A cross-sectional study aimed to assess major GI nematode, parasite burden and associated risk factors as well as the current practices of anthelmintics utilization was conducted from September 2015 to August 2016 in selected districts of east and western Hararghe zones. In the study faecal samples were collected from randomly selected 768 ruminants' (cattle, sheep and goats) and coprological examinations and EPG techniques were employed. The study result indicated occurrence of GI nematode has statistically differences (p<0.05) in all considered risk factors: age, sex, species, body condition and origin of animals and overall prevalence was 51.3% (394/7680). The infection rate was higher in ovine (63.33%) species than in bovine (36.84%) and caprine (52.67%). The current study also revealed the major GI nematodes at the study areas were Strongyle type (16.15%), Haemonchus (13.67%), Oesophagostomum (11.07%), Strongyloides (3.91%) and Trichuris (1.05%), whereas 5.47% (42/768) was recorded as mixed nematode infection. Questionnaire survey in this study indicated majority of the respondents had poor to no information on economic importance GI nematode (71.67%) and anthelmintic drugs utilization (83.61%). Albendazole, Tetramisole and Ivermectin are the commonly available anthelmintics for GI nematode infection treatment at our study area. On the other hand, about 35.83% of animal owners had free access to drugs from general shop (nonprofessional traders) and 24.17% (87/360) had used traditional medicinal plants of unknown doses. The study revealed that high prevalence of nematode infection in ruminates and majority of the people in the study area lack awareness on economic importance of GI nematode though they had free access to anthelmintics with no understanding of drug resistance. Therefore, there should be detail awareness creation and the need of further investigation to develop control and prevention strategies.

AbstractsA cross-sectional study was conducted in selected districts of North Shewa Zone of Amhara Region with the objectives of estimating the seroprevalence of equine herpesvirus 1 and/or 4 and to identify possible risk factors for the occurrence of the disease. A total 397 working equids sera were examined for the presence of antibodies against equine herpesvirus 1 and/or 4 using indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Risk factors associated include geographic location, species, age and sex of equines. The overall sero-prevalence of equine herpesvirus 1 and 4 was 71.9% (95% CI: 67-76%). The sero-prevalence of equine herpesvirus 1 and 4 was 50% (95% CI: 22%-78%) in mules, 66.7% (95%CI: 57%-76%) in horses and 74.7% (95%CI: 70%-80%) in donkeys. Variation in prevalence was observed among age groups. The sero-prevalence in older donkeys (more than eight years) was 94.7 % (95%CI: 75%-98%) while in donkeys aged less than three the prevalence was 63.7 % (54%-73%) (p=0.002). In conclusion, this study revealed that the seroprevalence of Equine herpesvirus 1 and/or 4 in North Shewa Zone was high and prevalent. Thus, further epidemiological studies in Ethiopia on equine herpesvirus and implementation of prevention measures are recommended.

Camels are the most efficient domesticated animals in arid and semiarid areas of the world. In Ethiopia, they are the main livestock kept to sustain the livelihoods of pastoralists, as camels are used for milk and meat production and also for transportation. However, she-camel reproductive diseases are one of the major constraints for camel-producing communities. A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2018 to December 2019 to identify and characterize pathological lesions and isolate possible bacteria associated with reproductive diseases and disorders in she-camels slaughtered at Dire Dawa and Babille municipal abattoirs. A total of 155 study animals were examined by recruiting all she-camels slaughtered during every abattoir visit. Overall, 562 reproductive organs, the ovaries, oviducts, uterus, and cervix, were examined through observation, palpation, and incision, and the animal- and organ-level pathological lesion prevalence were found to be 29% and 64.6%, respectively. Degenerative changes, inflammatory lesions (endometritis and salpingitis), growth disturbances (e.g., ovarian hypoplasia), and noninflammatory lesions (e.g., noninflammatory edema) were the identified pathological lesions. Occurrences of pathological changes among reproductive organs had differences where significantly the highest proportion ( p  = 0.00) was observed in the uteri. Of the 119 microbiological samples processed, 77.3% were positive for single or mixed bacterial genera, from which 7 different bacterial isolates and 14 other unidentified Gram-negative bacteria were detected. E. coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus spp. were the most frequently isolated organisms with 28.2%, 26.9%, and 12.8% frequencies, respectively. The result of the questionnaire survey showed 74% of the respondents had culled the she-camel at productive age because of poor reproductive performance associated with refused mating, abortion, and repeat breeding (poor conception). On the other hand, a majority of camel herders had poor to no information and access to modern veterinary services; nevertheless, they had good indigenous knowledge on how to manage reproductive abnormalities. Considering the importance of camels in our study area, further research on camel reproductive diseases and abnormalities with wider sample and epidemiology need to be conducted using molecular and hormonal assay techniques.

This study was conducted in Dembecha Woreda of Amhara region, Northwest Ethiopia. The study was carried out on 384 indigenous cattle kept in mixed crop-livestock production system to estimate the prevalence of bovine trypanosomosis and associated risk factors. The study employed parasitological survey (buffy coat examination) and hematological study (packed cell volume [PCV] and thin blood smear). In the present study, the overall prevalence of trypanosomosis was 8.6% (33/384). Trypanosoma congolense (54.54%) and Trypanosome vivax (45.45%) were the only two species of Trypanosomas encountered in the study area. Among the risk factors, sex and age were found to have no significant association with the prevalence of trypanosomosis (p>0.05), but body condition and coat color of animals were found to have a significant association (p<0.05) with prevalence of trypanosomosis in the studied animals. In this study infected animals were with mean PCV value of 22.94 ± 2.70% which is significantly lower (p<0.05) than that of the non-infected animals (27.24 ± 5.02%). The study concluded that Trypanosomosis being an economically important disease in cattle the 8.6% prevalence entail that more attention should be given to be adapting on integrated disease control strategy including the vector as well as the parasites.

The study was conducted from October, 2015 to May, 2016