Search

A cross-sectional study was conducted in three selected districts (representing pastoral/agro-pastoral and mixed farming systems) of South Omo zone of southern Ethiopia between May and October 2014, with the aim of estimating the seroprevalence of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) and identifying potential risk factors associated with the infection. A total of 894 serum samples were collected from 382 sheep and 512 goats. Sera samples were examined for presence of PPR antibodies with competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA). The overall seroprevalence was 30.8% with 16.2% in sheep and 41.7% in goats. Goats were more likely (OR = 3.6, 95% CI: 2.5, 5.1) to be seropositive than sheep. Multivariable logistic regression analysis of exposure variables identified a significant association of PPR seroprevalence with district and sex (P 0.05). In conclusion, the serological study confirmed the high prevalence and endemicity of PPR in the pastoral and agro-pastoral areas of South Omo zone. The high sero-prevalence demands serious attention as the disease is known to cause considerable health and welfare problem in small ruminants and threaten livelihoods of poor herders raising them.

A 3-year longitudinal study was conducted to evaluate the effects of strategic anthelmintic dosing on communally grazed village sheep in Gera Keya district in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Ewes were stratified by weight and randomly allocated to three treatment groups: untreated control (TG1), twice-dosed per year (TG2; for both nematodes and trematodes in mid-January and mid-June) and four-time-dosed per year (TG3; in June for nematodes, in August–September for nematodes and adult Fasciola, in November–December and January–February for immature liver flukes). The fixed effect of treatment, lamb sex, dam parity, season and year of birth on mortality from birth to 90, 180, 270 and 365 days was analyzed. Least square means of lamb mortality from birth to 90, 180, 270 and 365 days were 11.3, 16.8, 18.0 and 19.5%, respectively. Anthelmintic treatment had significant effect (P