Animal health research

Background: Trypanosomosis is the most prevalent disease and causes serious economic losses in Ethiopia. The disease is among the major constraint to camel production in the country. Hence, this study aimed to determine the occurrence and associated risk factors of camel trypanosomosis in the Borana zone, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted from December 2018 to December 2019 using parasitological techniques in the Yabelo and Gomole districts of the Borana zone. A total of 384 camels were randomly selected and tested using wet blood film (thin) and the Giemsa-stained technique. The packed cell volume (PCV) of sampled camels was recorded using a hematocrit reader. Results: An overall 3.91% prevalence of camel trypanosomosis was observed in study areas. Trypanosoma-infected camel had significant (P=0.0001) lower mean PCV (20.73±1.91) than non-infected camel (27.07±4.35). The current study showed body condition of camel (OR=6.8, 95% CI: 1.44-31.83) and season (OR=3.1, 95% CI: 1.04-9.07) as risk factors for the occurrence of camel trypanosomosis. However, the sex, age, and origin (district) of camel did not affect the occurrence of camel trypanosomosis in the study areas. Conclusion: Camel trypanosomosis impeded camel production in the study areas. Therefore, control and prevent methods considering seasonality, different ecology is necessary to design and implement. Moreover, a further study involving more sensitive molecular techniques should be conducted on camel trypanosomosis and their vectors.

Abortion in dairy cattle may be caused by infectious and non-infectious agents. Infectious causes of abortion in dairy cattle include brucellosis, leptospirosis, listeriosis, Q fever, bovine viral diarrhea, mycotic abortion and neosporosis. Non-infectious causes of abortion in dairy cattle are genetic and non-genetic disorder. Risk factors associated with abortion in dairy cattle are genetic, environmental, management, geographical factors and infectious factors. Abortion in dairy cows brings about breeding and productive damages. Abortions cause significant economic loss to dairy farm. These losses can be attributed to loss of replacement calves, reduced milk production, costs of treatment, feeding of animals and premature culling of productive cows and heifers. Diagnosis of bovine abortion includes the collection of a complete history of the case and relevant epidemiological data and collected sample for analysis. However, determining the cause of bovine abortion is difficult as abortions are caused by numerous infectious and noninfectious factors. Status of abortion and breeds affected by abortion in Ethiopia were also reviewed.

Beekeeping is one of the most important sectors that contribute to the improvement of the livelihoods of people in many countries. A cross-sectional study was carried out in southwestern Ethiopia to determine the adoption rate, determinate factors, and community perception of improved beekeeping technologies. A multistage random sampling method was conducted to select study districts. A total of 180 beekeepers were interviewed for this study with a proportional random sampling method from adopters and non-adopters of technologies. From a total of 180 beekeepers, 61 (33.9%) and 119 (66.1%) were adopters and nonadopters, respectively. The majority of respondents stated that high yield, ease for inspection, and quality of honey are the main advantages, while high cost, the need for high skill, and access to technology are the major detriments to the adoption of Dereje Tulu ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dereje Tulu is a researcher at Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), Tepi Agricultural Research Center. His research work focuses on veterinary sciences. He has published various papers in several scientific journals. Melkam Aleme is a researcher at EIAR, Tepi Agricultural Research Center. He has been conducting different research on animal production and apiculture. Gezahegn Mengistu is a researcher at EIAR, Tepi Agricultural Research Center. He has been carried out different research on animal production and apiculture. Ararsa Bogale is a researcher at EIAR, Tepi Agricultural Research Center. He has carried out various researches on animal production and honeybee. His key interest is in honey bee disease and modern hive improvement. Amsalu Bezabeh is senior researcher at Holeta Bee Research Center. He is a national honey bee research program coordinator. His research interest is mainly on the improvement of honeybee production in Ethiopia. Esayas Mendesil is Associate Professor of Entomology at Jimma University. His research areas include beneficial insects, insect ecology and integrated pest management.

The study was conducted in Sheka and Benchi-Maji of SNNPR and Mezhenger zone of Gambella Regional State, Ethiopia to characterize poultry production systems, identify major constraints and opportunities in poultry production. From each zone two districts and from each district two kebeles were selected randomly based on poultry production experiences of the farmers and the potentiality of each kebeles. A total of 120 households were individually interviewed. The result of the study revealed that, the dominant flock structure of chicken in the study area was hens followed by chickens of 0-8 weeks of age. Most of the respondents in Mezhenger, Sheka and Benchi-Maji zones, practice scavenging and seasonal supplementation with cereals crops. June, July and August were classified as months of feed shortage whereas from November to April feed availability is sufficient to surplus. More than half (56.4%) of the respondents keeping the chicken in separate house away from human being. Almost ...

Backyard poultry production has been a long-established husbandry practice in Ethiopia. It is estimated that Ethiopia’s backyard poultry population is about 53.31 million. The productivity of backyard poultry is constrained by disease outbreak especially Newcastle disease. Newcastle disease is an endemic, highly contiguous, viral disease that affects birds in both intensive and extensive production system. Vaccination against Newcastle disease has been established as one of the many interventions’ strategies, geared towards the control of Newcastle disease outbreaks in these flock. Currently, in Ethiopia, four types of Newcastle disease vaccines (HB1, Lasota, IOENDV, and Thermo-stable–12 vaccine) are used for the control of Newcastle disease. The application of conventional vaccination strategy for the control of Newcastle disease has been effectively utilized in intensive poultry production system. However, these conventional vaccination strategies against Newcastle disease outbrea...

The study was conducted in Bench-Maji and Sheka of Southern Nation’s Nationalities and Peoples Regional State and Mejenger Zone of Gambella National Regional State to identify the major health problems recognized by farmers and livestock constraints in the study Zones. The questionnaire survey result revealed that Black leg (66.5%), ticks (46.5%), bloat (39%), Trypanosomiasis (37%), leech/Hurdiasis(30.5%), FMD (29.5%) and LSD (28.5%) were the most common suspected diseases affecting cattle health in that order of importance and Anthrax (21.5%), Pneumonia (20.5%) and abortion (16%) were the next important health problems of cattle production. The major cattle production constraints in the study areas perceived by the households were feed shortage, diseases prevalence, and lack of drugs, lack of market and inadequate extension and veterinary services. In the study area, the main traditional medicines used (Plants) were Kerebicho, Bisana, sensel, hot pepper (capsicum frutescens), tobac...

Trypanosomosis is a serious disease that causes a significant production loss in cattle. A cross sectional study was conducted in Jimma Horro District of Kellem Wollega Zone, Western Ethiopia to determine prevalence and associated risk factors of bovine trypanosomosis from October 2016 to October 2017. Blood samples from randomly selected 384 cattle of both sex and different age group were collected and examined with parasitological techniques. The overall prevalence of bovine trypanosomosis was 3.7% (14/384) in the study areas. The infection was highest due to Trypanosome congolense (50%) followed by Trypanosome vivax (28.6%) and Trypanosoma brucei (21.4%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified body condition as risk factors (P<0.05) for trypanosomosis in the district. However, there were no statistically significant difference observed among age groups, sex, skin color and different peasant associations (P> 0.05). The overall mean Packed Cell Volume (PCV) value was statistically significant difference between aparasitaemic and parasitaemic cattle (P< 0.05).The study showed that bovine trypanosomosis is one of the constraints to cattle production in Jimma Horro District. Hence, there is a need to create awareness about impact of disease on cattle production and appropriate control methods of trypanosomosis should be designed and implemented.

Abortion is one of the most important causes of economic losses in Ethiopian cattle industry. A cross sectional study was conducted between October 2016 and October 2017 to quantify the prevalence and associated risk factors of abortion in dairy cattle of Jimma Horro district of Kellem Wollega zone in western Ethiopia. A total of 384 dairy cattle were randomly selected from selected peasant associations of the district based on composition of cattle population. The overall prevalence of abortion was 2.9% (11/384) in the study area. This prevalence indicated that efforts should be made to taken measures to control and prevention of abortion in dairy cattle in study area. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified that method of breeding (OR=7.4) and season of calving (OR=4.4) as a risk factor of abortion. However, there were no statistically significant differences observed between herd size, age group, parity, body condition, origin and dairy cattle that had previous hist...

Several causative infectious agents are responsible for abortion causes in sheep and goats. The economic and zoonotic signifi cance of infectious causes of abortion remains of concern in developing countries. Abortion in general causes substantial losses of productivity through death and expulsion of a fetus by the ewe/doe before the end of a normal term of pregnancy, aff ect the future fertility, lactation and fl ock are culled annually. Common infectious causes of abortion in small ruminants include brucellosis, leptospirosis, listeriosis, Q fever, toxoplasmosis, and salmonellosis. Abortion also caused by noninfectious situations such as genetic factors and mechanical conditions. Age, fl ock size, species composition, the hygienic status of the farm and environmental factors were risk factors for abortion in sheep and goats. In general, there is a lack of information about small ruminant abortion in Ethiopia. This paper reviewed the common cause of abortion in sheep and goats, the...

Neonatal calf diarrhea or calf scours is a common disease that affected the newborn calf and it occurs when the capability of the intestine to absorb fluid is impaired. Calf scours is not a single disease entity, it is a clinical syndrome associated with several diseases characterized by diarrhea. The scouring calf loses fluids, rapidly dehydrates and suffers from electrolyte loss. Many of the bacterial agents responsible for scours are commonly isolated in the environment and carrier adult animals within the herd. The primary bacterial agents responsible were E. coli, Salmonella and Clostridium species. Some E. coli species may cause profuse watery diarrhea while others may be linked to bloody scours of variable severity. The major concern with calf diarrhea is dehydration resulting from the cause of diarrhea. Oral rehydration is important in the prevention of dehydration. Strict biosecurity, biocontainment, improving management systems and vaccination are important methods to prev...

Ectoparasite in sheep and goats are causing a serious problem in tanning industry and economic growth in Ethiopia. A cross sectional study was conducted in Debub Bench district of Bench Maji zone to determine prevalence and associated risk factors of ectoparasite in sheep and goats from December 2016 to December 2017. A total of 627 small ruminants (559 sheep and 68 Goats) were randomly selected and examined for presence of ectoparasites. The prevalence of ectoparasite in sheep and goats were (78.0%) and (39.7%) respectively. The overall prevalence of ectoparasite was 73.7% (462/627) in the study areas. The infestation of ectoparasite was highest due to tick (47.0%) followed by fleas (46.7%) and mixed infestation (30.5%) with lice (21.5%) being the least in the area. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified body condition, age groups and origin of sheep and goats as risk factors (P&lt;0.05) for ectoparasite in the study area. However, there were no statistically signifi...

A cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2015 to November 2016 to investigate the prevalence and associated risk factors of gastrointestinal parasites of cattle in four districts of east Shewa zone. Fecal samples were examined by using simple flotation techniques. Out of 384 cattle examined 157 (40.9%) were found positive for at least an egg or more of some of parasites belonging to Strongyle, Trichuris, Toxocaravitulorum and/or oocytes of some protozoa. Moreover there was no significant variation (x=6.61; P&gt;0.05) between districts in finding positive cattle considering the distribution of parasite groups. Based on fecal egg findings, the relative importance of parasites was recorded as Eimeria species, Toxocaravitulorum, Strongyle, Strongyloides species, Trichurisglobulosa and cryptosporidium species in the order of 47.8%, 0.6% 14.0%, 1.3%, 5.1% and 31.2% respectively. Other factors like age category and sex did not show significant variation while body condition wa...

The study was conducted in Sheka, Bench Maji and Mejenger zones of south western part of the country to assess the challenges on existing feeds, poultry health technologies and ethno-vet practices and farmers’ trend on ethno-vet practices in the study area. Districts and respondents were randomly selected based on the potentiality of the areas and farmers experience. In the study area, a total of 140 households were selected. The questionnaire was developed; selected respondents were interviewed at their farm gate. According to this study, about 35.7% were kept their chicken sharing family house, of which 56%, 39% of the respondents managed the chicken by all family member and women, respectively. The major feed supplements for their chicken in the study area were maize (93%), household scraps (79%) and sorghum (66%). About 45.6% of the respondents were lost their chicken all in all due to the disease out breaks mostly during summer season. The main disease in the study area was gun...

Leptospirosis is a re-emerging zoonotic disease of worldwide public health significance that affects domestic animals and humans. The disease is caused by various serovars of leptospira interrogans that belong to the genus Leptospira. Pomona, Canicola, Bratislava, Grippotyphosa, Hardjo and Icterohemorrhagiae are the common serovars of L. interrogans. Leptospirosis contains a large spectrum of the host that harbor and excretes the agent from their renal tubules. The principal reservoir hosts for many Leptospira serovars are rodents. However, cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, horses and pigs are reservoir hosts among domestic animals and they act as a carrier for several months. Leptospirosis occurs as acute, sub-acute and chronic forms. It is characterized by septicemia, hemorrhagic syndrome, abortion storm and stillbirth. Leptospirosis can be transmitted through direct and indirect contact. The urine of diseased or carrier animals, contaminates water, mud feed, aborted fetus and uterine d...

A cross-sectional study was conducted to isolate and identify of Escherchia coli, Pastuerella multocida, Salmonella gallinarum and Salmonella pullorum from the holding grounds of five purposively selected Addis Ababa live bird markets from November 2016 to May 2017 using bacterial culture, grams staining and biochemical testing. A total of 90 pooled fecal samples were collected as both deep (35) (bottom layer of the feces) and surface (55) (top layer of the feces). The specimens were inoculated directly into blood agar and incubated at 37°C for 24 h. After subsequent subcultures of the colony on the blood agar, to get pure colonies, the isolates were cultured on MacConkey agar and Salmonella shigella agar to differentiate bacterial colonies. Gram staining and biochemical tests were carried out on the pure colonies and a loop of the isolates were inoculated into nutrient broth and kept for further investigation of the bacteria. The results of the study revealed that, out of the 90 to...

Brucellosis is a globally distributed zoonotic disease that causes serious problems in developing countries such as Ethiopia. Brucella abortus is the primary cause of brucellosis in cattle, and Brucella melitensis and Brucella suis also occasionally cause Brucella infection in cattle. Abortion and the retained fetal membrane are typical signs in females, whereas orchitis and bursitis are the known signs in male cattle. Brucellosis is typically transmitted to healthy cattle by direct or indirect contact with diseased cattle or their discharges. Humans can acquire brucellosis through the consumption of unpasteurized milk or milk products, and through contact with diseased cattle or their discharges. The occurrence of bovine brucellosis is affected by different factors related to the management system, host, and environmental factors. In Ethiopia, the occurrence of brucellosis is high in pastoral and mixed cattle management systems, wherever humans live closely with cattle and so have a higher probability of picking up the Brucella organism. The most suitable technique in the management of Brucella infection is the vaccination of young female cattle. Brucella abortus can also be eradicated by the isolation of diseased cattle, administration of immunizing agents, and test-and-slaughter methods. Therefore, it is important to implement applicable management techniques and to increase public awareness about the transmission of brucellosis, and further research should be conducted on brucellosis in high-risk groups.

Trypanosomosis is highly reliant on the distribution of vectors responsible for transmission. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of bovine trypanosomosis as well as the distribution of vectors in the Jimma zone, Ethiopia. Blood samples from a total of 2088 cattle were collected and tested using a buffy coat and Giemsa techniques. An overall 13.36% prevalence of trypanosomosis was recorded in study areas. The highest proportion of the infections was caused by T. vivax (44.80%) followed by T. congolense (36.92%) and mixed infection (18.28%) of both species. The study also revealed that trypanosomosis was associated with anemia as the mean PCV was significantly lower among trypanosome-infected animals (20.34 ± 4.39) than non-infected ones (27.98 ± 3.68). Moreover, anemia was more pronounced with T. congolense infection (19.54 ± 3.22) than T. vivax (21.07 ± 3.96) and mixed infection of both species (20.16 ± 2.71). This study identified age, body condition, and agro-ecology as risk factors for the occurrence of trypanosomosis in cattle. Vector survey was conducted by deploying 377 mono-pyramidal traps in selected districts. Accordingly, Glossina species and other biting flies (Stomoxys and Tabanus) were identified with an apparent density of 5.27 and 1.74 fly/trap/day, respectively. Moreover, a higher 4.49 fly/trap/day of G. tachinoides than G. morsitans submorsitans (0.79 fly/trap/day) was noted in study areas. The present study indicated that trypanosomosis is the major cattle production constraint in the areas. Hence, applicable management techniques of the disease and its vector should be implemented and further investigation involving molecular technique should be conducted in different seasons.

Bovine brucellosis is a serious zoonotic infectious disease with widespread occurrence in developing countries like Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2017 to November 2018 to investigate the prevalence and associated risk factors of brucellosis in breeding female cattle under the traditional production system of the Jimma zone in Ethiopia. Blood samples were collected from a total of 423 breeding female cattle to test the presence of Brucella antibody. The presence of antibody against Brucella spp. was serially tested first by the Rose Bengal Plate test, then positive sera were confirmed using the complement fixation test. Potential risk factors for Brucella seropositivity were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. An overall 11.6% (95%CI: 6.25-16.94) and 4.3% (95%CI: 2.15-5.89) seroprevalence of brucellosis was recorded at herd and animal level, respectively in study areas. We identified age (OR=9.6, 95% CI: 2.08-44.07), breed (OR=4.5, 95%CI: 1.54-12.99), herd size (OR=10.4, 95%CI: 1.27-85.04) and species composition (OR=4.4, 95%CI: 1.31-14.89) as risk factors for Brucella infection. Herd level analysis of risk factor shows that herds kept with sheep and/goats was at higher risk (OR=3.7, 95% CI: 1.25-11.17) of acquired Brucella infection. This result showed that brucellosis was a widely spread disease in the study areas. Thus, important to carry out appropriate control methods and creating awareness on public zoonotic transmissions of brucellosis are recommended. Moreover, further investigation should be carried out to isolate and characterized brucellosis as a cause of reproduction problems in the study areas.

Background: Abortion, causes by several infectious and non-infectious factors is one of the most critical health problems of cattle in Ethiopia. Thus, this study aimed to assess knowledge and perception of the community about potential causes of abortion and case-control study of brucellosis as a cause of abortion in cattle of study districts. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2016 and October 2017 in selected districts of the Jimma zone using a questionnaire survey. Based on the This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

to identify the causes of abortion in cattle. Data collection involved 20 group discussions (each comprising 8-12 people) in 10 peasant associations. Methods used in group discussions included semi-structured interviews, pairwise ranking, matrix scoring, proportional piling, and seasonal calendar. The result of pairwise ranking identified brucellosis, leptospirosis, listeriosis, trypanosomosis, and Foot and mouth disease (FMD) in decreasing order as the most important causes of abortion in cattle. Mechanical or physical agents were also identified as less important non-infectious causes of cattle abortion in study areas. A very strong agreement (W ¼ 0.880; P < 0.001) was observed among informant groups in pairwise ranking as to the most important cause of cattle abortion in study areas. Proportional piling showed that brucellosis was responsible for the highest proportion of abortions (39.9%) followed by leptospirosis (22.5%) and listeriosis (16.3%). A lesser proportion of abortion was attributed to trypanosomosis and FMD which comprise 11.6% and 9.7%, respectively. Matrix scoring showed strong agreement (W ¼ 0.572 to 0.898; p < 0.001) concerning causes of abortion and its clinical signs between informant groups. According to the discussants, brucellosis and FMD tend to occur more frequently in the winter and spring seasons whereas listeriosis and trypanosomosis occurred frequently in the summer and autumn seasons, respectively. Strong agreement was observed among informant groups about the seasonal pattern of occurrence causes of abortion (W ¼ 0.525-0.794; P < 0.001). Participants used medicinal plants and other traditional practices to manage cattle abortion in their areas. Farmers' knowledge should be incorporated to investigate health problems of unknown causes, designing, and implementing the intervention program in the areas.