Pastoralists' Perception and Attitude on Invasion of Dichrostachys cinerea (sickle bush) in the Grazing Lands of Monduli District, Tanzania
Pastures & pastoralism, May 20, 2024
This study aimed to assess Maasai pastoralists' perception and attitude towards the sprea... more This study aimed to assess Maasai pastoralists' perception and attitude towards the spread and impacts of sickle bush (Dichrostachys cinerea) in their grazing lands. The study was conducted in three villages of Monduli district involving 156 randomly sampled households. Thirteen (13) purposively selected key informants (based on their merits) were interviewed and participant observation was also used in data collection. Quantitative data were analyzed by the SPSS software version 20, while qualitative ones were subjected to content analysis. Findings revealed that the current extent of the sickle bush has increased, with over 70% of the respondents proving this. About 82% of respondents revealed that the bush was present in their villages for a long time, although its invading effects have increased. Major reasons for this invasion were reported to include climate change and overgrazing. Furthermore, sickle bush was reported to take over the grazing lands. The bush is perceived as destructive by the Maasai community because it depletes the amount of forage for livestock grazing. It also provides suitable habitats for predators such as lions and enhances conflicts with livestock and humans.
Tick-borne disease infections in the traditional cattle farming system in Same District, Tanzania
Tanzania Veterinary Journal, 2014
A cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2013 and February 2014 in randomly selecte... more A cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2013 and February 2014 in randomly selected four wards, eight villages, 96 cattle herds and 288 animals in western lowland zone of Same district in order to evaluate livestock keepers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to tickborne diseases and to determine infection status. Sociological data were collected using a semistructured questionnaire and the status of tick borne diseases was determined through clinical examination of animals and parasitological assessment of blood and lymph node smears. Respondents reported the major production constraints to be pasture scarcity (87.5%), livestock diseases (70.8%) and water shortage (33.3%). Tick-borne diseases (77.1%) constituted the major cattle health constraint in particular East Coast fever (78.1%), anaplasmosis (53.1%) and babesiosis (37.5%). Hand spraying (72.5%) and pour on (23.8%) methods were the methods used in the control of TBDs and this was done either once per month (65.6%) or fortnightly (34.4%). Theileria parva s pecies were detected in 61.5% of the herds and 28.5% of the animals. The percentages of East Coast fever-infected herds ( p = 0.0000252) and animals ( p = 0.000842) that were sprayed once per month were significantly higher than those sprayed fortnightly. No Anaplasma and Babesia species were detected in the smears. This suggests that East Coast fever is the most important tick-borne disease. The apparent low community's motivation to adopt the dipping scheme which has been revived through government support calls for further investigation. Keywords : Acaricides, dipping, prevalence, tick-borne diseases
Microbiology research journal international, Jan 10, 2017
Aims: Marine sourced food, to a large extent, provides protein and nutrients to people of Zanziba... more Aims: Marine sourced food, to a large extent, provides protein and nutrients to people of Zanzibar where 85% of Zanzibar population consume fish at least five times a week. This study was carried out to investigate the safety of marine foods consumed in Zanzibar. Study Design: A longitudinal study design was used to investigate variations in colony forming Original Research Article
Characterization of Breeding Habitats and Larval Abundance of Malaria Vectors across Selected Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), in Morogoro Region, Tanzania
American journal of epidemiology and infectious disease, Jul 6, 2022
Background: The East African region has experienced several Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreaks sin... more Background: The East African region has experienced several Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreaks since the 1930s. The objective of this study was to identify distributions of potential disease vectors in relation to disease epidemics. Understanding disease vector potential distributions is a major concern for disease transmission dynamics. Methods: Diverse ecological niche modelling techniques have been developed for this purpose: we present a maximum entropy (Maxent) approach for estimating distributions of potential RVF vectors in un-sampled areas in East Africa. We modelled the distribution of two species of mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens complex) responsible for potential maintenance and amplification of the virus, respectively. Predicted distributions of environmentally suitable areas in East Africa were based on the presence-only occurrence data derived from our entomological study in Ngorongoro District in northern Tanzania. Results: Our model predicted potential suitable areas with high success rates of 90.9% for A. aegypti and 91.6% for C. pipiens complex. Model performance was statistically significantly better than random for both species. Most suitable sites for the two vectors were predicted in central and northwestern Tanzania with previous disease epidemics. Other important risk areas include western Lake Victoria, northern parts of Lake Malawi, and the Rift Valley region of Kenya. Conclusion: Findings from this study show distributions of vectors had biological and epidemiological significance in relation to disease outbreak hotspots, and hence provide guidance for the selection of sampling areas for RVF vectors during inter-epidemic periods.
Veterinary paraprofessionals and community animal health workers in Tanzania
Tanzania Veterinary Journal, Feb 10, 2009
To address the economic hardships of the 1980‟s, Tanzania under pressure from its development par... more To address the economic hardships of the 1980‟s, Tanzania under pressure from its development partners both bilateral and multilateral embarked on structural adjustment program. In the case of veterinary services delivery systems reforms were advocated founded on privatisation and liberalisation. The government abruptly withdrew from providing clinical services, retrenched a substantial number of paraprofessionals and their training sponsorship was withdrawn. The gap created has not been bridged by the private sector which to date is limited to a few major urbanised foci. Rural producers have been the mostly affected by these reforms. The response has been to try and create a new cadre in the delivery of veterinary services and a reduced emphasis on the role of paraprofessionals. The roles of this new cadre commonly referred to as the community based animal health workers (CAHWs) and paraprofessionals are reviewed. We conclude that before any new cadre is introduced in the delivery system, technical and socio-economic sustainability issues should be researched. Furthermore we advocate that the role of paraprofessionals in the private sector and rural areas should be re-examined. Keywords : CAHW, Tanzania, paraprofessionals, animal health services Tanzania Vet Journal Vol. 25 (2) 2008: pp. 121-131
Maasai mother's knowledge on complementary feeding practices and nutritional status of children aged 6–24 months in Monduli District, Arusha, Tanzania: A case study of Naitolia village
Background and Objectives: Mosquito-borne viral diseases (MBVDs) create a dramatic health situati... more Background and Objectives: Mosquito-borne viral diseases (MBVDs) create a dramatic health situation worldwide. There is a need to improve the understanding of factors to be addressed in intervention programmes. This study explored community knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding MBVD in Kinshasa. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out between January and April 2019. The socio-demographic and KAP data collected through a questionnaire were analysed using Epi Info 7. Results: The study included 1464 male and female respondents aged from 18 to 70 years old. Open garbage cans and outdoor water storage units were found in 61.2% and 33.4% of respondent residences, respectively. Polluted water bodies (80.3%) were the most mentioned as mosquito breeding places. Among 86.6% of the respondents that had heard about yellow fever, 12% knew that it is an MBVD. The majority of respondents (72.5%) were perceived to be at risk of contracting MBVD. Environment sa...
Antimicrobial use in livestock production has been linked to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) world... more Antimicrobial use in livestock production has been linked to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) worldwide; however, optimization of their use has been considered an important strategy in dealing with it. The aims of this study were as follows: (a) to assess the literature on antimicrobial usage (practices, frequency, class, type) in cattle and poultry production with regard to resistance in Escherichia coli (E. coli) including multidrug resistance (MDR) (b) summarize evidence for quantitative (volumes of active antimicrobial ingredients) and quality (identify and quantify active ingredient) and (c) to identify data gaps. Peer reviewed literature search was conducted by querying two online databases: PubMed and Google scholar from November 15, 2018 to February 2019. The inclusion criteria for eligibility were articles: published in English between 2008 and 2018, including poultry (chicken) or cattle or both, E. coli bacteria of choice, antimicrobial use on farms, quantitative data and qu...
To explore and describe the perceptions of policy actors and practitioners on antimicrobial use a... more To explore and describe the perceptions of policy actors and practitioners on antimicrobial use and resistance in human and animal health in Tanzania. Methods: This was an exploratory qualitative study, which involved semi-structured interviews with nine policy makers and 102 practitioners. Results: Improved multisectoral collaboration and coordination among experts from the animal and human sectors, government will, improved infrastructures, existence of public awareness campaigns on appropriate use of antimicrobials and existence of antimicrobial stewardship were identified as strengths for the implementation of National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (NAP-AMR) in Tanzania. Despite these strengths, insufficient public awareness of AMR, limited community engagement and inadequate human resources were among the reported weaknesses. A number of opportunities for the implementation of NAP-AMR were also reported including the presence of integrated disease surveillance and response strategy in health sector and development of a coordinated surveillance system. Furthermore, the inadequate laboratory capacity and poor resource mobilization were identified as challenges facing the implementation of NAP-AMR. The future policies of AMR need to capitalize on the identified strengths and opportunities as well as design interventions to improve public awareness of AMR and community engagement, deployment of adequate human resources and ensure adequate resource mobilization to meet AMR needs.
Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports, 2019
Infection and Treatment Method (ITM) has been practiced in Tanzania for over 20 years as a preven... more Infection and Treatment Method (ITM) has been practiced in Tanzania for over 20 years as a prevention measure against East Coast Fever disease. It is known that ITM, like natural ECF infection, leads to a carrier state, whereby vaccinated cattle become asymptomatic carriers of the parasite. It is expected that ECF vaccination using ITM also leads to generation of combinations of vaccine specific Theileria parva and local strains that circulate in the field what contributes to an unknown level of parasite diversity. Moreover, the long term impact of ITM on carrier state and parasite diversity in cattle are largely unknown. To address this question blood was collected from ECF-vaccinated (n = 239) and unvaccinated (n = 97) cattle from Loiborsoit, Emboreet, Esilalei, Manyara ranch and Mswakini villages in the Maasai steppe of northern Tanzania, as well as Mruazi and Leila farms in Tanga in eastern Tanzania. Screening for T. parva using nested PCR revealed an overall prevalence of T. parva to be 34.5%, with a significant higher prevalence among ECF-vaccinated cattle. Using three VNTR markers (ms2, ms5 and MS7) higher parasite genetic diversity in terms of higher number of alleles and expected heterozygosity was shown in vaccinated than unvaccinated cattle. These parameters were highest in cattle from Manyara ranch. Nevertheless, the principle component analysis (PCoA) showed no distinct clustering patterns as most T. parva alleles clustered together throughout the four quadrants implying parasite homogeneity among the sampled populations. However, some of the parasite alleles closely clustered with Muguga vaccine alleles in two of the quadrants, consistent with closer genetic relatedness between the vaccine strains and the T. parva populations from the Maasai steppe. Likewise analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed most of the genetic variation (93%) being contained within populations with only 7% being among populations. This study therefore confirms the role of ECF vaccination in enhancing carrier state and T. parva diversity in vaccinated cattle populations. Higher T. parva diversity may play an important role in carrier cattle by way of restricting breakthrough infections from field parasite strains.
Abattoir surveillance demonstrates contagious bovine pleuropneumonia is widespread in Tanzania
Tropical Animal Health and Production, 2015
A study was conducted to investigate the presence of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in ... more A study was conducted to investigate the presence of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in the slaughter facilities in 10 regions of Tanzania that reported pathological lesions suggestive of CBPP during meat inspection. The aim was to ascertain if slaughter facilities can be used to monitor the occurrence and spread of CBPP in the country. The study involved a questionnaire survey, clinical examination of animals for CBPP symptoms prior to slaughter and postmortem examination of the respiratory system in slaughtered cattle. A total of 12 slaughterhouses and 31 animal markets were involved in the study. A total of 2736 cattle were slaughtered comprising 1978 and 758 in slaughterhouses and animal markets, respectively. Of the total slaughtered stock, 351 of 2736 (12.8 %) had lesions suggestive of CBPP and of these, 236 (8.6 %) were from slaughterhouses and 115 (4.2 %) from animal markets. Acute CBPP cases were observed in 192 of the 236 (81.4 %) and 71 of the 115 (61.7 %) of the animals inspected in the slaughterhouses and markets, respectively. Chronic cases were encountered in 24 (10.2 %) of the animals slaughtered in the slaughterhouses and 19 (16.5 %) at animal markets. This work has confirmed that targeted monitoring for CBPP lesions through meat inspection can be a useful tool for CBPP surveillance in endemic countries like Tanzania.
Knowledge, Attitude and Practices on Handling, Processing and Consumption of Marine Foods in Zanzibar, Tanzania
Journal of education, society and behavioural science, Jan 10, 2017
This study assessed the exposure of humans to Staphylococcus species expressing the Enterotoxins ... more This study assessed the exposure of humans to Staphylococcus species expressing the Enterotoxins genes (SEs) through consumption of boiled-milk-served-hot and fermented milk in Mbeya, Tanzania. A survey involving 120 consumers revealed that 67.5% of the respondents were buying raw milk from milk shops for home consumption. About 76% of respondents boiled milk before consumption, 14.8% ferment the milk after boiling and 5.8% consumed fermented milk without boiling. Children (30%) consumed milk more frequently than other members in the family. Among consumers who buy milk from the milk shops, 71% were daily consumers of both boiled milk served hot and fermented milk. Approximately, 1197 L (90% CI, 987-1416) of ready to consume milk was sold per day. Of which 860 L (90% CI, 645-1071) and 337 L (90% CI, 168-530) were boiled-milk-served-hot and fermented milk, respectively. Out of the ready to consume milk, 490 L (90% CI, 464-516) of boiled-milk-served-hot was contaminated with SEs gene compared to 77.5 L (90% CI, 67-88) of fermented milk. Daily 2394 people were consumers of milk and their products. Exposure assessment shows that the probability of consuming boiled-milk-served-hot and fermented milk contaminated with SEs gene at a milk shop was 0.42 (90% CI, 0.071-0.838) and 0.17 (90% CI, 0-0.62), respectively. It was estimated that every day, 363 (90% CI, 341-385) and 58 (90% CI, 49-66) people were likely to consume boiled milk taken hot and fermented milk contaminated with SE gene, respectively. The finding shows that exposure to SEs gene was two times more likely to occur in people who consume boiled-milk-served-hot than in people who consume fermented milk (OR. 2.221 (90% CI, 0.6-6.16). Awareness creation on proper food handling among milk handlers to reduce contamination along the milk value chain is recommended.
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