Outbreak investigations and genetic characterization of foot-and-mouth disease virus in Ethiopia in 2008/2009.

The study was conducted in three regional states of Ethiopia: Amhara, Oromia, and Addis Ababa from August 2008 to April 2009 with the objectives of identifying the genetic diversity of serotypes and topotypes in Ethiopia, and determining the attack rate and associations of potential risk factors with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) seropositivity. A total of 496 cattle were clinically and serologically examined for presence of specific lesions and nonstructural protein for FMD, respectively. Of which, 140 (28.2%) manifested clinical signs and lesions suggestive of FMD, and 219 (44.2%) were seropositive. From a total of 7,781 animals observed and recorded on a designed format in six districts, 1,409 (19.6%) were infected, and 15 (0.12%) died during outbreaks of FMD. Epidemiological investigations revealed that the morbidity rate of the disease was 21.1% in Akaki-kality sub-city, but the mortality rate was <2% in all districts. Furthermore, the mortality and case fatality rates were relatively higher, 1.6% and 8.9% in calves than the other age groups, respectively. From a total of 33 bovine epithelial tissue-cultured samples, 19 (57.6%) showed CPE for FMD virus, in which 16 samples had serotype O and EA-3 topotype, while three samples had found serotype A, Africa topotype, and G-VII strain. Various strains of FMD viruses were isolated in Ethiopia in this study, and therefore, further detailed studies on the evaluation of available vaccines and the development of a vaccine which contains cocktails of antigens of FMD virus strains in the country should be encouraged.

Prevalence of Salmonella in retail chicken meat in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Infection with Salmonella (S.) is the most frequently reported cause of bacterial food-borne illness worldwide. Poultry are a common source and, in recent years, much attention has been focused in determining the prevalence of Salmonella during the different stages in the poultry production chain. This article was designed to investigate the prevalence of Salmonella serovars in retail chicken meat sold in Hanoi. A total of 262 samples were randomly collected from retail markets and examined for the presence of Salmonella. Of these samples, 48.9% were found to be contaminated with Salmonella. Predominant serotypes were S. Agona, S. Emek, S. London. The prevalence of S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium was considered. These findings have highlighted the magnitude of Salmonella contamination in retail chicken meat in Hanoi. On the basis of these preliminary survey results, it is recommended that a cost-effective monitoring and surveillance system for Salmonella should be established in Hanoi. This system should be augmented by good agricultural and hygienic practices and well-designed longitudinal research activities on the whole poultry production chain.

Preliminary analysis of tetracycline residues in marketed pork in Hanoi, Vietnam.

A cross-sectional survey was designed to investigate the proportion of tetracycline residues in marketed pork in suburb and urban districts in Hanoi. A total of 290 raw muscle samples were randomly collected from open markets in these districts. The samples were qualitatively screened for tetracycline residues using the agar inhibition test, and Bacillus cereus (ATCC 11778) as the reference strain. The inconclusive samples were then analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The positive samples from either test were defined as positive results. Overall, 5.5% of all collected samples were positive for tetracycline residues. The proportion of positive samples from shops in suburb districts was significantly (P < 0.05) different from those collected from shops in urban districts. So, the factor of region was identified as a risk factor of tetracycline residue proportion in raw pork with an odds ratio (OR) of 4.03 (95% CI = 1.12, 14.45). For the other factors, such as season, type of shop, type of abattoir, origin of meat, etc., the difference in proportion of positive samples within each factor was substantial but not statistically significant. These factors were identified as nonrisk factors. Such a high proportion may pose a potential hazard to public health, particularly since they might induce drug resistance of pathogenic micro-organisms.

Occurrence of hydatidosis in slaughter buffaloes (Bos bubalis) and helminths in stray dogs in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

The study aimed at identifying the occurrence of hydatidosis in slaughter buffaloes and helminth eggs, particularly Taenia spp. eggs in stray dogs' fecal samples in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The study period was from November, 2004 to April, 2005. A total of 500 buffalo carcasses in a slaughterhouse, at the riversides and individual butchers'sites were examined for the presence of hydatid cysts. The cyst fluid was collected and microscopically examined to determine if it was fertile or not. Of the 500 carcasses examined, 10.6% had hydatid cysts. Specifically, the slaughterhouse carcasses had a 6.7% occurrence of hydatid cysts, whereas those examined at riversides and individual butcher places had 10.0% and 12.7%, respectively. Distributions of the hydatid cysts by specific organs showed single occurrence of 6.4% in lungs, 2.4% in livers and 1.8% in both, livers and lungs. In a total of 53 infected buffaloes, 58.5% were fertile and 41.5% sterile cysts. Overall, 366 faecal samples from stray dogs were collected around buffaloes slaughtering areas (slaughterhouse and individual butcher places), riversides, garbage sites and temple sites. These samples were examined by formalin-ether concentration technique to investigate the presence of different helminth eggs. The total prevalence of Taenia, hookworms, Trichuris/Capillaria,Toxocara, Spirometra and Physaloptera eggs were 12.8%, 18.3%, 19.1%, 12.8%, 1.4% and 1.9%, respectively.

Comparison of California Mastitis Test (CMT), Somatic Cell Counts (SCC) and bacteriological examinations for detection of camel (Camelus dromedarius) mastitis in Ethiopia.

A total of 956 quarter milk samples from 253 traditionally managed lactating camels were collected aseptically from Negele (Borena Region), Dire Dawa, and Gewane (Afar Region), Ethiopia, according to multi-stage sampling. The quarter milk samples were subjected to California Mastitis Test (CMT), Somatic Cell Counts (SCC) and bacteriological examinations. Five hundred and seventy one (59.7%) quarter milk samples had microorganisms. Of these, 428 (75.0%) had isolates that were identified as major pathogens (MAP) and 143 (25.0%) as minor pathogens (MIP). A positive correlation was found between CMT scores and bacteriological classes (MAP, MIP) (p-value = 0.00). Strong correlation (p-value = 0.00) between CMT scores and SCC was recorded. The differences among the median log SCC of bacteriological classes (MAP, MIP) were not significant (p-value = 0.24). Similarly, the application of the cut-off level of 2.5 x 10(5) ml(-1) indicated less agreement (p-value = 0.32) for bacteriological classes MAP and MIP.