Epidemiology and identification of Eimeria species affecting poultry in East Gojjam Zone, North West Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Despite the expansion of modernized poultry farming in Ethiopia, the presence of high prevalence of Eimeria species is the bottleneck in the sector causing high morbidity and mortality rate in poultry. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence and identify Eimeria species and investigate the major risk factors. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2019 to April 2020 in East Gojjam Zone, North West Ethiopia. A total of 384 chickens were used. Both floatation and McMaster coprological techniques were employed. Univariate and multinomial logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio for the associated risk factors. Analysis of variance was used to analyse differences in Eimeria oocyst counts among the groups. RESULTS: Overall prevalence of Eimeria species in poultry from the study area was 26.5%. Age (OR = 0.25, p = 0.001), management system (OR = 12.44, p = 0.001) and production system (OR = 0.37, p = 0.001) were found significantly (p < 0.05) associated with the risk of Eimeria species in poultry. The mean Eimeria oocyst count was significantly different by age and management system (F = 6.526, p = 0.002), (F = 5.369, p = 0.005), respectively. The mean Eimeria oocyst count was significantly greater in 6-12 weeks (p = 0.004) and <6 weeks of age (p = 0.025). A total of 6 Eimeria species were identified. Eimeria tenella (46.07%), Eimeria necatrix (24.5%) and Eimeria acervulina (8.82%) were the most common Eimeria species encountered. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of Eimeria species was higher in poultry in North West Ethiopia. Therefore, tailor-made intervention is required to mitigate risk factors and reduce the prevalence of Eimeria species in poultry from the study area.

Epidemiological and therapeutic studies on sheep lice in Sayint district, South Wollo Zone, Northeast Ethiopia.

An epidemiological (cross-sectional) and therapeutic (randomized controlled field trial) study was conducted on sheep lice in Sayint district, South Wollo, Northeast Ethiopia. The aim of the study was to (i) quantify the magnitude of sheep lice burden and the prevailing lice species, (ii) identify and quantify risk factors affecting lice infestation in sheep, and (iii) evaluate the efficacy of commonly used acaricides (diazinon and ivermectin) against sheep lice infestation. A total of 232 randomly selected sheep, 15 naturally infested sheep, and 80 viable Bovicola ovis lice were used for epidemiological, in vivo, and in vitro based therapeutic studies, respectively. Three naturally infested treatment groups each with five sheep (Group I-treated with diazinon, Group II-treated with ivermectin, and Group III-untreated/control) were used for in vivo therapeutic study. Lice count for the corresponding treatment groups was conducted on weekly basis using clinical and parasitological examinations. We used logistic regression to quantify the association between different putative risk factors and lice infestation, and the independent t-test and one-way ANOVA to compare the within and between treatment group mean lice count variations. The overall prevalence of sheep lice in the study area was 48.3%, where Bovicola ovis (83%) was the dominant lice species. Hair length, body condition, agroecology, and season were significantly (P < 0.05) associated with sheep lice infestation. Analysis of variance revealed that mean lice count significantly (P < 0.05) varies between treatment groups. A significant (P < 0.05) low mean lice cunt was recorded in diazinon- and ivermectin-treated groups when compared to untreated group. The in vivo efficacy of ivermectin (81%) was lower than diazinon (99%) when compared to the efficacy standard limit (98-100%). However, no significant mean lice count variation was recorded between the two groups. In vivo (99%) and in vitro (95%) assay evidence revealed that diazinon was highly effective for the treatment of sheep lice. According to this study, it can be concluded that the magnitude of sheep lice burden in Sayint district was found to be high and this could have a potential negative impact on sheep productivity and health performances. Thus, applying an appropriate intervention measure including the right choice of effective acaricides could help to control sheep lice in the study area.