Ixodid ticks are common and a major obstacle to development and utilization of animal resource in tropical countries like Ethiopia. Ethiopia shares long international frontiers with adjacent countries, tick dynamics and influx of ticks across the border are major obstacles of tick control and management. Thus, border-oriented epidemiological surveys are of paramount importance to identify a potential port of cross border diseases, particularly ticks and to formulate complimentary bilateral policies. The current study was therefore, designed with the objectives to assess prevalence, abundance and to identify genera and species of major ixodid tick of cattle circulating at Ethio-Kenyan border. A crosssectional study was conducted from November 2016 to January 2017 in purposively selected four Pastoral Associations of Dillo district, Southern Ethiopia. A total of 7524 adult ticks were randomly collected from 384 cattle and examined with a stereomicroscope. Logistic regression was used to determine the association of risk factors with positivity for Ixodid ticks. The study revealed an overall prevalence of 98.2% of Ixodid ticks of cattle. Three genera of ticks, Rhipicephalus (including the subgenus Boophilus), Amblyomma and Hyalomma and seven species of ticks were identified and found to be abundant with overall mean burdens of 40 ticks/head. The association of age and body condition of animals to tick infestation were statistically significant but there was no significant association between sex and tick infestation (OR=3, P=0.007). Animals in poor body condition were twice more likely to be infested with tick than animals with good body condition (OR=2, P=0.031) and animals with medium body condition were also found more prone to tick infestation than animals in good body condition (OR=1.7, P=0.043). Ixodid ticks that were less abundant in most parts of the country were encountered as well adapted and widely distributed in this area. Uncontrolled animal movement across the border may play a great role in high density and diversification of tick in Dillo district. Therefore, collaborative nationwide studies was done to have the country-wide distribution figures and to identify a potential port of cross border diseases particularly ticks and to formulate complimentary bilateral policies for prevention and control of ticks.
Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic protozoan disease. Data on seroepidemiology of toxoplasmosis in Ethiopia is scarce, almost null in the pastoral area of the Borana zone. The study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence, to identify risk factors of toxoplasmosis in sheep and goats, and to assess the awareness level of pastoralists about toxoplasmosis in the Yabello district of Borana zone, Southern Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2016 to April 2017 in six peasant associations of the Yabello district of Borana zone, Southern Ethiopia. A total of 400 serum samples of randomly selected small ruminants owned by pastoralists were examined to detect antibodies specific to Toxoplasma gondii using Latex Agglutination Test (SPINREACT, Girona, Spain). A semistructured questionnaire survey was used to conduct a face-to-face interview with owners (n = 100) of sampled flocks. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association of hypothesized risk factors. The overall seroprevalence was 52.8% of which 57.8 and 47.8% were sheep and goats, respectively. Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed a higher seroprevalence ratio of T. gondii infection in sheep than goats (COR: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.226–3.112;
P
= 0.005). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated significantly higher odds of acquiring T. gondii infection in adult animals (sheep: (AOR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.323–3.874;
P
= 0.003), goats: (AOR = 2.15; 95% CI: 1.009–4.579;
P
= 0.047)), female sheep (AOR = 2.45; CI: 1.313–4.568;
P
= 0.005), animals from lowland areas (sheep: (AOR = 2.28; CI: 1.190–4.356;
P
= 0.013), goat: (AOR = 3.27; CI: 1.386–7.723;
P
= 0.007)), animal drinking lake water (sheep: (AOR = 1.93; CI: 1.011–3.698;
P
= 0.046), goat: (AOR = 2.96; CI: 1.297–6.771;
P
= 0.010)), and goats with history of abortion (AOR = 2.42; CI: 1.242–4.711;
P
= 0.009) than young animals, male (sheep), animals from midland areas, animals drinking wells water, and flock with no history of abortion (goat), respectively. Among respondents, 97.0% had no knowledge about toxoplasmosis and 75.0% drink raw milk and consume the meat of sheep and goats. 80.0% of respondents had no knowledge about the risk of cats to human and animal health while 70.0% of them had domestic cats and practice improper fetal body handling. Highly prevailing toxoplasmosis in small ruminants of the Yabello district might pose a serious economic loss and be a potential public health threat to the extremely vulnerable pastoralists. Therefore, awareness and further studies are warranted to tackle the economic and public health consequences of T. gondii infection.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.