Cost-effective Control Measures Research Articles

Economic Impact of Trypanosomosis on Camels (Camelus Dromedarius) in North-West, Nigeria

Desert encroachment accelerated by global warming threatens the lives and livelihood of scores of farming families. However, camels can withstand the harsh climatic conditions and provide draught power thereby supporting subsistence agriculture and other economic activities. This study aimed to investigate the economic-impact of camel Trypanosomiasis (Surra) in two communities in North-West, Nigeria using structured questionnaires. All the 99 respondents interviewed were males and over 30 years of age with majority of them having Islamic/Quaranic education. The economic impacts identified include death (42%), poor milk production (38%) and reduced draught power (38%). The mean prices of live camels differ between the two study areas; ₦301,928.57 vs. ₦128,100.00 and ₦184,377.55 vs.₦82,100.00 for healthy adults and young camels in Kano and Katsina states, respectively. About 38−54% loss in value of live camels estimated at ₦114,581.63−₦164,755.09 in Kano and ₦48,850−₦76,100.00 in Katsina was attributed to Surra. Similarly, Surra is believed to account for over 90% loss in milk production in camels, where an estimated daily loss of over ₦7,000.00 was recorded. Although the estimated impacts were based on the opinion of a few randomly selected respondents, the huge financial cost associated with Surra is alarming and deserves attention. It is evident that this disease threatens food security and impedes the achievement of sustainable development goals. These findings bring to fore the socioeconomic importance of Surra in the study area and call for the formulation of cost-effective control measures.

Impact of infectious density-induced additional screening and treatment saturation on COVID-19: Modeling and cost-effective optimal control

This study introduces a novel SI2HR model, where “I2” denotes two infectious classes representing asymptomatic and symptomatic infections, aiming to investigate and analyze the cost-effective optimal control measures for managing COVID-19. The model incorporates a novel concept of infectious density-induced additional screening (IDIAS) and accounts for treatment saturation. Furthermore, the model considers the possibility of reinfection and the loss of immunity in individuals who have previously recovered. To validate and calibrate the proposed model, real data from November–December 2022 in Hong Kong are utilized. The estimated parameters obtained from this calibration process are valuable for prediction purposes and facilitate further numerical simulations. An analysis of the model reveals that delays in screening, treatment, and quarantine contribute to an increase in the basic reproduction number R0, indicating a tendency towards endemicity. In particular, from the elasticity of R0, we deduce that normalized sensitivity indices of baseline screening rate (θ), quarantine rates (γ, αs), and treatment rate (α) are negative, which shows that delaying any of these may cause huge surge in R0, ultimately increases the disease burden. Further, by the contour plots, we note the two-parameter behavior of the infectives (both symptomatic and asymptomatic). Expanding upon the model analysis, an optimal control problem (OCP) is formulated, incorporating three control measures: precautionary interventions, boosted IDIAS, and boosted treatment. The Pontryagin's maximum principle and the forward-backward sweep method are employed to solve the OCP. The numerical simulations highlight that enhanced screening and treatment, coupled with preventive interventions, can effectively contribute to sustainable disease control. However, the cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) conducted in this study suggests that boosting IDIAS alone is the most economically efficient and cost-effective approach compared to other strategies. The CEA results provide valuable insights into identifying specific strategies based on their cost-efficacy ranking, which can be implemented to maximize impact while minimizing costs. Overall, this research offers significant insights for policymakers and healthcare professionals, providing a framework to optimize control efforts for COVID-19 or similar epidemics in the future.

Cost effectiveness of malaria vector control activities in Sudan

BackgroundMalaria vector control activities in Sudan rely largely on Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs), Indoor Residual Spray (IRS) and Larval Source Management (LSM). The present study attempted to determine cost effectiveness of inputs and operations of vector control interventions applied in different environmental settings in central and eastern Sudan, as well as their impact.MethodsThe inputs utilized and cost of each vector control activity, operational achievements and impact of the applied malaria vector control activities; IRS, LLINs and LSM were determined for eight sites in Al Gazira state (central Sudan) and Al Gadarif state (eastern Sudan). Operational costs were obtained from data of the National Malaria Control Program in 2017. Impact was measured using entomological indicators for Anopheles mosquitoes.ResultsThe total cost per person per year was $1.6, $0.85, and $0.32 for IRS, LLINs and LSM, respectively. Coverage of vector control operations was 97%, 95.2% and 25–50% in IRS, LLINs and LSM, respectively. Vectorial capacity of malaria vectors showed statistically significant variations (P < 0.034) and ranged 0.294–0.65 in areas implemented LSM in comparison to 0.097–0.248 in areas applied IRS and LLINs, respectively. Both indoor and outdoor biting Anopheles mosquitoes showed noticeable increase that reached 3–12 folds in areas implemented LSM in comparison to areas implemented IRS and LLINs. Annual malaria prevalence was 13.1–21.1% in areas implemented LSM in comparison to 3.20%, 4.77% in areas implemented IRS and LLINs, respectively.ConclusionIRS and LLINs are cost effective control measures due to adequate inputs and organized process. However, the unit cost of LSM intervention per outcome and subsequently the impact is hugely affected by the low coverage. The very weak support for implementation of LSM which includes inputs resulted in weakness of its process and consequently its impact. Implementation of LSM by local government in urban settings is challenged by many factors the most important are maintenance of adequate stable level of funding, un-adequate number of well trained health workers, unstable political and administrative conditions and weak infrastructure. These challenges are critical for proper implementation of LSM and control of malaria in urban settings in Sudan.

Distribution characteristics and influencing factors of Haemaphysalis longicornis around goat sheds in Jinan city, East China.

As one of the most important disease vectors worldwide, ticks can transmit a number of pathogenic organisms to humans and domestic animals and cause a variety of important natural focal diseases and zoonoses. Domestic livestock play a vital role in the dispersal of ticks from the field environment to the human settlement, contributing to the prevalence of tick-borne diseases. Identification of the tick control region could contribute a vital role in strategic planning and cost-effective tick control measures. However, little is known about the spatial distribution characteristics of ticks around livestock sheds, which will lead to abusage and overuse of insecticides. Therefore, this study aimed to explore spatial distribution characteristics and correlation factors of ticks around goat sheds. A total of 3898 ticks were collected from eight goat sheds from April to June in Jinan city. All the sampled ticks belonged to the same species, namely Haemaphysalis longicornis, and 88.8% of them were nymphs. A significant positive correlation was noted between free-living ticks and parasitic ticks (r = 0.411, P < 0.001). However, there was a significant negative correlation between number of free-living ticks and distance from the goat sheds (r = -0.622, P < 0.001). Within 20m from the goat sheds, 2211 ticks were collected respectively, representing 56.7% of the total free-living ticks. At a distance of 30m, 57.6% decline in the tick density was found with a significant difference (q = 5.534, P < 0.001). In conclusion, focusing control efforts near the goat sheds should be recommend for tick prevention and control.

Analysis of optimal control strategies on the fungal Tinea capitis infection fractional order model with cost-effective analysis

In this study, we have formulated and analyzed the Tinea capitis infection Caputo fractional order model by implementing three time-dependent control measures. In the qualitative analysis part, we investigated the following: by using the well-known Picard–Lindelöf criteria we have proved the model solutions' existence and uniqueness, using the next generation matrix approach we calculated the model basic reproduction number, we computed the model equilibrium points and investigated their stabilities, using the three time-dependent control variables (prevention measure, non-inflammatory infection treatment measure, and inflammatory infection treatment measure) and from the formulated fractional order model we re-formulated the fractional order optimal control problem. The necessary optimality conditions for the Tinea capitis fractional order optimal control problem and the existence of optimal control strategies are derived and presented by using Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle. Also, the study carried out the sensitivity and numerical analysis to investigate the most sensitive parameters and to verify the qualitative analysis results. Finally, we performed the cost-effective analysis to investigate the most cost-effective measures from the possible proposed control measures, and from the findings we can suggest that implementing prevention measures only is the most cost-effective control measure that stakeholders should consider.

A post in an internet forum led to a discovery of an invasive drywood termite in Korea,Cryptotermes domesticus(Haviland) (Blattodea: Kalotermitidae)

AbstractInvasive drywood termites are one of the most challenging species to detect in the early invasion process as they can infest a small piece of wood and be transported by human activity. Cryptotermes domesticus (Haviland, 1898) is native to south Asia and Australia and has been introduced into many other Asian countries and pacific islands, where they cause damage to furniture and wooden structures. Recently, an established colony of C. domesticus has been found in the Seoul metropolitan area, Republic of Korea, where drywood termites were not thought to be able to establish due to low winter temperatures. The discovery of C. domesticus was initiated from a post on an internet forum in which an anonymous homeowner collected alates in an apartment and asked for pest identification. This information was readily delivered to professional entomologists, and a task force was formed for inspection. During the thorough inspection, an infested sliding door frame was identified and a colony of C. domesticus was found. Instead of fumigation and localized pesticide treatment, the door and frame were removed and replaced, which was the most cost-effective control measure as the colony was only found there. Since the potential spread of C. domesticus is uncertain, the task force collaborated with the media, including newspapers and broadcasting news, to disseminate information to help recognize any additional unreported infestations. This study provides insights on how to cooperate with the media and citizens when a new invasive species is found.

Impact of epidemic prevention policies on public vaccination willingness: empirical research in China.

The sudden emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 posed an enormous threat to public health. Vaccination is currently recognized as the most cost-effective preventive and control measure against the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide and is the key to constructing a line of defense against the virus, while the epidemic prevention policies adopted by governments have an important impact on the protective behavior of the public. The purpose of this study is to analyze the mechanism by which the stringency of epidemic prevention policies affects public vaccination willingness and to explore the mediating effect of public risk perception. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 387 adults from December 2022 to June 2023 in China. A multiple linear regression model was used to explore the impact of epidemic prevention policy stringency on public vaccination willingness, and a hierarchical regression model was used to test the mediating effect of public risk perception. Our results showed that public vaccination willingness increased by approximately 45.5% for every one-unit increase in the stringency of the epidemic prevention policies, which shows that the stringency of epidemic prevention policies has a significant positive influence on public vaccination willingness. In addition, public risk perception increased by approximately 38.9% during the period of stringent government policies on epidemic prevention. For every one-unit increase in risk perception, public vaccination willingness increased by approximately 40.9%, and the relationship between the stringency of epidemic prevention policies and public vaccination willingness was partially mediated by risk perception. The stricter the epidemic prevention policies, the stronger the public vaccination willingness; risk perception plays a mediating effect between the stringency of epidemic prevention policies and public vaccination willingness. This finding is particularly important for exploring and analyzing the factors influencing public vaccination willingness and for improving public health.

Mitigating Soil Erosion through Biomass-Derived Biochar: Exploring the Influence of Feedstock Types and Pyrolysis Temperature

Soil erosion is one of the major emerging threats to the Himalayan ecosystem. There is a dearth of diverse, cost-effective erosion control measures in the region. In the Himalayan region, where agriculture plays a pivotal role in local livelihoods and environmental stability, the management of soil erosion is of paramount importance. Hence, this study investigates the impact of biochar application on soil erosion and its related indices in the temperate Himalayas of India. This study employs a combination of physicochemical analysis and field experiments to assess the influence of biochar on soil erodibility. The research objectives include an examination of the influence of different temperature pyrolyzed biomasses and varying application rates on soil erodibility indices, viz., dispersion ratio (DR), percolation ratio (PR), clay ratio (CR), erosion ratio (ER), and mean weight diameter (MWD), considering two distinct fertilizer regimes. This study yielded quantitative results that shed light on the impact of various soil amendments and application rates on soil erodibility in the temperate Himalayas. Results showed that the mean values of the DR exhibited by amendment levels NB, AB400, AB600, RAC, DW400, DW600, and RDW were 0.37, 0.35, 0.51, 0.44, 0.51, 0.47, and 0.91, respectively. The mean values of DR for different amendment levels varied, with RDW exhibiting the highest erodibility at 0.91, while DW400 and DW600 demonstrated less soil disturbance, making them promising choices for soil erosion mitigation. Notably, the application of pyrolyzed weed residue improved soil erodibility, whereas AB600 resulted in increased soil erosion due to aggregate disintegration, as indicated by the MWD. Aquatic weed residues and apple wood chips applied without pyrolysis increased the soil erodibility, while pyrolyzed residues improved soil erodibility. The DR was 0.41 at the high application rate, 0.48 at the medium rate, and 0.61 at the low application rate. Among application rates, low rates (1 t ha−1) had the highest DR, followed by medium rates (2 t ha−1) and high rates (3 t ha−1). The no-fertilizer level exhibited higher DR (0.49) compared to the fertilized level (0.38). Results inferred that the application of AB400 °C at 3 t ha−1 can be adopted to minimize soil erosion and maintain ecological security in the temperate Himalayas.

Long-Term Efficacy of Insecticidal Wall Painting for Controlling Visceral Leishmaniasis Vectors in Bangladesh.

The success of the visceral leishmaniasis (VL) elimination program largely depends on cost-effective vector control measures. Our goal was to investigate the longevity of the efficacy of insecticidal wall painting (IWP), a new vector control tool, compared with a routine indoor residual spraying (IRS) program for reducing the VL vector density in Bangladesh. This study is the extension of our recent IWP study for VL vector management in Bangladesh, which was undertaken in seven highly VL endemic villages of the Mymensingh district with a 12-month follow-up. In this 24-months follow-up study, we collected sand flies additionally at 15, 18, 21, and 24 months since the interventions from the IWP and control (where the program did routine IRS) clusters to examine the longevity of the efficacy of IWP on sand fly density reduction and mortality. The difference-in-differences regression models were used to estimate the effect of IWP on sand fly reduction against Program IRS. The IWP showed excellent performance in reducing sand fly density and increasing sand fly mortality compared with Program IRS. The effect of IWP for controlling sand flies was statistically significant for up to at least 24 months. The mean female Phlebotomus argentipes density reduction ranged from -56% to -83%, and the P. argentipes sand fly mortality ranged from 81% to 99.5% during the 24-month follow-up period. Considering the duration of the efficacy of IWP for controlling VL vectors, Bangladesh National Kala-azar Elimination Program may consider IWP as the best alternative to IRS for the subsequent phases of the program.

Towards comprehensive air quality management using low-cost sensors for pollution source apportionment

Successful air quality management and control not only requires measurements of air pollution levels. It also requires information on the sources of air pollution, and their relative magnitudes and importance, to plan and enact cost-effective control measures. This paper provides an important breakthrough towards the wider and more comprehensive use of source apportionment via low-cost techniques. Low-cost sensor measurements, along with the statistical methods of Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) and k-means clustering, were able to successfully pinpoint and quantify the main sources of pollution in three regulatory important sites (a construction site, a quarry and a roadside). The anticipated levels of pollution, which were dependent on meteorological conditions and temporal variations, were assessed. The analysis provides information crucial for successful air quality management and control at a significantly lower cost than previously achieved. The strengths and weaknesses of the methodologies used are illustrated and discussed.

Prevalence, Risk Factors and Control Practices of Livestock Hirudiniasis in Mirab Abaya District, Southern Ethiopia.

Hirudiniasis is a disease in people and animals who have been infested by blood sucking leeches. In Ethiopia, it is a neglected disease, causing significant economic loss in the livestock industry. In the study area, information on livestock Hirudiniasis is very limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess livestock owners' awareness, knowledge, and control practices toward leech infestation, and to estimate the prevalence and associated risk factors of livestock Hirudiniasis. A cross-sectional study was carried out from February to September 2022 on domestic animals randomly selected from livestock owners of Mirab Abaya district, Southern Ethiopia. In total, 384 domestic animals were sampled and examined for the presence of leech infestation. A questionnaire survey was carried out on 150 livestock owners. This study discovered a 13.54% (52/384) overall prevalence of livestock Hirudiniasis in the study area and the highest prevalence was observed in cattle (22.14%), followed by sheep (10%), goats (8.65%), and equines (5%). Limnatis nilotica was the only leech species identified in the study area. The occurrence of livestock Hirudiniasis was significantly higher in the dry season (OR=3.16, p<0.05), around bodies of water (OR=10.88, p<0.01), in extensive production systems (OR=3.81, p<0.05), and in adult (OR=2.58, p<0.05) and poor body condition animals (OR=9, p<0.01). However, the species and sex of domestic animals were not significantly associated with Hirudiniasis. The questionnaire showed 61.33% and 35.33% of respondents had knowledge about leech infestations in domestic animals and its zoonotic impacts, respectively. Manual removal and traditional medicine are common control measures taken by livestock owners against Hirudiniasis. The present study showed that leeches were prevalent and significantly affects the health and productivity of livestock in the study area. Hence, cost-effective parasitic control measures need to be implemented to address the setback.

Efficacy of Rhizobacteria in Weed Dynamics of Crop Production Rhythm

Weeds plague food crop agriculture of regions of the world. This continued with no adequate and most cost-effective control measures available. Weedicides, for sure, are the leading solution to challenges posed by weeds in the food crop agriculture; however, high costs and the underlying environmental and health repercussions have prompted many works in biological strategies to tackle weeds. The current work gives an overview of rhizobacteria's (RB) efficacy evaluation in tackling weeds dynamics in the crop production system. RB, as free-living soil microorganisms detrimental to weeds in nature; colonize plant roots, suppresses and inhibits the growth of seeds and seedlings in various pathways and mechanisms involving a spectrum of biosynthesized toxins as phytogenic compounds or metabolites. However, RB's efficacy is a constraint due to many reasons such as low activity, a limited spectrum of activities, reduced survival rates, persistence of the suppressive and inhibitive compounds, and complexity of the interactions between the RB and the target weeds. It is imperative to understand the interaction between the weeds and rhizospheres ecological systems to improve the RB approach's efficacy and effectiveness. Hence, advances in microbial genetics, microorganism-plant interactions, and community-level analysis of microbial organisms, including microbe-host relationships that include various biological agents and their potential hosts with higher susceptibility virulence, are essential. Treatments that really can guarantee a longer shelf life, effectiveness, and continued existence of microbial agents, microbial population structure and function that can accelerate microbial weed suppression systems and molecular characterization are essential. Likewise, fatty acid profiling of the targeted weeds suppression strategy, nucleic acid tools, an array pyrosequencing. All these as paradigm shifts to precisely control weeds in cropping systems to increase yield and boost productivity.

Prevalence and pattern of misuse of insecticide treated nets among household heads in Apete Community of Oyo State, Nigeria

Insecticide Treated Net (ITN) has been established to be the most cost effective malaria vector control measure if used correctly. However, the use of ITN for other purposes other than its primary purpose is common. The objective of this study is to investigate the prevalence and pattern of misuse of ITNs among household heads.&#x0D; A descriptive cross sectional survey was conducted among 422 household heads selected through multi stage sampling procedure using a validated interviewer administered questionnaire (r= 0.72) and analyzed with SPSS software&#x0D; The result of this study revealed the mean age of respondents’ was 33.38±7.46 and 39.5% was in the 40-49 age brackets. Only 37.4% of the respondents slept inside the nets the night prior to data collection.72.5% of the respondents were found in possession of net not used for sleeping out of which more than half (38.7%) used ITNs as window curtains, 19.3% used as night wrapper, 12.9% as fishing nets, 11.3% as protective device from garden animals, 10.5% used as football goal post and 7.3% used the net to cover market goods. There was a statistically significant relationship between ITN misuse and respondents’ educational attainment (r=.304) and gender (r=.399) at (p&lt;0.05).&#x0D; In conclusion, the study revealed a high prevalence of ITN misuse among the respondents in the community. There is need for community based health promotion intervention to encourage correct usage of ITNs and reduce misuse.

Nucleotide sequence types (ntSTs) of Anaplasma marginale in cattle in Nigeria based on the major surface protein 5 (msp5) gene

Bovine anaplasmosis caused by Anaplasma marginale is an important endemic disease that exerts negative impact on livestock production with huge socioeconomic consequences in most developing countries. Genetic studies have reported the existence of diverse ntSTs of A. marginale with varying pathogenicity in different countries. Continuous studies to obtain accurate information on disease etiologies is desirable for the formulation of cost-effective control measures. To this end, 582 blood samples from cattle were collected from 10 out of the 36 States of Nigeria from April 2021 to March 2022 and analyzed based on the major surface protein 5 (msp5) gene to determine the ntSTs of A. marginale in Nigeria. In all, 38 out of the 582 samples (6.5%) from cattle in the different Agro-ecological Zones (AEZs) of Nigeria were positive. The Nigerian A. marginale nucleotide sequences were 96.7 to 100% identical to sequences from other countries and were placed in distinct clusters with other A. marginale sequences deposited in GenBank. Network analysis revealed three ntSTs (#2, #4 & #8) of A. marginale from Nigeria with a nucleotide sequence type diversity (Hd) of 0.8, nucleotide diversity (Pi) of 0.015 and average number of nucleotide differences (k) of 7.09. Two different amino acid substitution sites were found in Nigerian and worldwide sequences at positions 148 and 160. This is the first nationwide report on the ntST diversity and genetic characterization of A. marginale in cattle in Nigeria based on the msp5 gene. Bovine anaplasmosis is widespread in Nigeria and deserves further attention.

Use of Botanical Pesticides in Agriculture as an Alternative to Synthetic Pesticides

Pest management is being confronted with immense economic and environmental issues worldwide because of massive utilization and over-reliance on pesticides. The non-target toxicity, residual consequence, and challenging biodegradability of these synthetic pesticides have become a serious concern, which urgently requires the alternative and prompt adoption of sustainable and cost-effective pest control measures. Increasing attention in environmental safety has triggered interest in pest control approaches through eco-friendly plant-based pesticides. Botanical pesticidal constituents are effective against myriads of destructive pests and diseases. More importantly, they are widely available, inexpensive, accessible, rapidly biodegradable, and have little toxicity to beneficiary agents. The phytochemical compositions in diverse plant species are responsible for their varying mechanisms of action against pests and diseases. However, difficulties in their formulation and insufficient appropriate chemical data have led to a low level of acceptance and adoption globally. Therefore, the review seeks to highlight the status, phytochemical compositions, insecticidal mechanisms, and challenges of plant-based pesticide usage in sustainable agricultural production.

Risk factors on healthcare-associated infections among tuberculosis hospitalized patients in China from 2001 to 2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundChina has been still suffering from high burden attributable to tuberculosis (TB) and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). TB patients are at high risk to get HAIs. Evidence-based guidelines or regulations to constrain the rising HAIs among TB hospitalized patients are needed in China. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to investigate the risk factors associated with HAIs among TB hospitalized patients in Chinese hospitals.MethodsMedline, EMBASE and Chinese Journals Online databases were searched. The search was limited to studies published from January 1st 2001 to December 31st 2020. Meta-analyses of ORs of the risk factors between patients with HAIs and patients without HAIs among TB hospitalized patients were estimated. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed based on the widehat{{uptau }}2 and I2 statistics to select the meta-analysis model. Review Manager 5.3 was employed and P < 0.05 was considered as statistical significance.Results851 records were filtered from the databases, of which 11 studies were included in the quantitative meta-analysis. A total of 11,922 TB patients were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis, of which 1133 were diagnosed as having HAIs. Age older than 60 years (OR: 2.89 [2.01–4.15]), complications (OR: 3.28 [2.10–5.13]), diabetes mellitus (OR: 1.63 [1.22–2.19]), invasive procedure (OR: 3.80 [2.25–6.42]), longer than 15 hospitalization days (OR: 2.09 [1.64–2.64]), secondary tuberculosis (OR: 2.25 [1.48–3.42]), smoking (OR: 1.40[1.02–1.93]), underlying disease (OR: 2.66 [1.53–4.62]), and use of antibiotics (OR: 2.77 [2.35–3.27]) were the main risk factors associated with HAIs among TB hospitalized patients with a statistical significance (P < 0.05).ConclusionsAge older than 60 years, presence of complications, presence of diabetes mellitus, invasive procedure, longer than 15 hospitalization days, secondary tuberculosis, smoking, presence of underlying disease, and use of antibiotics were the main risk factors which had a negative impact on HAIs among TB hospitalized patients in Chinese hospitals. These findings provided evidence for policy makers and hospital managers to make effective infection prevention and control measures to constrain the rising HAIs. It is also required that more cost-effective infection prevention and control measures should be widely applied in routinely medical treatment and clinical management to reduce the occurrence of HAIs among TB hospitalized patients.

Molecular detection and genetic characterization of Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma platys in cattle in Nigeria

Bovine anaplasmosis poses serious challenge to profitable livestock production in the tropics. Accurate information on the prevalence, distribution and genetic characteristics of Anaplasma spp. infections of cattle is invaluable for the design of cost-effective control measures. Blood samples from 275 cattle in Nigeria were screened for the DNA of Anaplasma spp. using species-specific primers and nucleotide sequence analysis. The DNA of Anaplasmataceae was detected based on 16S rRNA gene in 135 out of the 275 (49.1%) individuals examined, with 31 (23.0%) and 21(15.6%) being positive for Anaplasma marginale based on msp4 and msp2 genes, respectively. DNA of Anaplasma platys was detected in 62 (45.9%) based on groEL gene and in 27 (20.0%) using the A. platys species-specific primers. Presence of Anaplasma spp. DNA was significantly associated (p = 0.011) with the breed of the animals. Anaplasma nucleotide sequences of one group of the infected samples showed high identities of 99.0 to 100% (16S rRNA gene) and 99.6% (groEL gene) with reference sequences of A. platys, while those of another group matched to A. marginale references (msp2 with 98.9% and msp4 with 99.1%). Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis clustered the nucleotide sequences in this study with A. platys and A. marginale sequences in GenBank, confirming these relationships. For the first time, this study revealed the presence of mixed haplotypes in both A. platys and A. marginale in cattle in Nigeria. More studies are needed to elucidate the epidemiology and veterinary and public health significance of Anaplasma spp. infections in cattle in Nigeria.

PROTECTIVE BIOACTIVITY OF BIONIMBECIDINE BOTANICAL AND JATROPHA LEAF POWDER (JATROPHA CURCUS L.) IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CALLOSOBRUCHUS MACULATUS (F.) INFESTATION IN STORED COWPEA (VIGNA UNGUICULATA L. WALP.)

Synthetic insecticides have been the main tool used for the control of cowpea bruchid in storage, but the indiscriminate use of the insecticides with their negative effect on man and the environment has been a serious problem to their use. Hence, the practice shifts to the use of alternative eco-friendly relatively cost effective control measures. Laboratory experiments were conducted under ambient conditions of temperature 32-35o c and 55-65% relative humidity to determine the bioactivity of Jatropha (Jatropha curcus L.) leaf powder on C. maculatus (F) infestation on stored cowpea grains (Janwake, Danmalaysia and Iron beans). Ten grams of cowpea grains was weighed into a 200 ml bottle in three replicates for untreated and 3 levels of treatment with Jatropha leaf powder (1.0 g, 2.0 g, and 3.0 g respectively). Grain treatments with these dosages were afterward carried out before infestation with three pairs males and females of adult C. maculatus. Number of eggs laid and adults emerged were counted and recorded throughout the first filial generation. Experiments were arranged in completely randomized designed (CRD). Data obtained were computed and subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Significantly different means were determined using least significant difference (LSD) at 5% level of probability. Results showed no significant differences in all the parameters tested for treated and untreated grains. This indicated that Jatropha leaf powder treatment was ineffective in suppressing infestation, and damage caused by the cowpea bruchid. This may partly be due to difference in the dose used for Jatropha leaf powder and aging of bionimbecidine botanical powder. Similarly, varietal differences did not appear to have had effect on the level of infestation by C. maculatus.

Molecular Detection and Characterization of Trypanosomes in Cattle Slaughtered in Abattoirs of Northern Nigeria

African Animal Trypanosomosis (AAT) remains a serious threat to livestock production in most of sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria. Accurate data on the prevalence and distribution of pathogenic trypanosomes is required for the formulation of cost-effective control measures. Blood samples from 150 cattle obtained from abattoirs located in three cities in northern Nigeria were screened for the presence of the DNA of pathogenic trypanosomes using PCR and sequencing. The internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS-1), region of Trypanosoma spp. was amplified in 15.3% of the cattle examined. Nucleotide sequences obtained in this study were 99–100% identical to each other and formed a monophyletic clade with nucleotide sequences of T. vivax from other countries in the GenBank. Risk of AAT was associated with breed of cattle (ꭓ2=15.23, p=0.004) and packed cell volume (PCV) of animals (RR=2.5, p=0.04), but not with sex, age or body condition score. This is the first report of the molecular detection and characterization of T. vivax in cattle in the study areas. More studies are needed to complement existing data for the design of evidence-based cost-effective control measures for AAT in Nigeria.

Development and Validation of a Tool for the Prediction of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci Colonization Persistence-the PREVENT Score.

ABSTRACTVancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are nosocomial pathogens with increasing prevalence worldwide. Extensive hygiene measures have been established to prevent infection transmission in hospitals. Here, we developed a predictive score system (the predictive vancomycin-resistant enterococci [PREVENT] score) to identify the clearance or persistence in patients with a history of VRE carrier status at readmission. Over a cumulative 3-year period, patients with a positive VRE carrier status were included. The study population was recruited in two successive time periods and separated into training data for predictive score development and validation data for evaluation of the predictive power. The risk factors for persistent VRE colonization were analyzed in a univariable analysis before development of a logistic regression model based on the potential risk factors. The score points were determined proportionally to the beta coefficients of the logistic regression model. The data from 448 (79%) patients were used as the training data, and those from 119 (21%) as the validation data. Multivariable analysis revealed the following variables as independent risk factors: age of ≥60 years, hemato-oncological disease, cumulative antibiotic treatment for >4 weeks, and a VRE infection. The resulting logistic regression model exhibited an acceptable area under the curve (AUC) of 0.81 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72 to 0.91). The predictive score system had a sensitivity of 82% (95% CI, 65 to 93%) and a specificity of 77% (95% CI, 66 to 85%). The developed predictive score system is a useful tool to assess the VRE carrier status of patients with a history of VRE colonization. On the basis of this risk assessment, more focused and cost-effective infection control measures can be implemented.IMPORTANCE Given the increasing relevance of VRE as nosocomial pathogens worldwide, infection prevention and control measures, including patient isolation and contact precautions, are indispensable to avoid their spread in the hospital setting. In this study, we developed and validated the PREVENT score, a tool for rapid risk assessment of VRE persistence in patients with a history of previous VRE colonization. The score is designed to be easily performed, employing clinical information available in a regular admission setting and immediately providing information to inform the decision of whether to adopt patient isolation and contact precautions during the hospital stay. After validation, the score was shown to accurately identify patients with persistent VRE colonization upon admission, representing a suitable option as (i) a complementary method yielding preliminary results significantly more quickly than culture-based VRE detection techniques and (ii) an alternative strategy for VRE detection in settings in which microbiological VRE screening is not routinely performed due to limited resources.