Search

Aims: Peste des petits Ruminants (PPR) is a major viral disease that poses a challenge to small ruminant farming. Its natural occurrence has been complicated by secondary bacterial infection which has led to an increase in morbidity and mortality rates. This study reports the management outcome of natural PPR-infected goats using two types of antibiotics in Nsukka metropolis of Enugu State Nigeria. Methodology: Goats (N=24) were confirmed to be suffering from PPR based on clinical signs and using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The animals were divided into two groups. Group A was treated with 20% oxytetracycline (N= 10) and group B with procaine penicillin and streptomycin combination (penstrept) (N= 14) injection. Clinical signs, recovery and survivability, temperature, haematology [Packed cell volume (PCV); haemoglobin concentration (Hbconc); red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) counts] and some serum biochemical profiles [alanine aminotransferase (ALT); aspartate transaminase (AST); total protein (TP); Albumin; urea; creatinine; potassium and sodium] were used to assess the efficacy of the antibiotics using standard techniques. Results: The mean temperature, RBC, WBC and urea values of the PPR-infected goats were above their reference ranges, mean albumin values were below the reference range while mean Hbconc, PCV, AST, ALT, TP and creatinine values were within their reference range before the commencement of treatment. Following treatment, clinical signs cleared in 20% and 35.7% of the goats treated with oxytetracycline and penstrep respectively. Death was recorded in 20% and 15% of goats treated with oxytetracycline and penstrep respectively before the end of treatment. Penstrep-treated group showed improvement in their haematological profile. Conclusion: Based on our findings, the use of penstrep in the management of PPR-infected goats gave a better result.

Several urban centres of different sizes have developed over time, and continue to grow, within the basin of Lake Victoria. Uncontrolled urban development, especially along the lake shore, puts environmental pressure on Lake Victoria and its local ecosystem. This study sought to monitor the extent and impacts of urban development (as measured by population growth and built-up land use/land cover) in the Lake Victoria basin, Kenya, between 1978 and 2018. Remote sensing and GIS-based land use/land cover classification was conducted to extract change in built-up areas from Landsat 3, 4, 5 and 8 satellite imagery obtained for the month of January at intervals of ten years. Change in population distribution and density was analysed based on decadal census data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics between 1979 and 2019. A statistical regression model was then estimated to relate population growth to built-up area expansion. Results indicate that the basin’s built-up area has expanded by 97% between 1978 and 2018 while the population increased by 140% between 1979 and 2019. Urban development was attributed to the rapidly increasing population in the area as seen in a positive statistical correlation (R2=0.5744) between increase in built-up area and population growth. The resulting environmental pressure on the local ecosystem has been documented mainly in terms of degradation of lake water quality, eutrophication and aquatic biodiversity loss. The study recommends the enactment and implementation of appropriate eco-sensitive local legislation and policies for sustainable urban and rural land use planning in the area. This should aim to control and regulate urban expansion especially in the immediate shoreline areas of the lake and associated riparian zones.

Chronic emaciation reflects the severity and duration of the aetiologies associated with a disease condition. The primary aim of this investigation was to determine the trend and most significant causes of chronic emaciation and cachexia in off-take cattle in Ibadan metropolis and to evaluate the clinico-pathologic findings. The study was a prospective one. In this particular study, causative factors of chronic emaciation were examined. The purposive sampling technique was used for this study which was carried out at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, between September, 2019 and December, 2019. Samples were collected from 100 chronically emaciated off-take cattle of different breeds, sexes and ages, not less than two years old. The diagnostic protocol of complete physical examination and comprehensive laboratory investigations such as parasitology, haematology, serum chemistry and urinalysis amongst others, were followed as well. The study revealed six major groups of aetiologies of chronic emaciation and cachexia. The haematologic parameters of packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), neutrophil and platelet count were statistically significant (p

Report on epizootic lymphangitis, a chronic contagious zoonosis of Equidae caused by Histoplasma capsulatum var. farciminosum characterized clinically by pyogranulomatous multifocal dermatitis with lymphadenitis, is rare in donkeys. This case reports a 6-year-old, 200-kg local male donkey at the University of Ibadan zoological garden with wounds on its dorsum which developed into ulcerative lesions on the left cranial thoracic region. The lesions were also along the lymphatic drainage of the left infrascapular area down to the girth with extensive nodular lesions on the skin, characteristic focal ulcers and fenestrations along the left flank. The ulcers were recurrent with blockage of the left lymphatic drainage causing ventral edema of the sternum extending to the prepuce and the left forelimb. The wound was managed for about 1 year but remained persistent with episodes of apparent healing, scarification and recurrence. Tentative diagnosis of epizootic lymphangitis was made. Blood sample, pus swab and aspirated exudate were collected for confirmatory diagnosis using light microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect and amplify a fragment of the internal transcribed spacer-2 (ITS-2) gene. These techniques detected Histoplasma capsulatum var. farciminosum, which informed the use of appropriate therapeutic agents, providone iodine wash, and griseofulvin cream and tablets for 3 weeks to treat the disease condition.

IntroductionTracking the progress of universal health coverage (UHC) is typically at a country level. However, country-averages may mask significant small-scale variation in indicators of access and use, which would have important implications for policy choice to achieve UHC.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cross-sectional household and individual-level survey in seven slum sites across Nigeria, Kenya, Bangladesh and Pakistan. We estimated the adjusted association between household capacity to pay and report healthcare need, use and spending. Catastrophic health expenditure was estimated by five different methods.ResultsWe surveyed 7002 households and 6856 adults. Gini coefficients were wide, ranging from 0.32 to 0.48 across the seven sites. The total spend of the top 10% of households was 4–47 times more per month than the bottom 10%. Households with the highest budgets were: more likely to report needing care (highest vs lowest third of distribution of budgets: +1 to +31 percentage points (pp) across sites), to spend more on healthcare (2.0 to 6.4 times higher), have more inpatient and outpatient visits per year in five sites (1.0 to 3.0 times more frequently), spend more on drugs per visit (1.1 to 2.2 times higher) and were more likely to consult with a doctor (1.0 to 2.4 times higher odds). Better-off households were generally more likely to experience catastrophic health expenditure when calculated according to four methods (−1 to +12 pp), but much less likely using a normative method (−60 to −80 pp).ConclusionsSlums have a very high degree of inequality of household budget that translates into inequities in the access to and use of healthcare. Evaluation of UHC and healthcare access interventions targeting these areas should consider distributional effects, although the standard measures may be unreliable.

Background and Aim: The current vaccination for peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) is stalled by myriad challenges and continuous endemicity of pneumonia due to fulminant bacterial complication in goats. The present study evaluated the protective effect of intranasal PPRV linage 1 and bacterine vaccinations. Materials and Methods: Twelve West African Dwarf (WAD) goats aged 6 months were randomly grouped and vaccinated within 2 weeks using a combination of PPRV lineage 1 vaccine (Nig/75), and bacterin from Mannheimia haemolytica (Mh) or Pasteurella multocida intranasally. The goats were observed for 3 weeks post-vaccination before comingled with a known infected WAD goat with apparent clinical signs of peste des petits ruminants and further observed clinically for 5 weeks post-infection (PI). Blood samples were taken for hematology while sera were assayed for antioxidants (glutathione peroxidase, glutathione transferase, and superoxide dismutase) activities and pro-oxidants (malondialdehyde content, reduced glutathione, hydrogen peroxide generation, and myeloperoxidase) using spectrophotometric methods. Data were subjected to parametric statistics at α=0.05 using GraphPad Prism version 21. Results: Clinically, there were pyrexia, oculonasal discharge, diarrhea, anemia, leukopenia, and increased pro-oxidants in the unvaccinated goats, while moderate neutrophilia and leukocytosis were observed in PPRV and bacterin vaccinated goats. Two unvaccinated goats were weak and euthanized at 13 and 28 days PI. The goats vaccinated with PPRV and Mh showed better response clinically and biochemically. Conclusion: The mucosal vaccination of goats with PPRV vaccine and bacterine will protect against exposure and culminate in the development of protective mucosal, humoral, and cell-mediated immune responses. This vaccination strategy will provide framework needed in the prevention and control of endemic caprine pneumonia in Nigeria.

Despite projections of stroke being a leading cause of mortality in Africa, reliable estimates of stroke burden on the continent using rigorous methods are not available. We aimed to implement a mobile-Health community-based interactive Stroke Information and Surveillance System to sustainably measure stroke burden and improve stroke health literacy and outcomes in urban and rural sites in Nigeria. African Rigorous Innovative Stroke Epidemiological Surveillance (ARISES) is an observational cohort study, which will be conducted in urban (Ibadan North LGA Ward 3) and rural (Ibarapa Central LGA) sites with a combined base population of over 80,000 people. The study will use a consultative approach to establish an mHealth-based Stroke Information and Surveillance System comprising a Stroke Alert System and a Stroke Finding System. These systems will enable the community to report stroke events and the research team/health workers find stroke cases using phone calls, short message service, and Voice Over Internet Protocols (VoIP). We will update community household data and geo-locate all households. Over the 5 years of the study, the system will collect information on stroke events and educate the community about this disease. Reported stroke cases will be clinically adjudicated at home and in prespecified health facilities. Baseline and endline community surveys will be conducted to assess stroke occurrence and other important study variables. The proportion of strokes alerted and found will be determined over the study period. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews will be conducted to understand community stroke literacy and perspectives. The study will also assess any impact of these efforts on time from stroke onset to referral, community uptake of orthodox health services for stroke patients. ARISES is anticipated to establish proof of concept about using mHealth for stroke surveillance in Africa. The potential impact of the SISS on improving patient outcomes will also be determined.

Inflammatory reactions in the gastrointestinal tract play an important role in the pathogenesis of gastroenteritis in bovine helminthosis. This study determined the serum concentrations of cytokines induced acute phase proteins (Serum Amyloid A (SAA), Haptoglobin (Hp) and C-reactive protein (CRP)) and the levels of immunoreactive interleukins (IL-1, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-6) in cattle naturally infected with helminths. We sampled a total of 480 slaughtered cattle of both sexes in a major abattoir in Ibadan, Nigeria. Sedimentation, floatation and modified McMaster techniques were employed to determine the degrees of helminth infections. Animals with eggs per gram (epg) less than 200 were adjudged to be apparently healthy. The serum concentrations of interleukins and acute phase proteins were determined using the Technicon AutoAnalyzer Model AA II. It was found that mean SAA (μg/l) and CRP (%) levels were significantly (P 0.05). Therefore, some acute phase proteins are involved in the pathophysiology of bovine helminthosis and are closely related to the inflammatory activation of the disease. In lieu of these findings, it is suggested that systemic markers of inflammation can identify subjects at high risk of natural bovine helminthosis and that IL-6 and SAA may be used as indicators for bovine helminthosis.

Background: Pig slaughtering methods influence the quality of pig products and also serves as a critical point for the control of zoonosis and other food-borne infections. This study aimed at assessing the peculiarities, the animal welfare concerns and the public health implications of pig slaughtering activities was conducted on three major abattoirs in Southwestern Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Information on pre-slaughter handling, slaughtering and carcass processing were obtained by observation over a continuous 2- week period of normal abattoir activities in each abattoir by the authors. Structured questionnaires were administered and focus group interviews were conducted to obtain information from the abattoir workers and health officials. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Result and Conclusion: The pig slaughtering methods in the three locations vary considerably with some identified areas of animal welfare concerns which include inhumane transportation , restraining, lairaging, and stunning practices.s. These amount to excessive stress and poor animal welfare. The abattoir findings with public health implications include floor slaughtering, inadequate water supply, excessive biological intrusions, poor environmental hygiene, poor waste disposal and failure of abattoir workers to use protective clothing. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Background: Pig slaughtering methods influence the quality of pig products and also serves as a critical point for the control of zoonosis and other food-borne infections. This study aimed at assessing the peculiarities, the animal welfare concerns and the public health implications of pig slaughtering activities was conducted on three major abattoirs in Southwestern Nigeria. Materials andMethods: Information on pre-slaughter handling, slaughtering and carcass processing were obtained by observation over a continuous 2-week period of normal abattoir activities in each abattoir by the authors. Structured questionnaires were administered and focus groupinterviews were conducted to obtain information from the abattoir workers and health officials. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.Result and Conclusion: The pig slaughtering methods in the three locations vary considerably with some identified areas of animal welfare concerns which include inhumane transportation , restraining, lairaging, and stunning practices.s. These amount to excessive stress and poor animal welfare. The abattoir findings with public health implications include floor slaughtering, inadequate water supply, excessive biological intrusions, poor environmental hygiene, poor waste disposal and failure of abattoir workers to use protective clothing. The implications of the findings are discussed.Keywords: Abattoir, Nigeria, Pig, Slaughter, Welfare

Corruption is one of the oldest and most perplexing phenomenona in human society, political corruption exists in every country and it is not exclusively a problem of developing countries. Etymologically, the word corruption is derived from the Latin word “rumpere”, meaning to “break”. This connotes the breaking of normal or societal norms or practices. While the destructive nature of corruption is less contentious, the definition of what constitutes corruption tends to defile consensus among scholars and institutions. Corruption can be defined as the abuse of public office for private gain. Similarly, corruption can be defined as the abuse of public power for private gain. Corruption is behaviour which deviates from the formal duties of a public role (elective or appointive) because of private regarding (personal, close family, private clique) wealth or status gains; or violates rule against the exercising of certain private regarding influence. This study tends to examine socio-political and economic impacts of corruption in Nigeria.

Many organizations today are engrossed with many problems amounted from human interaction, interrelationship and interdependence among its members. The nature and environment of work largely determine the intensity and extensiveness of the interaction, interrelationship and interdependence of each person or group of persons within each of the organization. Conflict, is an important concept in adjustment because it makes threat or frustration inevitable precisely the action designed to satisfy one goal necessarily threaten or frustrate the other. Conflict may be problematic to the success of an organization but it could also be instrumental to, evoking a new culture that will be more enduring, give opportunity for cooperation, resource discovery, conducive working environment, and attainment of the corporate goals of the organization (Ayodele, 2002). There is no completely satisfactory solution to conflict as long as the individual remains committed to both goals. Since conflict is a universal problem, how it is handled is of the utmost importance. This study attempts to examine the dimension of conflict resolution in the contemporary world of work.

Gastric lesions, especially ulceration, cause significant economic losses in the swine industry worldwide. The study was designed to assess its prevalence, distribution and pattern in pigs in south-western Nigeria. Slaughter house surveys were conducted on three government-established abattoirs in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states. Stomachs from 480 pigs were assessed for gross lesions, which were graded using a modification of a standard technique. Tissues from different regions of the stomach were routinely stained to assess histopathologic changes. Data were presented as frequency counts and analysed using analysis of variance and chi-square technique. Significance was determined at p ≤ 0.05. Gastric lesions were encountered across the four regions of the stomach with a point prevalence of 57.29%. The prevalence of lesions in the non-glandular region was 32.9%, with severe hyperkeratosis (13.13%) being most frequently observed (p < 0.05). Erosions were significantly higher in the cardia (8.54%) (p < 0.05), followed by fundus (8.33%). Gastric ulcers were significantly higher in the fundus (19.58%) (p < 0.05). Scars of healed ulcers and lacerations were also observed in the fundus (5.42%) (p < 0.05). The gastric lesion distribution across the four regions of the stomach and the occurrence of ulceration in the fundus showed an unusual pattern, which is rarely reported in other parts of the world. The reason for these findings in pigs in Nigeria is not fully understood; therefore, further studies are required to identify and manage these factors for increased productivity, improved animal welfare and enhanced food security.Keywords: prevalence; gastric; lesions; fundic ulcers; pigs

Diarrhea in calves is one of the most important causes of calf morbidity, mortality and economic losses. The prevalence of diarrhea in calves was studied in 12 farms in Oyo and Ogun states in South Western Nigeria. A total of 825 calves up to 6-months old were sampled over a period of 12 months with 120 (14.5%) of the calves showing signs of diarrhea. Faecal samples of diarrheic calves (n=120) were collected, and screened for bacterial pathogens using standard laboratory procedures. In Oyo and Ogun States, highest prevalence rates of calves with diarrhea were noticed in two farms of Oyo State 50% (25 out of 50 calves) and Ogun State 23% (12 out of 52 calves) were recorded respectively. Only 19 (15.8%) of the 120 calves had bacterial pathogens; Of the calves (n=19) where bacteria were isolated Escherichia coli was isolated from 12 calves (63.2%), Salmonella species was isolated from 10 calves (52.6%) and Campylobacter species was isolated from 1 calf (5.3%). The lowest levels of bacterial detection were seen in diarrheic samples from White Fulani calves (8.9%) with the highest levels seen in samples from Jersey calves (50%). Calves of 0-2 months had positivity bacterial cause of diarrhea of 18.4%, calves between 3 and 4 months had positivity of 8.8% and calves of 5-6 months had positivity of 20%.Bull calves had 17.0% positivity while heifers had 14.8% positivity among diarrheic calves. Calves having severe diarrhea had highest percentage positivity (26.1%) of bacterial isolates while calves with moderate diarrhea had the least percentage positivity (13.6%). Calves reared in semi intensive system of management were the most susceptible (18.0%) while those reared under extensive system were least susceptible (13.6%) to bacterial scours. Therefore, Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter organisms were most prevalent in calf scours. Age, breeds, sex, severity of diarrhea and system of management are predisposing factors of calf diarrhea.