were the dominant signs observed as nervous form of the disease.     

Assessment of risk factors and isolation of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli from bovine subclinical mastitic milk in and around Gondar,Northwest Ethiopia

Tropical Animal Health and Production - A cross-sectional study with simple random sampling approach was conducted from November 2017 to May 2018 with the objectives of estimating the prevalence of...     

Study on Coccidiosis of Scavenging Indigenous Chickens in Central Ethiopia

An investigation was made into coccidiosis of 190 scavenging indigenous chickens between September 2000 and April 2001 in three selected agroclimatic zones, in central Ethiopia. This was done through clinical, postmortem and microscopic examinations. Data were processed by chi-square and Mantel-Haenzel test. The study indicated that 25.8% (49/190) of the chickens were infected with coccidiosis and found to harbour one to four different species of Eimeria. Of these infected chickens, 30 (15.8%) and 19 (10.0%) were positive for clinical and sub-clinical coccidiosis, respectively. There was a significant altitude difference (chi2 = 14.7, p <0.001) in coccidiosis prevalence: 42.2% in chickens from highland region followed by 21.5% in mid-altitude and 13.1% in low-altitude areas. When quantified, the prevalence of coccidiosis was 2.66 and 4.83 times higher in the high-altitude than in mid-altitude (odds ratio, OR = 2.66, p<0.05) and low-altitude (OR = 4.83, p<0.001) chickens. The pathogenic Eimeria species responsible for clinical coccidiosis were E. necatrix, E. acervulina, E. maxima and E. tenella. With increasing demand for poultry products in developing countries, knowledge of production constraints in traditional management practices could help devise control strategies for constraints on backyard poultry production systems.     

Distribution of drug resistance among enterococci and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salmonella</Emphasis> from poultry and cattle in Ethiopia

Enterococci and Salmonella were isolated from feces of chicken in intensive poultry farms and cattle which are maintained following traditional practices. Their resistance to different antibiotics was also determined. A total of 298 enterococcal isolates consisting of Enterococcus faecium (49.6%), Enterococcus durans (26.9%), Enterococcus hirea (11.9%), and Enterococcus faecalis (11.5%) were obtained. Among the enterococci, resistance to erythromycin (Ery), clindamicin (Cli), amoxicillin (Amo), ampicillin (Amp), and cephalothin (Cep) was high. Resistance to vancomycin (Van) was detected in all enterococcal species. Over 80% of the isolates showed multiple drug resistance. The most dominant patterns in poultry were Amo/Amp/Cep/Pen and Amo/Amp/Cep/Cli/Pen/Van. Among isolates from cattle, Amo/Amp/Cep/Cli/Ery/Pen/Van and Amo/Amp/Cli/Ery/Pen/Van constituted the most dominant multiple resistance patterns. A total of 51 Salmonella isolates were obtained from poultry (43/280) and cattle (8/450). About 70% of the isolates had varying resistance to the tested antibiotics. Multiple drug resistance was observed in over 30% of the Salmonella isolates. The most frequent resistance pattern was Amo/Amp/Cip/Gen/Str in cattle and Amo/Amp/Cep/Cip/Gen/Kan/Str in poultry. Enteroccoccal and Salmonella isolates showed multiple resistance to those antibiotics used in human and veterinary medicine. The high frequency of isolation of resistant enterococci is indicative of the wide dissemination of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the farm environment.     

Comparative diagnosis of parasitological,serological, and molecular tests in dourine-suspected horses

Study on comparative sensitivity of parasitological, serological, and molecular tests on 237 horses originating from two dourine-suspected districts of Arsi-Bale highlands of Ethiopia was conducted to determine the prevalence of the disease and degree of agreement of the diagnostic tests. Accordingly, the prevalence of the disease was found to be 4.6%, 36.7%, and 47.6% by parasitological Woo test, RoTat 1.2 and 18S PCR tests, respectively. The seroprevalence of the disease was 27.6% in CATT/Trypanosoma evansi test. In Ethiopia, it was for the first time that trypanosomes from dourine suspected horses were demonstrated in 4.6% of the animals using Woo test. The findings of the present study disclosed that dourine is highly prevalent and one of the major diseases of horses in the area. There was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) in prevalence of the disease between districts, sexes, and age groups of the animals. However, there was a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) in the prevalence of the disease between emaciated and animals with good body condition. Assessment of the degree of agreement of the diagnostic tests employed revealed low to fair ( k = 0.1 - 0.4 ) \left( {k = 0.{1} - 0.{4}} \right) with significantly higher sensitivity by PCR than other tests.     

Study on skin diseases in sheep from northern Ethiopia

A study was conducted to determine the cause and prevalence of skin diseases in local sheep from northern Ethiopia. Of 520 sheep examined 174 (33%) had skin diseases of different causes. The identified causes were lice infestation due to Damalina ovis and Linognatus africanus (21%), sheep pox (8%), sarcoptic mange (Sarcoptic Scab. var. ovis) (4%), dermatophilosis due to Dermatophilus congolensis (3%), and orf (contagious ecthyma) (3%). There was no statistically significant (P > 0.05) association of any of the skin diseases with age and sex of the sheep examined. The occurrence and spread of the diseases were associated with poor management, climatic factors, feed scarcity and inadequate veterinary services. The increasing threat of skin diseases to the development of sheep production warranting an urgent control intervention is indicated.     

Anthelmintic effects of indigenous multipurpose fodder tree extracts against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Haemonchus contortus</Emphasis>

Condensed tannins (CT) extracted from Balanites aegyptiaca, Tamarindus indica, and Celtis toka browses were used to evaluate their anthelmintic effect on different developmental stages of Haemonchus contortus. To achieve this objective, various serial concentrations of each CT extract of the foliages were used to test adult motility, inhibition of egg hatchability, and larval development. The fodders were selected based on their multipurpose advantage and accessibility to use as fodder for livestock in the low lands of the Gambella region. The fastest and slowest adult motility rate was observed in 2-ml (4 min) and 0.125-ml dose of C. toka, respectively, which is better than that in ivermectin. Egg hatchability inhibition was observed with dose difference within species, but there is no difference between B. aegyptiaca and T. indica. The foliage extracts of the studied browses were observed to inhibit the larvae by 100% at 2 ml, which is similar to ivermectin. There is no significant difference observed in larvae development inhibition between the species and ivermectin (p?>?0.05). CT extracts of studied plants have found to own significant anthelmintic activity in a dose-dependent manner. They could serve as anthelmintic economically and eco-friendly after further and series of in vivo experiments.