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Background. Calf mortality has been a major cause of economic losses in the dairy industry in Ethiopia. The condition results in a significant drop in the number of replacing heifers and bulls for sustainable dairy business. Reports on calf mortality with a wide range of prevalence are rising in the country; however, a pooled prevalence of this condition has not been established. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to quantitatively estimate the pooled prevalence of calf mortality in Ethiopia. Methods. Meta-analysis was carried out to obtain the pooled prevalence of calf mortality in Ethiopia. A comprehensive literature search was carried out on PubMed, African Journals Online, CAB, Web of Science Direct, and Google Scholar. Eligible studies were selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Moderators such as the study area, breed of calf, study design, agroecology, and year of study article published were used as a milestone of data extraction. The random-effect model was used to estimate pooled prevalence. Publication bias and the variation in prevalence estimates attributed to heterogeneity were also assessed. Results. Twenty-five original research papers on the prevalence of calf mortality in various parts of Ethiopia were included. The reported prevalence of calf mortality was between 0.9% and 37%. The pooled prevalence of calf mortality in the country was 14.79%, and the pooled calf mortality estimate across studies for the entire period regarding 1991 to 2000, 2001 to 2010, 2011 to 2016, and 2017 to 2020 was 26.54%, 17.03%, 14.21%, and 11.23%, respectively. Analysis of study subgroups and location revealed significant variations in prevalence. High heterogeneity was observed in the pooled estimates and even after the subgroup meta-analysis. The funnel plots and Egger's regression asymmetry coefficient (b = −1.0434) (95% CI = −1.49, −0.59; p value of 0.012) did suggest the presence of publication bias. There was also an indication of missing studies that could be incorporated by Duval and Tweedie's trim and fill method where they might fall on a funnel plot and visualize them in an attempt to increase the plot's symmetry. Analyses also suggest that calf breed, sample size, and study location are likely to be moderators of calf mortality prevalence in Ethiopia. Conclusion. This finding shows that calf mortality is widespread and could result in considerable economic losses for the dairy industry in Ethiopia. Inevitably, a significant reduction in calf mortality prevalence has been observed in recent years since 2010, but the reduction has not yet reached an economically tolerable level. Calf breed susceptibility contributed to the high prevalence. Therefore, interventions for increasing calf health and performance should be focused on minimizing calf mortality on farm and animal levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ethiopia bears the largest burden of foodborne diseases in Africa, and diarrheal diseases are the second leading causes of premature deaths. Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 causes an asymptomatic infection to severe diarrhea and/or hemolytic-uremic syndrome in humans. Methods: A total of 440 beef carcass and in-contact surface swabs from 55 butcher shops and 85 minced beef samples from 40 restaurants in central Ethiopia were collected and examined for the presence of E. coli O157. Standard microbiological methods were used to isolate and identify E. coli O157 and to characterize the antimicrobial resistance of the isolates. Results: E. coli O157 was detected in 4.5% carcass swabs (n = 5) and 3.6% cutting board swabs (n = 4) samples from butcher shops. E. coli O157 was not detected in any of the minced beef samples obtained from restaurants. All isolates (n = 9) were 100% susceptible to five drugs, but five isolates were resistant to amoxicillin, two isolates to streptomycin and three isolates to chloramphenicol. One isolate was resistant to two drugs and another to three drugs. Conclusions: The present study shows a low prevalence of E. coli O157 in beef sold at butcher shops. Nevertheless, given the low infective dose of this pathogen and the deep-rooted tradition of consuming raw or undercooked beef, the current prevalence should not be considered lightly from a public health perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trichostrongylus colubriformis , also called hairworm, is a genus of parasitic roundworm affecting gastro-intestinal tracts of a ruminant. Gross and microscopic lesion characterizations and comparing its effect in the small intestine of sheep and goats experimentally infected with T. colubriformis were undertaken in the study., Methods: During the study period, 13 sheep and 14 goats were included in the experiment. The larvae of T. culibriformis were obtained from abattoirs and larvae were recovered by Bearmann techniques. The infective larvae of T. culibriformis (L3) as a single dose of 10,000 per-animal was administered orally to infected groups of sheep and goats. Blood was collected for hematological and serum biochemical analysis. Tissues for gross and histopathologic lesions characterization were collected from killed infected animals at 56 days., Results: From the infected group, the total recovered mean worm burden was recorded as higher in goats ( P <0.05) than sheep, with an establishment rate of 50.16% and 34.46%, respectively. The total mean PCV, Hb, and albumin values recorded in the infected groups of sheep and goats were significantly ( P <0.05) lower than non-infected control of both animal groups. In goats, the total serum protein was significantly ( P <0.05) lower in the infected group than the non-infected control group. Gross lesions found were enteritis with petechial hemorrhages, edema, hyperemia, and mucosal slough, which were marked in the duodenum (62.69%) and jejunum (33.33%) in sheep and 47.05% duodenum and 45.09% jejunum in goats. The microscopic lesions developed by T. colubriformis were subtotal villus atrophy, hemorrhage, straightened and elongated dilated crypts, loss of epithelium, mucosal erosion, and infiltration of inflammatory cells., Conclusion: The present study showed that T. colubriformis infection caused physiological and pathological changes of the small-intestine in sheep and goats, with more severe infection in goats than sheep, although they were under the same management condition., Competing Interests: Dr Tamirat Kaba reports grants from Addis Ababa University, personal fees from Arba Minch University, during the conduct of the study. The authors declare that they have no other competing interests., (© 2022 Tafere et al.)