Integrated management of bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum) of ginger (Zingiber officinale) in Southwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

Ginger bacterial wilt (GBW) is a destructive disease of ginger in Ethiopia. Field studies were conducted to determine effect of integrated management of GBW, through host resistance and cultural practices, on wilt epidemics at Teppi and Jimma, southwestern Ethiopia in 2017. Treatments were factorial arranged in a randomised complete block design with three replications. Analysis of variance indicated that effect of variety, cultural practices and variety x cultural practice interactions significantly reduced GBW epidemic parameters and enhanced yield at both locations. Boziab recorded lower wilt incidence, area under disease progress curve and wilt progress rates than Local variety. Integration of lemon grass with soil solarisation and fertiliser reduced wilt incidence in Local variety up to 38.3% (Teppi) and 42.05% (Jimma) compared to the control on final wilt assessment date. In Boziab variety, integrated use of lemon grass with soil solarisation and fertiliser reduced wilt incidence up to 42.5% at Teppi and 33.85% at Jimma compared to the control on final date of wilt assessment. The overall results revealed that integrating cultural practices with host resistance are found effective to slow down GBW epidemics and improve ginger productivity; and thus, recommended for the study areas along with other crop management practices.     

Veterinary medicinal product usage among food animal producers and its health implications in Central Ethiopia

Background

Antimicrobials and anthelmintics are the most commonly used veterinary drugs to control animal diseases. However, widespread use of these drugs could contribute to the emergence of drug resistance. Information on the practice of antimicrobial usage among food animal raising communities in Central Ethiopia is scarce. We used a standardised questionnaire survey to assess knowledge, awareness, and practices related to drug use and resistance in food animals among the farmers in and around Bishoftu town.

Results

Of the total of 220 livestock owners interviewed, around 80% of the respondents were not able to define what antimicrobials are and for what purposes they are used. Only 14.1% (n?=?31) of the respondents had awareness about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and its consequences; and 35.5% (n?=?11/31) and 9.7% (n?=?3/31) of them agreed that the irrational use of antimicrobials in animals could lead to AMR in animals and humans. Oxytetracycline was the most commonly available antibiotic in veterinary drug shops/pharmacies and the most widely used drug in the area. However, 43.3% of the respondents did not see clinical improvements after using antibiotics. Similarly, the respondents explained that no response was observed in 73.3, 70.8 and 52.5% of the cases after medication with anthelmintics, antiprotozoal and acaricides, respectively. About 56.7% of the respondents considered traditional medicines equally important to modern medicines. It was also noted that there were illegal drug vendors, dispensing medicines under unfavourable conditions which include a direct exposure to sunlight, which practice violates the drug handling and storage recommendations given by WHO.

Conclusion

The study revealed that there is a general lack of awareness among food animal owners about the correct use of antibiotics and anthelmintics. The widespread misuse and improper drug dispensing and handling practices observed in this study can affect the drug quality and can also contribute to the development of drug resistance in central Ethiopia.

     

Serological survey of caprine toxoplasmosis in Ethiopia: prevalence and risk factors

The study was conducted to determine the prevalence and risk factors of toxoplasmosis in goats in Southern and central Ethiopia between October 2005 and May 2006. A total of 641 goats sera were tested using Modified Direct Agglutination Test (MAT), of which 480 (74.8% CI: 71.3, 78.2) were found to be positive. The highest prevalence was recorded in South Omo zone (82%) while the lowest was observed in East Shewa zone (62.2%). The study revealed that goats raised in southern Ethiopia are at a greater risk of acquiring T. gondii infection (OR = 2.55, CI: 1.726, 3.776; p = 0.000) than those which are raised in central Ethiopia. The prevalence of anti T. gondii antibody was significantly higher in older goats than in kids (OR = 2.33, CI: 1.490, 3.655; p < 0.0002) and in females than in males (p < 0.0007; OR = 0.68, CI: 0.542, 0.849). No significant difference was observed among goats kept under various husbandry practices. The high prevalence of toxoplasmosis in Ethiopian goats suggests a high risk of human infections. Further epidemiological investigation, isolation and genotyping of T. gondii are planned.     

Review on Dog Rabies Vaccination Coverage in Africa: A Question of Dog Accessibility or Cost Recovery?

Background

Rabies still poses a significant human health problem throughout most of Africa, where the majority of the human cases results from dog bites. Mass dog vaccination is considered to be the most effective method to prevent rabies in humans. Our objective was to systematically review research articles on dog rabies parenteral vaccination coverage in Africa in relation to dog accessibility and vaccination cost recovery arrangement (i.e.free of charge or owner charged).

Methodology/Principal Findings

A systematic literature search was made in the databases of CAB abstracts (EBSCOhost and OvidSP), Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Medline (EBSCOhost and OvidSP) and AJOL (African Journal Online) for peer reviewed articles on 1) rabies control, 2) dog rabies vaccination coverage and 3) dog demography in Africa. Identified articles were subsequently screened and selected using predefined selection criteria like year of publication (viz. ≥ 1990), type of study (cross sectional), objective(s) of the study (i.e. vaccination coverage rates, dog demographics and financial arrangements of vaccination costs), language of publication (English) and geographical focus (Africa). The selection process resulted in sixteen peer reviewed articles which were used to review dog demography and dog ownership status, and dog rabies vaccination coverage throughout Africa. The main review findings indicate that 1) the majority (up to 98.1%) of dogs in African countries are owned (and as such accessible), 2) puppies younger than 3 months of age constitute a considerable proportion (up to 30%) of the dog population and 3) male dogs are dominating in numbers (up to 3.6 times the female dog population). Dog rabies parenteral vaccination coverage was compared between “free of charge” and “owner charged” vaccination schemes by the technique of Meta-analysis. Results indicate that the rabies vaccination coverage following a free of charge vaccination scheme (68%) is closer to the World Health Organization recommended coverage rate (70%) than the achieved coverage rate in owner-charged dog rabies vaccination schemes (18%).

Conclusions/Significance

Most dogs in Africa are owned and accessible for parenteral vaccination against rabies if the campaign is performed “free of charge”.     

A Proline Racemase Based PCR for Identification of Trypanosoma vivax in Cattle Blood

A study was conducted to develop a Trypanosoma vivax (T. vivax) specific PCR based on the T. vivax proline racemase (TvPRAC) gene. Forward and reverse primers were designed that bind at 764–783 bp and 983–1002 bp of the gene. To assess its specificity, TvPRAC PCR was conducted on DNA extracted from different haemotropic pathogens: T. vivax from Nigeria, Ethiopia and Venezuela, T. congolense Savannah type, T. brucei brucei, T. evansi, T. equiperdum, T. theileri, Theileria parva, Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina and from bovine, goat, mouse, camel and human blood. The analytical sensitivity of the TvPRAC PCR was compared with that of the ITS-1 PCR and the 18S PCR-RFLP on a dilution series of T. vivax DNA in water. The diagnostic performance of the three PCRs was compared on 411 Ethiopian bovine blood specimens collected in a former study. TvPRAC PCR proved to be fully specific for T. vivax, irrespective of its geographical origin. Its analytical sensitivity was lower than that of ITS-1 PCR. On these bovine specimens, TvPRAC PCR detected 8.3% T. vivax infections while ITS-1 PCR and 18S PCR-RFLP detected respectively 22.6 and 6.1% T. vivax infections. The study demonstrates that a proline racemase based PCR could be used, preferably in combination with ITS-1 PCR, as a species-specific diagnostic test for T. vivax infections worldwide.     

Comparison of Arcobacter isolation methods, and diversity of Arcobacter spp. in Cheshire, United Kingdom

The aims of this study were, firstly, to compare five published methods for the isolation of Arcobacter spp. from animal feces in order to determine the most sensitive and specific method. Second, we analyzed the resulting isolates by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) in order to investigate the diversity of the isolates recovered. Third, we investigated the ability to recover Arcobacter spp. from frozen fecal samples. Seventy-seven fecal samples from cattle, sheep, and badgers were subjected to five isolation methods, based on published methods for the isolation of Arcobacter and Campylobacter spp. Thirty-nine Arcobacter butzleri isolates were analyzed using a multilocus sequence typing scheme. The survival of Arcobacter spp. in frozen samples was investigated by freezing the fecal samples at -80°C for 7 days and then applying the same five isolation methods. The most sensitive and specific method used an Arcobacter-specific broth in conjunction with modified charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar (mCCDA) with added antibiotics. Freezing of fecal samples led to a reduction in the recovery of Arcobacter spp. by approximately 50%. The 39 allelic profiles obtained by MLST could be divided into 11 sequence types (STs). We have identified the most sensitive and specific method for the isolation of Arcobacter spp. from animal feces and demonstrated that the freezing of fecal samples prior to isolation reduces arcobacter recovery. MLST analysis of the isolates revealed a high level of diversity.     

Efficient regeneration system for rapid multiplication of clean planting material of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ensete ventricosum</Emphasis> (Welw.) Cheesman

Enset (Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman) is an economically important staple food crop in Ethiopia, especially in the southern and southwestern regions. It is called “false banana” due to its resemblance to banana, but inability to produce any edible fruit. The crop is clonally propagated using field-grown suckers. This study reports the development of a robust regeneration technique to propagate large numbers of plantlets using corm discs containing intercalary meristematic tissues. Hundreds of shoot buds were induced from corm discs of enset cultivar ‘Bedadeti’ cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 1.5 mg L^?1 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 0.216 mg L^?1 zeatin, and 2 g L^?1 activated charcoal. The shoot buds were regenerated into complete plantlets when transferred onto MS medium supplemented with 1 mg L^?1 6-benzylaminopurine and 2 g L^?1 activated charcoal. More than 100 plantlets were generated in 4 mo from corm discs isolated from a single in vitro mother plantlet. Well-rooted plantlets were acclimatized in soil with 100% success, and did not show any apparent phenotypic abnormalities under glasshouse conditions. This efficient regeneration system could be very useful for the rapid multiplication of clean pathogen-free planting material.     

Clinical features and hormonal profiles of cloprostenol-induced early abortions in heifers monitored by ultrasonography

Background  

The present study describes the clinical features and plasma profiles of bovine pregnancy-associated glycoprotein 1 (bPAG1), the main metabolite of prostaglandin F_2α (PG metabolite) and progesterone (P4) in heifers in which early abortions were induced.