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Zoonoses are common infections when there is close contact between humans and animals. In Nigeria, where safety at work is poorly regulated and enforced, most workers do whatever they consider appropriate safe work place practices. Thus, 263 abattoir workers across five North Central (NC) states in Nigeria were evaluated on their knowledge of leptospirosis, work place attitudinal practices and other risks that could favor spread of Leptospira among them. Findings showed that most workers 252 (95.8%) were ignorant of leptospirosis. Other identified risk factors for infection included age of workers, occupation, illiteracy and risks within, such as inadequate protective gear and outside the workplace, such as rodents in homes. All these factors gave a prevalence of 226 (89.7%) Leptospira antibodies in the abattoir workers which they probably contracted through un-mindful handling of infected animal fluids and tissues. Surveys of Knowledge, Attitudes, Risk Factors and Practices (KARP) is a common strategy for collecting information to assess safe work environments among high risk populations and is a good starting point for prevention and control programs for individuals at risk of infection by zoonotic agents, especially Nigerian abattoir workers.

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Leptospirosis, a disease of livestock, has great economic impact on the agricultural industry because it causes abortions, stillbirths, infertility, reduced milk production and death in livestock. Moreover, when successfully transmitted to man, it may result in multisystem febrile illness, with hepatic, renal and pulmonary involvement and high mortality rates. This research determined the sero-epidemiology of Leptospira antibodies using, Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) in slaughtered cattle in selected states of North Central Nigeria. A prevalence rate of 57.9% for Leptospira antibodies were recorded for the slaughtered cattle. The most prevalent circulating serovars in the study locations were Hardjo 65 (27.8%), followed by Grippotyphosa 60 (25.6%). Older cattle were more likely to be seropositive, p = 0.000002. However, no significance was observed in seropositive rates between bulls and cows. The data generated by this study will help provide baseline information, as well as give latest indications about the extent of the problem in the study areas, assist in control and prevention of the condition in cattle and ultimately disease in the susceptible population.

Eggs are an important component of the diets of increasing numbers of Nigerians and are used in a number of foods such as salad dressings and home-made creams. Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria is an important source of eggs consumed in Nigeria. However, most eggs in Jos are produced by subsistence poultry farmers with poor regard for hygienic practices. To determine the bacterial load and hence sanitary health quality of eggs sold and consumed, 100 eggs were randomly sampled from egg vendors in twenty locations of Jos North, Jos South and Jos East municipalities. Dilutions of egg shell washes and egg contents were cultured on Nutrient, and subcultured on McConkey agar and Xylose Lysine Desoxycholate (XLD) agar. All egg surfaces (shells) sampled had CFUs ranging between 1.0 x 106 - 1.1 x 108/mL in Jos East, 4.3 x 105 – 6.0 x 107/mL in Jos South and 3.4 x 105 – 1.1 x 108/mL in Jos North respectively. While ANOVA and t-test showed no statistically significant differences (p>0.05) in bacterial counts from within sample locations, Chi Square (χ2) showed association (p<0.05) between bacterial counts and sample locations; Mean counts 1.06 x 109, 1.32 x 108 and 5.11 x 107 per mL respectively in Jos North, Jos East and Jos South. Eggs with bacteria isolated from their contents constituted 8(8.0%), while bacteria isolated included E. coli 65 (65%), Shigella 25 (25%) and Salmonella spp. 4(4%). E. coli was the only bacterium isolated from within 8 (8%) the eggs. While no other bacteria were found in eggs contents, the pathogenic bacteria present on the eggs indicated that eggs could be potential sources of outbreaks of food-borne diseases. Regulations and awareness on sanitary quality of eggs are advocated to help safeguard the health of the egg consuming public from egg-borne food infections.

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Leptospirosis, a zoonotic disease of livestock with worldwide occurrence, can have debilitating and life threatening consequences on humans. Thus to determine the sero-epidemiology of Leptospira antibodies in Nigeria, prevalent circulating serovars in the population and provide data for health policy makers, in the control and treatment of leptospirosis, this study was undertaken. Two hundred and sixty-three blood samples from male and female abbatoir workers from four locations in north central Nigeria; Benue State, Plateau State, Nassarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory were screened for the antibodies to leptospirae by Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) and IgG ELISA techniques, where 87.7 and 81.0% sero-positive rates were obtained, respectively. Nassarawa State had the highest sero-positive rate of 94.3%, while the least rates were found in Plateau State with 82.8%. Across all study locations, more males were seropositive than females. Leptospira hardjo was the highest circulating serovar; 66 (28.6%), while, the least was L. tarassovi 8 (3.5%). Symptoms of Leptospira infection closely mimic those of many febrile illnesses in Nigeria and accurate diagnosis may be missed. Education of susceptible individuals and close collaboration between research and medical workers is advocated to help combat the infection.