BackgroundTrypanocidal drugs have been used to control African animal trypanosomosis for several decades. In Ethiopia, these drugs are available from both authorized (legal) and unauthorized (illegal) sources but documentation on utilization practices and quality of circulating products is scanty. This study looked at the practices of trypanocidal drug utilization by farmers and the integrity of active ingredient in trypanocides sold in Gurage zone, south western Ethiopia. The surveys were based on a structured questionnaire and drug quality determination of commonly used brands originating from European and Asian companies and sold at both authorized and unauthorized markets. One hundred farmers were interviewed and 50 drug samples were collected in 2013 (Diminazene aceturate = 33 and Isometamidium chloride = 17; 25 from authorized and 25 from unauthorized sources). Samples were tested at the OIE-certified Veterinary Drug Control Laboratory (LACOMEV) in Dakar, Senegal, by using galenic standards and high performance liquid chromatography.ResultsTrypanosomosis was found to be a major threat according to all interviewed livestock keepers in the study area. Diminazene aceturate and isometamidium chloride were preferred by 79% and 21% of the respondents respectively, and 85% of them indicated that an animal receives more than six treatments per year. About 60% of these treatments were reported to be administered by untrained farmers. Trypanocidal drug sources included both unauthorized outlets (56%) and authorized government and private sources (44%). A wide availability and usage of substandard quality drugs was revealed. Twenty eight percent of trypanocidal drugs tested failed to comply with quality requirements. There was no significant difference in the frequency of non-compliance between diminazene-based and isometamidium chloride products (P = 0.87) irrespective of the marketing channel (official and unofficial). However, higher rates of non-compliant trypanocides were detected for drugs originating from Asia than from Europe (P = 0.029).ConclusionThe findings revealed the presence of risk factors for the development of drug resistance, i.e. wide distribution of poor quality drugs as well as substandard administration practices. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to enforce regulatory measures for quality control of veterinary drugs, to expand and strengthen veterinary services and to undertake trypanocidal drug efficacy studies of wider coverage.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12917-017-1327-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Tsetse-transmitted trypanosomiasis poses a serious threat to human and animal health in sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of tsetse flies (Glossina spp.) in a natural population will not develop a mature infection of either Trypanosoma congolense or Trypanosoma brucei sp. because of refractoriness, a phenomenon that is affected by different factors, including the tsetse fly's immune defence. Starvation of tsetse flies significantly increases their susceptibility to the establishment of a trypanosome infection. This paper reports the effects of nutritional stress (starvation) on (a) uninduced baseline levels of gene expression of the antimicrobial peptides attacin, defensin and cecropin in the tsetse fly, and (b) levels of expression induced in response to bacterial (Escherichia coli) or trypanosomal challenge. In newly emerged, unfed tsetse flies, starvation significantly lowers baseline levels of antimicrobial peptide gene expression, especially for attacin and cecropin. In response to trypanosome challenge, only non-starved older flies showed a significant increase in antimicrobial peptide gene expression within 5 days of ingestion of a trypanosome-containing bloodmeal, especially with T. brucei bloodstream forms. These data suggest that a decreased expression of immune genes in newly hatched flies or a lack of immune responsiveness to trypanosomes in older flies, both occurring as a result of fly starvation, may be among the factors contributing to the increased susceptibility of nutritionally stressed tsetse flies to trypanosome infection.

Trypanocidal drugs remain the most accessible and thus commonly used means of controlling tsetse transmitted animal African trypanosomosis. In Togo, trypanocides are sold on official as well as unofficial markets, but the quality of these trypanocides is undocumented so a drug quality assessment study was conducted from May 2013 to June 2014. Trypanocides supplied by European, Indian and Chinese pharmaceutical companies and sold on official and unofficial markets in Togo were purchased. In total fifty-two trypanocides were obtained, 24 of these samples from official markets and 28 from unofficial markets made up of a total of 36 diminazene diaceturate and 16 isometamidium chloride hydrochloride samples. The samples were analysed in the reference laboratory of the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health), Laboratory for the Control of Veterinary Medicines (LACOMEV) in Dakar which uses galenic testing and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) testing as standard reference analysis methods. The results revealed a high proportion of trypanocides of sub-standard quality on the Togolese market: 40% were non-compliant to these quality reference standards. All of the HPLC non-compliant samples contained lower amounts of active ingredient compared to the concentration specified on the packaging. Non-compliance was higher in samples from the unofficial (53.57%) than from the official markets (25%; p=0.04).The main drug manufacturers, mostly of French origin in the study area, supply quality drugs through the official legal distribution circuit. Products of other origins mostly found on illegal markets present a significantly lower quality.

We report on the effect of tsetse fly starvation on the maturation of an established Trypanosoma brucei brucei midgut infection, i.e., the development of procyclic infection into the infectious metacyclic parasites in the tsetse fly salivary glands. Glossina morsitans morsitans flies were nutritionally stressed 10 d after the uptake of a T. b. brucei-infected bloodmeal by depriving these flies from feeding for seven consecutive days, whereas the control fly group (nonstarved group) continued to be fed three times a week. After this period, both fly groups were again fed three times per week on uninfected rabbit. Thirty days after the infected bloodmeal, all surviving flies were dissected and examined for the presence of an immature midgut and a mature salivary gland trypanosome infections. Results showed a significantly increased proportion of flies with salivary gland infection in the nutritionally stressed fly group suggesting an enhanced maturation of the trypanosome infection. These data suggest that environmental factors that cause nutritional stress in a tsetse population do not only make tsetse flies significantly more susceptible to establish a midgut infection as was shown previously but also boost the maturation of these midgut infections.

Background and Aim: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious challenge to animal and human health worldwide. Therefore, this study aims to determine levels and patterns of AMR of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. strains isolated from poultry farms in Côte d'Ivoire. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two districts of Côte d'Ivoire with high poultry production: Abidjan and Agnibilékrou. A total of 231 fecal samples were collected in 124 poultry farms in both districts. Enterobacteria were isolated and tested for susceptibility to 14 antimicrobial agents using the disk-diffusion method. Results: A total of 212 E. coli and 36 Salmonella strains were isolated. In Abidjan, 139 collected samples generated 101 E. coli and 23 Salmonella strains, whereas in Agnibilékrou, 92 collected samples generated 111 E. coli and 13 Salmonella strains. Variable resistance levels were recorded for the antibiotics tested. The resistance prevalence of E. coli and Salmonella, respectively, was high: Doxycycline (98%/94%), sulfonamide (84%/86%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (80%/41%), and streptomycin (71%/52%). Average resistance rates were recorded for flumequine (38%/66%), ampicillin (49%/33%), amoxicillin (25%/44%), colistin (26%/2%), chloramphenicol (21%/2%), and gentamicin (4%/47%). The antibiotics least affected by resistance were cefuroxime (4%/5%), ceftriaxone (2%/0.00%), and nitrofurantoin (1%/0.00%). Conclusion: In this study, it was observed that resistance to important antibiotics is emerging in poultry production in Côte d'Ivoire. Policies promoting the rational use of antibiotics should be implemented to manage antibiotic resistance in animal production.