Background Drug resistant tuberculosis (TB) has become a persistent health threat in Ethiopia. In this respect, baseline data are scarce in many parts of high TB burden regions including the different zones of Ethiopia. Methods A total of 111 culture positive M. tuberculosis isolates were recovered from TB patients and identified using region of difference (RD) 9 based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and spoligotyping. Thereafter, their drug sensitivities to Rifampicin (RIF) and Isoniazid (INH) were evaluated using GenoType MTBDR plus assay . Results The result showed that 18.0% (20/111) of the isolates were resistant to either RIF or INH. Furthermore, 16.7 and 23.8% of the isolates from new and retreatment cases were resistant to any of the two anti-TB drugs, respectively. Multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB was detected on 1.8% (2/111) of all cases. Significantly higher frequencies of any drug resistance were observed among Euro-American (EA) major lineage (χ 2 : 9.67; p = 0.046). Conclusion Considerably high proportion of drug resistant M. tuberculosis strains was detected which could suggest a need for an increased effort to strengthen TB control program in the study area.

Background Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major public health problems in Ethiopia. Data on genetic diversity and resistance profile of circulating TB strains is critical for informing the national TB control program. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 213 smear positive pulmonary TB patients between 2015 and 2016. Sputum samples were cultured on LJ media following the Petroff’s method. Region of difference-9 (RD9)-deletion typing and spoligo-typing were performed for molecular analysis of M . tuberculosis at species and strain levels, respectively. Drug sensitivity and mutation patterns of the isolates were assessed by the conventional indirect proportion method and molecular line probe assays (LPAs), respectively. Data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software version 20. Results Spoligo-typing of 150 M . tuberculosis isolates led to 57 different patterns of which 25 were new strains. The majority (71.6%) of the isolates were grouped in to 17 clusters consisting 2 to 24 isolates. The majority of the strains belonged to Euro-American lineage and the predominant spoligotypes were SIT 37 and SIT 149. MDR-TB was detected in 5.2% and 20.3% of new and retreatment cases, respectively. Two MDR-TB isolates exhibited additional resistance to one of the second line anti-TB drugs. Common gene mutations including S531L , S315T1 and M306V were detected in RIF, INH and EMB resistant strains, respectively. Conclusions The identification of several new strains, higher proportion of MDR-TB and higher clustering rate in this study, warrants the need for re-enforcement of the national TB control program. The detection of common gene mutations in the majority drug resistant strains might suggest the feasibility of LPAs for rapid screening of drug resistant M . tuberculosis strains in Ethiopia.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a major zoonotic disease of cattle that is endemic in much of the world, limiting livestock productivity and representing a global public health threat. Because the standard tuberculin skin test precludes implementation of Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine–based control programs, we here developed and evaluated a novel peptide-based defined antigen skin test (DST) to diagnose bTB and to differentiate infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA). The results, in laboratory assays and in experimentally or naturally infected animals, demonstrate that the peptide-based DST provides DIVA capability and equal or superior performance over the extant standard tuberculin surveillance test. Together with the ease of chemical synthesis, quality control, and lower burden for regulatory approval compared with recombinant antigens, the results of our studies show that the DST considerably improves a century-old standard and enables the development and implementation of critically needed surveillance and vaccination programs to accelerate bTB control.

Background In the Ethiopian dairy farming system, prevalence of zoonotic diseases such as bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is high in the cattle population. This, combined with some risky milk and meat consumption habits, such as raw milk and uninspected raw meat consumption, poses a considerable risk of zoonotic disease transmission. A survey was conducted to investigate milk and meat consumption patterns, and the level of exposure to urban and peri-urban dairy-keeping households for risks of zoonotic disease transmission. Methods Data on milk and meat consumption behaviours and other socioeconomic and demographic variables were collected from 480 urban and peri-urban dairy farms randomly surveyed in major towns in Ethiopia (Mekele, Hawassa, and Gondar towns, Addis Ababa city, as well as five Oromia towns around Addis Ababa). Determinants of raw milk consumption associated with a number of demographic and socio-economic factors were analysed using a generalised ordered logistic model. Results The results indicated that about 20% the population consumed raw milk and their awareness about pasteurisation and its benefits were low. Location, gender of the household head, previous bTB testing of cattle on the farm, knowledge of zoonotic risks associated with raw milk consumption, household size, and per-capita milk consumption were found to be important determinants of the frequency of raw milk consumption. About 60% of the respondents were exposed to the risk of zoonotic diseases through their habit of frequently consuming raw meat. This was despite that over 90% of the respondents were aware of possible zoonotic risks of raw meat consumption. The determinants of raw meat consumption behaviours were associated with location, gender and age of the household head, household size, meat type preference, per-capita meat consumption, knowledge about disease transmission risks, and training on zoonoses. Conclusion Creating awareness about the risk factors for zoonotic transmission of diseases through training and media campaigns, improving meat hygiene through better abattoir services, and inducing behavioural change around meat sourcing, raw meat and raw milk consumption, are all crucial to the successful prevention and control of the spread of zoonotic diseases, including bTB.

BackgroundThe feeding habits and close physical contact between Ethiopian farmers and their cattle promote the transmission of tuberculosis (TB) between the farmers and their cattle. This study aimed to investigate the transmission of TB between farmers and their cattle in smallholder farms in northwestern Ethiopia.ResultsA total of 70 human TB lymphadenitis (TBLN) cases visiting the Felegehiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital in Bahir Dar City and 660 cattle were investigated. Half of the cattle were owned by households with TB cases, and the remaining half by TB free households. Among the 70 human TBLN patients interviewed, 65.7% (46 out of 70) of the respondents were not aware of zoonotic TB, and 67.1% (47/70) of them consumed raw milk. Positive cultures of TB were obtained in 40 of the 70 cases where TBLN tests were positive with fine needle aspiration cytology. Spoligotyping resulted in 31 different patterns, of which 25 isolates were Mycobacterium (M.) tuberculosis, and the remaining were M. africanum (4 isolates) and M. bovis (2 isolates). None of the animals showed positive test results for bovine TB by comparative intradermal tuberculin test.ConclusionsBased on the identification of M. bovis from two patients diagnosed with TBLN, we obtained preliminary evidence of zoonotic transmission of TB in northwestern Ethiopia. We did not identify a direct route of transmission between cattle and its owners. This is the objective of further investigations.