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BackgroundHealth care Associated Infections (HAIs) are a major public health problem in both developed and developing countries. They pose a severe impact in resource-poor settings, where the rate of infection is estimated to be relatively high. Therefore, this study was conducted to establish empirical evidence related to HAIs in Zambia.MethodThis was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted from October, 2013 to May 2014 at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka. A total of 107 white coats worn by health care-workers at UTH were sampled for possible bacteriological contamination.ResultsOf the 107 white coats screened, 94 (72.8 %) were contaminated with bacteria. There was no difference in the contamination levels between white coats worn for more than 60 min (47.8 %) compared to those worn for 30–60 min (46.7 %) (p = 0.612). Further, the antibiotic sensitivity tests indicated that the bacterial isolates were resistant to some of the antibiotics assessed. Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pnumoniae exhibited the highest resistance to most of the antibiotics assessed.ConclusionThis study has shown that white coats worn by health care-workers at the University Teaching Hospital generally have high microbial contaminations and hence pose a nosocomial risk. It is therefore, recommended that white coats be regularly sanitized, and health care workers also be sensitized on public health risk of HAIs associated with contaminated coats.

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A cross-sectional study was performed in Southern and Lusaka provinces of Zambia between March and September 2008 to estimate Brucella seroprevalence in cattle kept by smallholder dairy farmers (n = 185). Rose Bengal test (RBT) was used as a screening test followed by confirmation with competitive ELISA (c-ELISA). We investigated 1,323 cattle, of which 383 had a history of receiving vaccination against brucellosis and 36 had a history of abortion. Overall seroprevalence was 6.0% with areas where vaccination was practiced having low seroprevalence. Age was associated with Brucella seropositivity (P = 0.03) unlike cattle breed (P = 0.21) and sex (P = 0.32). At area level, there was a negative correlation (Corr. coeff = -0.74) between percentage of animals with brucellosis vaccination history (vaccination coverage) and level of brucellosis; percentage of animals with history of abortion (Corr. coeff. = -0.82) and brucellosis vaccination coverage. However, a positive correlation existed between brucellosis infection levels with percentage of animals having a history of abortion (Corr. coeff. = 0.72). History of vaccination against brucellosis was positively associated with a positive Brucella result on RBT (P = 0.004) whereby animals with history of vaccination against brucellosis were more likely to give a positive RBT test results (OR = 1.52). However, the results of c-ELISA were independent of history of Brucella vaccination (P = 0.149) but was positively associated with history of abortion (OR = 4.12). Our results indicate a relatively low Brucella seroprevalence in cattle from smallholder dairy farmers and that vaccination was effective in reducing cases of Brucella infections and Brucella-related abortions. Human exposure to Brucella through milk from smallholder farmers could result through milk traded on the informal market since that milk is not processed and there no quality and safety controls.

Ten outbreaks of Salmonella gallinarum-pullorum infections on poultry farms in Zambia were investigated. Three cases were seen in day-old broiler chickens and were diagnosed by culture as S. gallinarum-pullorum and characterized as pullorum disease because the mortality was only in the first few weeks. Another case was diagnosed by culture from broiler parent stock. Day-old chicks from two of the three cases were supplied by a hatchery. Five cases in 5-to-18-month-old layer chickens were diagnosed by culture as S. gallinarum-pullorum and characterized as fowl typhoid because of the clinical disease appearing after 5 months of age and the typical lesions of fowl typhoid. The last case was in 5-month-old village-bred fowls and was diagnosed by culture and clinical manifestation as fowl typhoid. Outbreaks of S. gallinarum-pullorum are still manifest in Zambia. Clinically, both pullorum disease and fowl typhoid were observed, and it was indicated that hatchery infection plays an important role in the transmission of S. gallinarum-pullorum.