The study was conducted from November 2016 to July 2017 in Mekelle, Adigrat and Southern zone (Alamata and Maychew), Tigray region, Ethiopia with the objective of assessing chicken feed, feeding management and chicken productivity. A cross sectional study using semi structured questionnaire survey and direct observation on feed (quality, formulation), feeding management (amount of feed given per chicken per day, frequency of daily feeding and type of feed transport used) and chicken productivity performance (eggs/chicken/day) was employed in a total of 31 intensive chicken farms. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, two sided t-test and oneway analysis of variance. Knowledge on raw material selection, feed formulation, quantity of feed given/ chicken/ day, frequency of feeding and cost of feed transportation are the main encountered factors by intensive chicken farmers and all revealed statistically significant effect (P<0.05) on productivity of chicken in terms of egg production. Therefore, for successful chicken production, increase their productivity and assure food security as whole; there is a need to establish chicken feed processing plants, improve feed related constraints and train farmers on feed and feeding management of the chicken.

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Recently, an upsurge in the incidence of several emerging infectious diseases is causing great challenges to the health professionals throughout the globe. Since early 2020, an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), now a pandemic, is hitting the world severely. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), causative agent of COVID-19, gain entry through the respiratory systems (nasopharyngeal) route causing infection. This disease is reported from all continents except Antarctica and it most commonly affects the lungs rather than the other organs. In affected person, pneumonia, cough, sore throat, dyspnea, fever, headache, and rhinorrhea is the main symptoms of COVID-19. There are different investigation methods to diagnose a patient suspected of COVID-19 like radiography and different laboratory technique like RT-PCR, which remains the investigation of choice. Social distancing, practicing hand hygiene, and use of facemask are mandatory to prevent the disease. Many of the drug trials are underway with the recent FDA approval of remdesivir. Very recently, immunization programme against COVID-19 is going on in many countries of the world. However, the efficacy and safety of the vaccines are not yet fully established.

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the foodborne disease-causing bacterial pathogens. A cross-sectional study was conducted in selected towns of the West Shewa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia from December 2020 to April 2021. The objectives of the study were to estimate the occurrence and load of S. aureus in raw cows’ milk, the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of the S. aureus isolates, and assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the farmers on factors of antimicrobial resistance. A total of 311 samples from raw cows’ milk (212), milkers’ hands (44), and milking buckets (55) swabs were collected and tested. The disc diffusion method was used to test the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates. A questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the factors of milk contamination with S. aureus and antimicrobial resistance. The Chi-square test, one-way analysis of variance, and logistic regression analysis were used for data analyses. The result indicated that 16.72% (52/311) (95% CI: 12.75–21.34%) of the samples were positive for S. aureus. The occurrence of S. aureus was 22.73%, 16.51%, and 12.73% in milkers’ hand swabs, cow milk, and milking bucket swabs, respectively. The mean count of S. aureus from raw cows’ milk was 4.3± 1.45 log10 CFU/ml. About 88% of S aureus isolates were resistant to ampicillin while 82.9% and 70.7% of the isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin and cefotaxime respectively. The majority of the S. aureus isolates (61%) showed multi-drug resistance. The odds of S. aureus isolation from the milk of cows were significantly high in older cows (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]: 5.54; p = 0.001), in late lactation stages (AOR: 3.6; p = 0.012), and in farms where house cleaning was done twice per week (AOR: 8.7; p = 0.001). A high percentage of farmers had insufficient knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) about the factors contributing to antimicrobial resistance. In conclusion, the poor milk hygienic practices, high rate of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and inadequate KAP of farmers about factors of AMR suggest potential public health risks thus requiring training and surveillance programs.

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