Antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates pose a severe challenge to both veterinary and health professions and dairy cattle producers. Cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2014 to May 2015 to isolate and identify S. aureus from mastitic cows’ milk and estimate the occurrence of MRSA in the dairy farms of Shire. Physical examination and California mastitis test were performed on a total of 220 dairy cows. Bacteriological isolation and identification and antibiogram testing were performed. Furthermore, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was done for the detection of mec A and fem A genes. Out of the 220 dairy cows, 64 (29.09%) were positive for bovine mastitis, and of these, 32.81% were coagulase-positive S. aureus (CoPS). Antibiogram test results showed 100% of the isolates were resistant to penicillin G, nalidixic acid, and ampicillin, and 33.33% of the CoPS showed resistance to oxacillin (phenotypically MRSA positive). But 38.09% of the CoPS were found to be resistant and susceptible to vancomycin. PCR amplification of the seven phenotypically MRSA isolates revealed that 42.9% and 71.4% of them were found to carry fem A and mec A genes, respectively. The current study revealed the existence of alarming level of CoPS and development of multidrug resistance.

Background Anthrax is the second most highly prioritized zoonotic disease in Ethiopia due to its negative impact at the household level, causing disease and production losses in livestock and severe disease in humans. This study seeks to assess the knowledge of, attitudes towards, and practices addressing (KAPs) anthrax in the communities of Eastern Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted concurrently with focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) between May 2019 and April 2020. A total of 862 respondents participated in the questionnaire survey. Of these, 800 were local community members while 62 were professionals working at health service institutions. In addition, qualitative data were collected using six FGDs and 11 KIIs. Results Sixty-two percent (496/800) of the community respondents said that they were aware of anthrax while 38% (304/800) of them did not. Only 9.3% (74/800) of the respondents reported that the causative agent of anthrax is germs/microbial. About 56.5% (35/62) of professional respondents said that it is bacterial. More than 60% (64.1%, 513/800) of the respondents did not know that whether the disease was zoonotic or not. Regarding clinical signs, 26.3 (210/800) and 36.8% (294/800) of the respondents could identify at least one in animals and humans, respectively, while 21.3 (170/800) and 20.1% (161/800) knew one or more transmission routes in animals and humans, respectively. Moreover, 43.4% (347/800) and 45.6% (365/800) of the respondents mentioned one or more control/prevention method(s) in animals and humans, respectively. Regarding qualitative results, some of the participants knew the disease (in animals) by their local names: Lalish and Tafia (splenomegaly), and Gulbus (abdominal cramps and shivering). Some reported that anthrax was exclusively a human disease while others recognized its zoonotic potential after the clinical signs in both animals and humans were listed. Conclusion The KAP of the participants regarding anthrax was low. There was no consistent understanding of the disease among the participants. The study also revealed that the participants did not receive consistent, adequate, and continuous education regarding the disease.

Background: Anthrax is the second most highly prioritized zoonotic disease in Ethiopia due to its negative impact at the household level, causing disease and production losses in livestock and severe disease in humans. This study seeks to assess the knowledge of, attitudes towards, and practices addressing (KAPs) anthrax in the communities of Eastern Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Methods : A cross-sectional survey was conducted concurrently with focus group discussions (FGD) and key informant interviews (KII) between May 2019 and April 2020. A total of 862 respondents participated in the questionnaire survey. Of these, 800 were local community members, while 62 were professionals working at health service institutions. In addition, qualitative data were collected using six FGDs and 11 KIIs. Results : Sixty-two percent (496/800) of the community respondents said that they were aware of anthrax while 38% (304/800) of them did not. Only 9.3% (74/800) of the respondents reported that the causative agent of anthrax is germs/microbial. About 56.5% (35/62) of professional respondents said that it is bacterial. More than sixty percent (64.1%, 513/800) of the respondents did not know that whether the disease was zoonotic or not. Regarding clinical signs, 26.3 (210/800) and 36.8% (294/800) of the respondents could identify at least one in animals and humans, respectively, while 21.3 (170/800) and 20.1% (161/800) knew one or more transmission routes in animals and humans, respectively. Moreover, 43.4% (347/800) and 45.6% (365/800) of the respondents mentioned one or more control/prevention method(s) in animals and humans, respectively. Regarding qualitative results, some of the participants knew the disease (in animals) by their local names: Lalish and Tafia (splenomegaly), and Gulbus (abdominal cramps and shivering). Some reported that anthrax was exclusively a human disease while others recognized its zoonotic potential after the clinical signs in both animals and humans were listed. Conclusion : The KAP of the participants regarding anthrax was low. There was no consistent understanding of the disease among the participants. The study also revealed that the participants did not receive consistent, adequate, and continuous education regarding the disease.

Background: Anthrax is prioritized as the second diseases in Ethiopia based on its negative impacts at the household level by causing disease or production losses in livestock and sever disease in human. This study aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAPs) of anthrax in the communities of Eastern Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was concurrently conducted with focus group discussions (FGD) and key informant interviews (KII) from May 2019 to April 2020. A total of 862 respondents have participated in the questionnaire survey. Of which, 800 were local community members. While 62 were professionals working at animal and human health service institutions. Likewise, qualitative data were collected using six FGDs and 11 KIIs. Results: sixty two percent (496/800) of the respondents said that they knew the disease anthrax while 38% (304/800) of them did not it. Only 9.3% (74/800) of the respondents reported germ as the causative agent of anthrax. About 56.5% (35/62) of the professional respondents said that the causative agent of the disease was bacteria while 33.9% (21/62) of them did not know it. More than sixty percent (64.1%, 513/800) of the respondents did not know whether the disease was zoonotic or not. Among the listed clinical signs, 26.3% (210/800) and 36.8% (294/800) of the respondents knew at least one signs in animal and human, respectively while 21.3% (170/800) and 20.1% (161/800) knew one or more transmission routes in animal and human respectively. Moreover, 43.4% (347/800) and 45.6% (365/800) of the respondents mentioned one or more control/prevention method in animal and human, respectively. Regarding qualitative results, some of the participants knew the disease (in animals) in their own local names, Lalish and Tafia (splenomegaly), and Gulbus (abdominal cramp and shivering). Some had perceived the disease only as human disease while others recognized after they were told its clinical signs in animals and humans. Conclusion: The KAP of the participants towards anthrax was low. There was no similar understanding of the disease among the participants. The study also revealed that the participants did not get consistent, adequate and continuous health messages regarding the disease.

Background Anthrax is prioritized as the second diseases in Ethiopia based on its negative impacts at the household level by causing disease or production losses in livestock and sever disease in human. This study aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAPs) of anthrax in the communities of Eastern Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional survey was concurrently conducted with focus group discussions (FGD) and key informant interviews (KII) from May 2019 to April 2020. A total of 862 respondents have participated in the questionnaire survey. Of which, 800 were local community members. While 62 were professionals working at animal and human health service institutions. Likewise, qualitative data were collected using six FGDs and 11 KIIs. Results sixty two percent (496/800) of the respondents said that they knew the disease anthrax while 38% (304/800) of them did not it. Only 9.3% (74/800) of the respondents reported germ as the causative agent of anthrax. About 56.5% (35/62) of the professional respondents said that the causative agent of the disease was bacteria while 33.9% (21/62) of them did not know it. More than sixty percent (64.1%, 513/800) did not know whether the disease was zoonotic or not. Among the listed clinical signs, 26.3% (210/800) and 36.8% (294/800) of the respondent knew at least one signs in animal and human, respectively while 21.3% (170/800) and 20.1% (161/800) knew one or more transmission routes in animal and human respectively. Moreover, 43.4% (347/800) and 45.6% (365/800) of the respondents mentioned one or more control/prevention method in animal and human, respectively. Fifty two (416/800) and 32.4% (259/800) of the questionnaire participants believed that vaccination of animals could prevent anthrax in animal and human, respectively. But although 4% (32/800) said that they had anthrax ( Megerem ) infected animals, more than 28% (9/32) of them used traditional medication for their animals. Regarding qualitative results, some of the participants knew the disease (in animals) in their own local names, Lalish and Tafia (splenomegaly), and Gulbus (abdominal cramp and shivering). Some had perceived the disease only as human disease while others recognized after they were told its clinical signs in animals and humans. Conclusion The KAP of the participants towards anthrax was low. Moreover, there was no similar understanding of the disease among the participants. The study also revealed that the participants did not get consistent, adequate and continuous health messages regarding the disease. Traditional belief and socio-economic factors impacted the KAP of the community towards the disease.