| 1. |
- Wainaina, Martin, et al.
(författare)
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\textlessi\textgreaterLeptospira\textless/i\textgreater bacteria detected in rodents in Tana River and Garissa counties of Kenya
- 2018
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Ingår i: Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2000-8686. ; 8:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ABSTRACTIntroduction: Leptospirosis is a bacterial zoonotic disease with wide geographical spread. Its presence in Kenya and some of the neighbouring countries has been documented before and it is thought to contribute significantly to the number of febrile cases in human populations and abortions in livestock. This study investigated Leptospira spp. presence in rodents collected in both a pastoral and irrigated region of Kenya.Materials and methods: Blood and kidney samples were screened for leptospiral DNA by PCR, and ELISA was used to detect antibodies in tissue fluid.Results and discussion: Almost 42% (28/67) of the rodents were found to be PCR positive and 25% (14/56) by the ELISA test. Focus group discussions revealed that the local population perceived an increase in the rodent population and febrile illnesses not responsive to malarial treatment, a possible attestation of importance of non-malarial acute febrile illnesses such as leptospirosis in the communities.Conclusion: While the study was sma...
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| 2. |
- Anyango, Gladys, et al.
(författare)
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A survey of aflatoxin M1 contamination in raw milk produced in urban and peri-urban areas of Kisumu County, Kenya
- 2018
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Ingår i: Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2000-8686. ; 8:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ABSTRACTBackground: Food safety is of increasing global concern, and a OneHealth issue requiring attention of many disciplines. Aflatoxins are toxins produced by fungi and found in foods and feeds, and exposure causes negative health effects in humans and animals. When lactating animals consume aflatoxin B1, the metabolite (AFM1) is transferred to milk.Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed to determine characteristics of smallholder dairy farming in urban and peri-urban areas of Kisumu and quantify AFM1 in milk. Data was collected from 97 randomly selected dairy farms on farming practices, milk production, and awareness about aflatoxins. Collected milk samples were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for AFM1.Results: Average milk produced was 13 liters per day per household and mainly used for household consumption and sold to neighbours. Farmers mainly fed cows on forage and concentrates (62.9%). Levels of AFM1 ranged from below the detection limit to 151 ppt, with a mean of 29.67 p...
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| 3. |
- Deka, Ram Pratim, et al.
(författare)
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Bovine brucellosis : prevalence, risk factors, economic cost and control options with particular reference to India- a review
- 2018
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Ingår i: Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2000-8686. ; 8:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ABSTRACTBackground: Brucellosis is an economically important zoonotic disease with worldwide distribution, with low-income countries being more affected. The disease is endemic in India, a country that house the world’s largest cattle and buffalo population and produce the most milk in the world.Results: Prevalence of the disease in the country is reported as low as 1% to as high as 60% by different researchers but many of the published studies that reported higher prevalence were conducted in non-randomised samples. Based on this review, overall prevalence in the country is likely 12% or less. About 20 different risk factors are reported that contribute/predispose to occurrence of bovine brucellosis. The risk factors could be classified in four groups: host factors, farmer’s factors, managemental factors, and agro-ecological factors. Various studies reported high economic burden of the diseases in dairy animals but there is dearth of comprehensive and rigorous economic studies.Conclusions: In the absence...
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| 4. |
- Hoffman, Tove, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of a COVID-19 IgM and IgG rapid test; an efficient tool for 4 assessment of past exposure to SARS-CoV-2
- 2020
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Ingår i: Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2000-8686. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- COVID-19 is the most rapidly growing pandemic in modern time, and the need for 21 serological testing is most urgent. Although the diagnostics of acute patients by RT-PCR is 22 both efficient and specific, we are also crucially in need of serological tools for investigating 23 antibody responses and assessing individual and potential herd immunity. We evaluated a 24 commercially available test developed for rapid (within 15 minutes) detection of SARS-CoV-25 2-specific IgM and IgG by 29 PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases and 124 negative controls. 26 The results revealed a sensitivity of 69.0 % and 93.1 % for IgM and IgG, respectively, based 27 solely on PCR-positivity due to the absence of a serological gold standard. The assay 28 specificities were shown to be 100 % for IgM and 99.2 % for IgG. This indicates that the test 29 is suitable for assessing previous virus exposure, although negative results may be unreliable 30 during the first weeks after infection. More detailed studies on antibody responses during and 31 post infection are urgently needed.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Kagera, Irene, et al.
(författare)
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Status of aflatoxin contamination in cow milk produced in smallholder dairy farms in urban and peri-urban areas of Nairobi County : a case study of Kasarani sub county, Kenya.
- 2019
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Ingår i: Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2000-8686. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Milk consumption in Kenya supersedes other countries in East Africa. However, milk contamination with aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is common, but the magnitude of this exposure and the health risks are poorly understood and need to be monitored routinely. This study aimed at assessing the awareness, knowledge and practices of urban and peri-urban farmers about aflatoxins and determining the levels of aflatoxin contamination in on-farm milk in a selected area within Nairobi County. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess aflatoxin contamination levels of milk in Kasarani sub-county. A total of 84 milk samples were collected from small-holder dairy farms and analyzed for AFM1 using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Results and Discussion: Ninety nine percent of the samples (83/84) analysed were contaminated with AFM1. The mean aflatoxin level was 84 ng/kg with 64% of the samples exceeding the EU legal limit of 50 ng/kg. Whereas 80% of the farmers were aware of aflatoxin, there was no correlation between farmers' knowledge and gender with AFM1 prevalence. Conclusion: This study concludes that AFM1 is a frequent contaminant in milk and there is need to enhance farmers awareness on mitigation.
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| 7. |
- Kuboka, Maureen M, et al.
(författare)
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Occurrence of aflatoxin M1 in raw milk traded in peri-urban Nairobi, and the effect of boiling and fermentation.
- 2019
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Ingår i: Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2000-8686. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Dairy production in Kenya is important and dominated by small-holder farmers who market their produce through small-scale traders in the informal sector. Method: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of aflatoxin (AFM1) in informally marketed milk in peri-urban Nairobi, Kenya, and to assess knowledge of milk traders on aflatoxins using questionnaires. A total of 96 samples were analyzed for AFM1 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, boiling and fermentation experiments were carried out in the laboratory. Results: All samples had AFM1 above the limit of detection (5 ng/kg) (mean of 290.3 ± 663.4 ng/kg). Two-thirds of the samples had AFM1 levels above 50 ng/kg and 7.5% of the samples exceeded 500 ng/kg. Most of the traders had low (69.8%) or medium (30.2%) knowledge. Educated (p = 0.01) and female traders (p= 0.04) were more knowledgeable. Experimentally, fermenting milk to lala (a traditional fermented drink) and yogurt significantly reduced AFM1 levels (p< 0.01) (71.8% reduction in lala after incubation at room temperature for 15 h, and 73.6% reduction in yogurt after incubation at 45ºC for 4h). Boiling had no effect. Conclusion: The study concluded that the prevalence of raw milk with AFM1 was high, while knowledge was low. Fermentation reduced the AFM1 levels.
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| 8. |
- Lindahl, Johanna, et al.
(författare)
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High seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in elderly care employees in Sweden
- 2020
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Ingår i: Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2000-8686. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic is growing and spread in the Swedish elderly care system during April 2020. The increasing number of employees on sick-leave due to COVID-19 created severe logistic problems. Some elderly care homes therefore started to screen their personnel to secure the safety of the elderly and to avoid unnecessary quarantine of potentially immune employees.Secondary data from a screening with a COVID-19 rapid test for detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgM and IgG of 1,005 employees in 22 elderly care homes in Stockholm, Sweden, were analyzed. Seropositive employees were found in 21 out of the 22 care homes. In total, 23% (231/1,005) of the employees tested positive for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, and 14.3% (144/1,005) were found positive for IgM (either alone or combined with IgG), indicating recent or present infection. Of those that tested seropositive, 46.5% did not report any clinical symptoms, indicating pre- or asymptomatic infections. Reported symptoms with the highest correlation with seropositivity were fever and loss of smell and taste.These results suggest that antibody testing of employees in elderly care homes is valuable for surveillance of disease development and a crucial screening tool in the effort to decrease the death toll in this pandemic.
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| 9. |
- Lindahl, Johanna, et al.
(författare)
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Hygiene knowledge, attitudes and practices among dairy value chain actors in Assam, north-east India and the impact of a training intervention
- 2018
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Ingår i: Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2000-8686. ; 8:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ABSTRACTBackground: Food-borne diseases are contributing to health burdens globally, especially in developing countries. In India, milk production is important for nutrition security, but milk products are prone to contamination with pathogens. In Assam, a state in Northeast India, a novel hygiene intervention was conducted in 2009–2011, and the knowledge, attitudes and practices among milk producers, milk traders and sweet makers were assessed.Methods: The first survey was conducted in 2009 and included 405 producers, 175 traders and 220 sweet makers from 4 districts. The second survey was conducted in 2012 with 161 producers and 226 traders from 2 districts, both trained and untrained participants. In addition to questionnaires, observations on hygiene were done and samples were analysed for Escherichia coli.Results: In 2009 only 13.0%, 9.1%, and 33.1% of producers, traders and sweet makers respectively believed diseases could be transmitted by milk. There were significant improvements in knowledge afte...
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| 10. |
- Lindahl, Johanna, et al.
(författare)
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Serological evidence of Brucella infections in dairy cattle in Haryana, India
- 2018
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Ingår i: Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2000-8686. ; 8:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: In India, milk production is important for both the economy and the provision of nutritious food. However, the productivity of the livestock is affected by circulating infectious diseases, and some zoonotic diseases, such as brucellosis, may cause a heavy impact on the farm as the disease cause abortions and reproductive failures in bovines, with chronic febrile illness in humans.Methods: 249 dairy farms in the state of Haryana, India, were interviewed, and collected raw milk from 81 were analyzed for antibodies towards Brucella abortus.Results: More samples were positive using milk ring test (MRT) (55.6%, 45/81) than using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (29.6%, 24/81), with all ELISA positive samples also positive in MRT. The ELISA results were used for risk factor analyses. Seropositive farms were significantly (p = 0.015) larger than seronegative, with an average 7.9 cattle, compared to 4.9. Seropositive farms were more likely to report stillbirth occurring the last year, and a significantly higher proportion of seropositive farms reported retained placenta (odds ratio 5.2).Conclusion: This study showed that Brucella seroprevalence is high among farms in Haryana, and a control program is needed to ensure improved human and animal health, as well as improved livestock productivity.
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