Browsing by Author "Fikre Zeru"

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    Epidemiology and Public Health Implication of Bovine Tuberculosis in and Around Mekelle, Northern Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2011-06-01) Fikre Zeru; Tesfaye Sisayre
    Bovine tuberculosis (BTB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis, is a well-known zoonotic and economically important disease which affects cattle world-wide. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1248 cattle and 120 cattle owners in Mekelle City and its surroundings from September 2010 to May 2011 to assess the epidemiology and public health implication of BTB using comparative interadermal tuberculin test (CIDT), postmortem and bacteriological examinations, molecular typing and questionnaire. Accordingly, 120 herds comprising 480 cattle were subjected to CIDT, and the herd and individual animal prevalence were 20% (24/120) and 11 .25% (54/480), respectively. The herd level prevalence varied significantly among different type of farming (x2=4 .37; P=0.036), herd size (x2=19.47; P<0.001) and management (x2=25.04 ; P<0.001). Cattle herd in intensive type of production (OR=3.67) and under poor management conditions (OR=4.28) had a higher odds for tuberculin reactivity compared to those cattle herd managed under extensive production type and good management conditions, respectively. Cattle kept in herds which had >10 cattle (OR=13.53) and cattle kept under intensive farming system (OR=4.79) had a higher odds for tuberculin reactivity compared to those cattle kept with herds had less than five cattle and cattle managed under extensive type of production, respectively. of the animal characteristics, sex (x2=8.1; P=0.004), breed (x2=15.03 ; P=0.001) and body condition (x2=6 .65; P=0.036) were significantly associated with the prevalence of BTB. Female (OR=4.81), poor body condition (OR=2.65), exotic (OR=6.13) and cross (OR=6.61) had a higher odds for tuberculin reactivity compared to male, good body condition, and Zebu, respectively. of the 54 CIDT positive cows, four were slaughtered and TB lesion was detected in all the four cattle and 57 % of the lesions were found in the thoracic cavity. In addition, of the total 768 cattle subjected to postmortem examination, 49 (6.39%) were found to be positive for gross tuberculous lesions. Larger proportion (62.3%) of TB lesion was recorded in thoracic cavity followed by retropharyngeal lymph nodes (22.95%). Culture positivity in primary culture media was confirmed in 44.2% (27/61) in tissue sample and 12.9% (4/31) in milk sample. Mycobacterium genus typing of the 29 culture isolates using multiplex PCR analysis indicated that only four isolates positive for the genus Mycobacterium of which two were members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Awareness of cattle owners about BTB was generally poor and thus cattle owners were found to consume raw milk, soured milk product (yoghurt) and shared the same shelter with their cattle. A total of 1272 TB patients received short course therapy in Mekelle hospital within live years, of which 62.03% (789/1 ,272) were pulmonary TB and 37.97% (483/1 ,272) were extra-pulmonary TB patients. In conclusion, this study revealed the importance of BTB in the study area in particular and the region in general. Thus, detection of BTB both in live and slaughtered animals, lower awareness of cattle owners about the disease and the prevailing habit of consumption of animal products and isolation of M. tuberculosis complex from animal tissue and milk would suggest the potential role of BTB as a zoonosis. Therefore, practical and sound control methods such as strict meat inspection, boiling of milk and cooking of meat, and public education to raise the awareness on the transmission of the disease are recommended