RESUMO
Background: For decades, Ethiopians have employed ethnoveterinary medicinal plants to cure both human and livestock ailments. Currently, few studies have been conducted on antimicrobial activity evaluation in Ethiopia. This study, therefore, is designed to evaluate the antibacterial activities of selected ethnoveterinary medicinal plants used in treating livestock ailments in the study area. Methods: Ethanol extracts of plants obtained by maceration of roots and leaves of four medicinal plant species were studied for potential antimicrobial activity using a disc diffusion method against S. aureus and E. coli. Data obtained from experiments were analyzed using ANOVA and the significant test was set to P < 0.05. Results: The antibacterial properties of four ethanol extracts of leaves of Withania somnifera L., Becium obovatum, Ageratum conyzoides L., and root of Pentas lanceolata (Forssk.) Defiers were evaluated in vitro and found to be effective against S. aureus but not E. coli. There was no significant difference between the studied plant species and concentrations (p > 0.05), according to the results. The four test extracts had minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 6.25 to 25 mg/mL, with inhibitory potential ranging from 12.5 to 100 mg/mL. Pentas lanceolata (Forssk.) Defiers's antibacterial activity at a concentration of 100 mg/mL (18.67 3.78 mm) was comparable to the standard antibiotic (Gentamicin 20g per disc), which had a measurement of 23.08 ±0.9 mm. Conclusion: This finding on the selected medicinal plants of Dawuro Zone supports the traditional claims of effective antimicrobial activity in the treatment of livestock health management. Hence, the study suggests further investigations need to be conducted to isolate and elucidate active ingredients in the plant materials tested.
RESUMO
A participatory epidemiological study was conducted with cattle keepers in Jimma zone, Ethiopia, between October 2018 and October 2019 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 = 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 = 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 = 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.
RESUMO
Q fever is a zoonotic disease that is caused by Coxiella burnetii and leads to abortion and infertility in ruminants and debilitating disease in humans. Jimma zone, including Jimma town, located in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, was affected by an outbreak of abortions in ruminants related to Q fever infection between 2013 and 2015. This study aimed to investigate the geo-clustering of C. burnetii seroprevalence in dairy farms of Jimma town and identify the environmental risk factors associated with seroprevalence distribution. A total of 227 cattle were tested for antibodies against C. burnetii in 25 farms. We explored the clustering of C. burnetii seroprevalence using semivariograms. A geostatistical regression-based model was implemented to quantify the risk factors and to predict the geographical variation in C. burnetii seroprevalence at unsampled locations in Jimma town using OpenBugs. Our results demonstrated that the risk of exposure in dairy cattle varied across the landscape of Jimma town and was associated with environmental risk factors. The predictive map of C. burnetii seroprevalence showed that communities in the eastern part of Jimma town had the highest risk of exposure. Our results can inform community-level investigations of human seroprevalence in the high-risk areas to the east of Jimma.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of cattle abortion and its association with brucellosis is not well understood in Ethiopia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the magnitude, associated risk factors of abortion, and its association with brucellosis in cattle of Jimma zone, Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out from October 2018 to October 2019 in Jimma zone. A total of 484 pregnant cattle were randomly selected from two districts based on the composition of the cattle population. Besides, blood samples were collected from a total of 484 randomly selected cattle to assess the presence of Brucella antibody. The presence of an antibody against Brucella organism was first tested by the Rose Bengal Plate test, and then positive serum was confirmed using the complement fixation test. RESULTS: An overall 14.30% cumulative incidence rate of abortion was recorded in study areas. In this study, breed, herd size, method of breeding, previous history of abortion, accessibility of dog to cattle and season were identified as risk factors for the occurrence of cattle abortion. Higher cumulative incidence of abortion (31.82%) was observed in Brucella antibody positive cattle than those of antibody negative cattle (13.42%). However, the difference noted was not statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: It is important to create awareness about the impact of the abortion on cattle production and the applicable control technique of abortion should be aimed and implemented. Moreover, further investigation should be conducted to identify the specific cause of abortion and the associated loss in the study areas.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Q fever is a zoonotic disease, caused by Gram negative bacterium C. burnetii, which imparts significant socio-economic burden due to production and reproductive loss (abortion, stillbirth, and infertility) in ruminants and debilitating clinical disease in human populations. While sheep and goats are considered the primary reservoirs of infection to humans, infection can also result from exposure to cattle. Recent studies indicate that in Ethiopia Q fever is a disease of growing public health interest. The top cattle producing region in Ethiopia is the Oromia region and Jimma is the zone that ranks first in the population of cattle within Oromia. While in Jimma zone livestock production plays an important role in people's livelihoods and nutrition, to date, there is no available report on seroprevalence of Q fever in cattle. This is particularly important due to the low dairy farm biosecurity in Jimma town. This study aimed to evaluate the potential risk for public health from cattle production; a specific objective of this study included the estimation of the seroprevalence of C. burnetii infection and its potential risk factors in dairy cattle and cattle for slaughter in Jimma Town. RESULTS: The seroprevalence of C. burnetii in cattle present at dairy farms was significantly lower compared to cattle presented at slaughterhouse [6.17% (95% CI: 3.41-10.13) and 11.79% (95% CI: 7.63-17.17), respectively; (P = 0.04)]. As the age of dairy cattle increase by 1 year, they were 1.51 more likely to be positive of C. burnetii [OR = 1.51 (95%CI: 1.30-1.75; (P = 0.000)]. Cattle managed in semi-intensive production systems were 8.08 more likely to be C. burnetii seropositive compared to intensively managed dairy cattle [OR = 8.08 (95%CI: 1.03-63.68); P = 0.047]. Dairy cattle with access to nuisance animals like dogs, cats and mice were 5.65 more likely to be C. burnetii seropositive compared to dairy cattle without access to these animals. On the other hand, dairy cattle that have no tick infestation are 93% less likely to be seropositive for C. burnetii [OR = 0.07 (95%CI: 0.01-0.74); P = 0.027]. Concerning farm-level data, farms of larger herd sizes were 1.03 more likely to be C. burnetii seropositive than small herd farms [OR = 1.03 (95%CI: 0.99-1.06)]. The result from slaughterhouse indicates that as the age of cattle increase by 1 year their chance of being C. burnetii seropositive increases by 2.27 [OR = 2.27 (95%CI: 1.93-2.68); p = 0.000]. CONCLUSION: Considering its zoonotic and economic burden the seroprevalence of Q fever recorded in this study is of eminent public health concern with a farm-level and slaughterhouse seroprevalence of 6.17 and 11.79% respectively. Based on modifiable risk factors identified in this study, Q fever management plans better be focused on health education and awareness campaigns for abattoir workers and dairy farm workers. Dairy farm Q fever management plans should contemplate improved dairy herd biosecurity with regards to cattle tick infestation, keeping different livestock species segregated and avoiding mixing of herd with others with unknown health status.
