High Campylobacter prevalence during early childhood has been associated with stunting and environmental enteric dysfunction (EED), especially in low resource settings. This study assessed the prevalence, diversity, abundance, and co-occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in stools from children in a rural area of eastern Ethiopia and their association with microbiome, diarrhea, and EED in children. Stool samples (n = 100) were collected from randomly selected children (age range: 360-498 days) in five kebeles in Haramaya District, Ethiopia. Diarrhea, compromised gut permeability, and gut inflammation were observed in 48, 45, and 57% of children, respectively. Campylobacter prevalence and species diversity were assessed using PCR and meta-total RNA sequencing (MeTRS). The prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in the children's stools was 50% (41-60%) by PCR and 88% (80-93.6%) by MeTRS (P < 0.01). Further, seven Campylobacter species (Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter upsaliensis, Campylobacter hyointestinalis, Campylobacter coli, Campylobacter sp. RM6137, uncultured Campylobacter sp., and Campylobacter sp. RM12175) were detected by MeTRS in at least 40% of children stools in high abundance (>1.76-log read per million per positive stool sample). Four clusters of Campylobacter species (5-12 species per cluster) co-occurred in the stool samples, suggesting that Campylobacter colonization of children may have occurred through multiple reservoirs or from a reservoir in which several Campylobacter species may co-inhabit. No associations between Campylobacter spp., EED, and diarrhea were detected in this cross-sectional study; however, characteristic microbiome profiles were identified based on the prevalence of Campylobacter spp., EED severity, and diarrhea. Forty-seven bacterial species were correlated with Campylobacter, and 13 of them also correlated with gut permeability, gut inflammation and/or EED severity. Forty-nine species not correlated with Campylobacter Terefe et al. Campylobacter and Microbiome in Stools were correlated with gut permeability, gut inflammation, EED severity and/or diarrhea. This study demonstrated that (1) in addition to C. jejuni and C. coli, multiple nonthermophilic Campylobacter spp. (i.e., Campylobacter hyointestinalis, Campylobacter fetus, and Campylobacter concisus) were frequently detected in the children's stools and (2) the Campylobacter, gut permeability, gut inflammation, EED severity, and diarrhea were associated with characteristic microbiome composition. Additional spatial and longitudinal studies are needed to identify environmental reservoirs and sources of infection of children with disparate Campylobacter species and to better define their associations with EED in low-income countries.

Background External infections involving the skin and wound are the most frequent complications affecting humans and animals. Medicinal plants play great roles in the treatment of skin and wound infections. This study was aimed to evaluate the in vitro antibacterial activity of crude methanolic extracts of nine medicinal plants. Methods Agar well diffusion and broth dilution methods were used to determine the antibacterial activity of nine Ethiopian plants against four bacterial species including Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Results Among the tested plants, seven (Cissus quadrangularis, Commelina benghalensis, Euphorbia heterophylla, Euphorbia prostrate, Momordica schimperiana, Trianthema spp., and Solanum incanum) were found to exhibit considerable antibacterial activity against at least one of the test bacteria. The extracts of C. quadrangularis, E. heterophylla, and E. prostrata had a wide spectrum of antibacterial activities against test bacterial strains while the extracts of Grewia villosa and Schinus molle did not show any inhibitory activity. Clinical isolate and laboratory strain of S. aureus showed the highest susceptibility to highest concentration (780 mg/mL) of E. prostrata with a zone of inhibition of 21.0mm and 22.3mm, respectively. Conclusion This study indicates clear evidence supporting the traditional use of seven plants in treating skin and wound infections related to bacteria.

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) are the major limiting factor for the successfulness of livestock production throughout the world. Emergence of resistance strains as well as scarcity and high cost of the currently available drugs has led to the evaluation of other alternative helminth control options, mainly from plants. The current study is aimed at investigating the in vitro anthelmintic efficacy of crude methanolic extracts of two traditionally important medicinal plants, Artemisia herba-alba and Punica granatum, against Haemonchus contortus using adult motility assay (AMA) and egg hatch inhibition assay (EHIA). Four graded concentrations of the extracts were tested for both the AMA (10, 5, 2.5, and 1.25 mg/mg) and EHIA (0.1, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg/mL) in replicates. Albendazole and phosphate-buffered saline (AMA) or distilled water (EHIA) were used as the positive and negative controls, respectively. The crude extracts of A. herba-alba and P. granatum exhibited a potential anthelmintic activity at all dose levels in a concentration- and time-dependent fashion. The highest concentration (10 mg/mL) of all the extracts caused a significantly (p<0.05) superior nematocidal activity compared to the negative control. Moreover, significant and concentration-dependent egg hatching inhibition effect was observed from both plant extracts. Maximal (98.67%) egg hatching inhibition effect was exhibited by the flower extract of A. herba-alba at 1 mg/mL concentration. The relative egg hatch inhibition efficacy indicated that both plants caused a significantly (p<0.05) greater egg hatch inhibition within 48 hr of exposure. The current study validated the traditional use of both plants as a natural anthelmintic against H. contortus justifying a need to undertake detail pharmacological and toxicological investigation on both plants.

IntroductionUndernutrition is an underlying cause of mortality in children under five (CU5) years of age. Animal-source foods have been shown to decrease malnutrition in CU5. Livestock are important reservoirs for Campylobacter bacteria, which are recognised as risk factors for child malnutrition. Increasing livestock production may be beneficial for improving nutrition of children but these benefits may be negated by increased exposure to Campylobacter and research is needed to evaluate the complex pathways of Campylobacter exposure and infection applicable to low-income and middle-income countries. We aim to identify reservoirs of infection with Campylobacter spp. of infants in rural Eastern Ethiopia and evaluate interactions with child health (environmental enteric dysfunction and stunting) in the context of their sociodemographic environment.Methods and analysisThis longitudinal study involves 115 infants who are followed from birth to 12 months of age and are selected randomly from 10 kebeles of Haramaya woreda, East Hararghe zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia. Questionnaire-based information is obtained on demographics, livelihoods, wealth, health, nutrition and women empowerment; animal ownership/management and diseases; and water, sanitation and hygiene. Faecal samples are collected from infants, mothers, siblings and livestock, drinking water and soil. These samples are analysed by a range of phenotypic and genotypic microbiological methods to characterise the genetic structure of the Campylobacter population in each of these reservoirs, which will support inference about the main sources of exposure for infants.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was obtained from the University of Florida Internal Review Board (IRB201903141), the Haramaya University Institutional Health Research Ethics Committee (COHMS/1010/3796/20) and the Ethiopia National Research Ethics Review Committee (SM/14.1/1059/20). Written informed consent is obtained from all participating households. Research findings will be disseminated to stakeholders through conferences and peer-reviewed journals and through the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems.

BackgroundCamel mange is an economically important parasitic disease affecting productivity in camel rearing areas of the world if appropriate treatment is not instituted.MethodsA cross-sectional and a controlled field trial were carried out to study the epidemiology of camel mange in Fafan zone, Eastern Ethiopia, and evaluate the efficacy of ivermectin and diazinon in the control of mange infestation in camels on the basis of clinical and parasitological evidence, respectively. Three groups of naturally infested camels and one group of healthy camels each composed of 6 individuals were enrolled: the two infested groups received either ivermectin or diazinon, and the other groups remained untreated.ResultsThe overall prevalence rate of mange in camels in the study area was 31.5 % and the only identified species was Sarcoptes scabiei. The prevalence rate was found to significantly vary (p < 0.05) in relation to body condition and herd size of camels. Both drugs showed significant variation (p < 0.05) on improving clinical and body condition scores. Clearance of mange lesions occurred with both drugs; however, re-infestation was observed in diazinon treated group. Ivermectin significantly improved (p < 0.05) both body condition and clinical scores whereas diazinon markedly improved only the later.ConclusionIn conclusion, camels in the study area harbored considerable level of S. scabiei which warrants institution of an integrated control approach by administration of ivermectin while also sanitating the animal environment.