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Background Rabies remains endemic to the Harare Metropolitan Province of Zimbabwe, with a lack of public participations potentially contributing to the limited success in eliminating the disease. We hypothesized that rabies intervention campaigns were less successful than they could be as a result of poor understanding of the disease at the community level, and thus aimed to identify the knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards rabies in the province. Methods A cross-sectional survey, using a semi-structured questionnaire, was implemented between January 2017 and June 2018 across the province and data were collected from 798 respondents. Frequency distributions and logistic regressions were undertaken to determine the factors associated with the adequacy of the prevailing rabies knowledge, pet ownership characteristics and the existing preventative practices. Results The results of our study suggested that the majority of the respondents (92%) had heard of rabies. However, the level of rabies knowledge could be classified as “adequate” in only 36% of respondents. The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that pet ownership and type of occupation were statistically associated with a better understanding and knowledge of the disease. Off all the respondents, 49% owned at least one dog or cat and suburb density and occupation were statistically associated with owning a pet. Amongst the pet owners, 57% consulted an animal health practitioner at least once a year and 75% were aware of a rabies vaccine for their pets. The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that age, education and gender were statistically associated with pet owners taking their pet(s) to an animal clinic. Conclusion This study showed that the majority of the respondents lacked comprehensive knowledge about rabies, with the knowledge pertaining to health seeking behaviour and the importance of rabies vaccination being the most lacking. Additional public education relying on key messages, aimed at the different target audiences, is required in the province.

Microbial quality of frozen Nile crocodile ( Crocodylus niloticus ) meat from three farms in Zimbabwe was assessed based on 2051 samples collected for pre-export testing during 2006 to 2011. Data were perused by season and year in terms of aerobic plate (APC), coliform (CC), Escherichia coli (ECC) and Listeria monocytogenes (LMC) counts and the presence of Salmonella spp. The log 10 -transformed data were compared among the farms and seasons using the Kruskal–Wallis test. Microbial quality of the samples was graded based on the EC No. 2073.2005 criteria for beef. The mean APC and CC for the crocodile meat differed significantly ( P = 0.000) among the farms with the highest APC (3.2 ± 0.05 log 10 cfu/g) and the lowest (2.7 ± 0.05 log 10 cfu/g) recorded from farms A and C, respectively. There were no significant differences ( P > 0.05) in ECC and LMC among the farms, while Salmonella spp. were only isolated from one farm. Although the microbial quality of frozen crocodile meat from these farms was generally within acceptable limits, the isolation of E. coli and Salmonella spp. is of public health concern. Thus, implementing of measures to control the pasteurizing process and to minimize bacterial contamination of crocodile meat after pasteurization need to be carefully considered.

Anthrax continues to cause significant mortalities in livestock, wildlife and humans worldwide. In Zimbabwe, anthrax outbreaks have been reported almost annually over the past four decades. In this study we tested whether anthrax outbreak data and a set of environmental variables can be used to predict the ecological niche for Bacillus anthracis using maximum entropy modelling for species geographical distribution (Maxent). Confirmed geo-referenced anthrax outbreaks data for the period 1995-2010 were used as presence locations and a set of environmental parameters; precipitation, temperature, vegetation biomass, soil type and terrain as predictor variables. Results showed that the environmental variables can adequately predict the ecological niche of B. anthracis (AUC for test data=0.717, p

We conducted a cross-sectional study to assess cattle owners' awareness, perceptions, and attitudes toward zoonoses, with particular emphasis regarding anthrax. Data on awareness of zoonoses, clinical signs of anthrax in animals and human, its routes of transmission and methods of prevention, the families' consumption habits of anthrax-infected carcasses, and other family activities that increase exposure to anthrax were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. A total of 41.4% (135/326) of the farmers were from high-anthrax-risk districts, whereas 28.5% and 30.1% were from medium- and low-risk districts, respectively. Overall, the level of awareness amongst the farmers for the named zoonoses were rabies (88.7%), anthrax (71.5%), and brucellosis (20.9%). Except for anthrax, awareness of other zoonoses did not differ significantly (p0.05) among the district categories. Farmers from anthrax high-risk districts were significantly more aware of anthrax compared to those from moderate- (p=0.000) and low- (p=0.000) risk districts. All of the farmers were aware that anthrax occurs in cattle, and 73% indicated the presence of unclotting blood oozing from natural orifices as a consistent finding in cattle that died of anthrax, whereas 86.7% of them indicated the presence of skin lesions as the most common sign of the disease in humans. The good efficacy of human anthrax treatment (58.3%), slaughter of moribund cattle and selling of meat from cattle found dead to unsuspecting consumers (59.8%), reluctance to lose animals (47.9%), and forgetting about anthrax (41.1%) were cited as the major reasons for consuming anthrax-infected carcasses. Given that 75.2% of cattle owners indicated that they would not consume meat from cattle found dead, because they were discouraged by veterinary authorities, introducing meat inspection services is likely to have a positive impact in preventing human anthrax outbreaks in Zimbabwe.

Aims To isolate Bacillus anthracis from cattle carcass burial sites from high-risk districts in Zimbabwe. Methods and Results Soil samples were collected from carcass burial sites from seven areas, including two national game parks. Samples were collected from top 5–10 cm, and for spore extraction, 25 g of soil was suspended in sterile distilled water overnight. Supernatants were filtered through 0·45-μm pore cellulose nitrate, deposits suspended in 5 ml phosphate-buffered saline, aliquoted and heated at temperature regimen of 65, 70, 75 and 80°C for 15 min. Samples were plated onto PLET agar. B. anthracis isolates were identified using growth morphology and PCR detecting pXO1 and pXO2 virulence plasmids. From samples heated at 75°C for 15 min, B. anthracis were isolated from 9 of 81 (11·1%) soil samples representing five of the seven sampled areas. Conclusions We isolated B. anthracis from soil collected from carcass burial sites. PCR targeting virulence plasmids provided a rapid confirmation of B. anthracis. Significance and Impact of the study The positive isolation indicated that some carcass burial sites may retain viable spores for at least 12 months after the previous outbreak, which suggests that they may be important sources of B. anthracis and new disease outbreaks.