Introduction. Leishmaniasis is a neglected vector borne disease, which constitutes a major public health concern in several tropical and subtropical countries. An estimated 4500 to 4000 new cases of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) occur per year and over 3.2 million people are at risk of infection in the country. In Humera, VL epidemics are associated with migration of workers from nonendemic highlands into the visceral leishmaniasis endemic extensive farmlands. Therefore, the objective of this study is to estimate the incidence and the risk factors of leishmaniasis in Humera, Western Tigray.Methods. A retrospective study was conducted using the hospital admission database on all patients admitted who have been suspected of having leishmaniasis infection and tested for rK39-based immune chromatographic test (ICT) at Kahsay Abera Hospital in Humera town from January 2012 to December 2017. Potential risk factors for leishmaniasis infection in human were collected from the hospital, which included categorical variables: age, sex, origin of place, clinical forms of leishmaniasis, mortality rates, and the occurrence of infections according to format of hospital.Results. A total of 26511 hospital discharged patients with diagnosis of leishmaniasis were identified, out of which 2232 (8.42%) human leishmaniasis cases were registered and of them 71 were dead from January 2012 to December 2017. Mortality rates of leishmaniasis were 18 (3.3%) in 2012, 16 (3.1%) in 2013, 15 (2.4%) in 2014, 8 (3.3%) in 2015, 9 (4.1%) in 2016, and 5 (5.4%) in 2017. Univariate analysis of the infection rate of leishmaniasis was based on the potential risk factors and found higher male infection rates than female (P <0.05) in all the study years. Origin of place was also significantly associated (P< 0.05) where labor migrants from highland to agricultural fields had higher infection rates than those who permanently lived in and around Humera. Trends in season of occurrence revealed that weeding and harvesting time (July–December) had higher incidence of leishmaniasis than dry time (January–June).Conclusion. Male labor migrants from the highlands older than 15 years of age were at the highest risks of leishmaniasis during weeding and harvest season. Therefore, awareness creation on the risks of sleeping outdoors and the impact of using of bed nets is imperative especially for labor migrants during weeding and harvesting season.

Despite the highest population, the productivity of Ethiopian livestock is low, and the direct contribution to the national economy is limited. Poor genetic potential, shortage of feed in quantity and quality, poor health care and management practices are the main contributors to low productivity and production. Data on animal disease and management practices are not in place, in this regard; we estimate the burden of animal health ailments and management practices in ruminants via simple cross-sectional study design in randomly selected peasant associations in western Tigray of northern Ethiopia. A preliminary disease survey in ruminants and their management practices comprising of cattle, sheep and goats was undertaken to evaluate the existence, burden of ruminant diseases and management practices. A total of 121 randomly selected household respondents of Maikhadrah and Bakhar (26.2%), Dansha (19.7%), Adi-Hirdi (18.0%), Adi-Remets and Inda-Selassie (36.1%) sub-districts were inspected throughout the study period. Most (81%) of farmers feed their animals on free grazing in the open environment travelling from highlands and midlands to lowlands in search of adequate feed (different species of grasses) and crop residues during the wet season up to the beginning of the dry season. Majority of farmers (43.8%) had veterinary access from governmental veterinary officers. Thirty-four (33.9%) of the respondents got veterinary access from illegal drug dealers in mini shops or market. Among the major disease constraints identified; Tick infestation (89.3%), lice infestation (68.6%) mange mite infestation (77.7%) lumpy skin disease (LSD) (42.1%), trypanasomiasis (62.8%) bovine pasteurellosis (52.1) mastitis (13.2%), sheep and goat pox (15.7), abortion (19.0%), dystocia (24.8%), retained fetal membrane (25.6%), prolapsed uterus (13.2%) delayed heat period (38.8%) were most endemic ailments directly affecting livestock production and farmers livelihood. In conclusion management practices in livestock production is poor to a large extent. Burden and endemicity of livestock diseases are substantially higher. The data obtained could be the source of facts for planners in animal health service delivery system in this sub region.

Currently, climate variability is a hot issue across the globe, especially in countries where rain-fed agriculture is a means of livelihood. Climate variability increases the risks of hunger in the region as it affects all four components of food security: food availability, food accessibility, food utilization and food stability. Rainfall shortage or excess hampers food production in the region, causing food insecurity and escalating famine. Extreme weather is affecting people indirectly through the sequential rather direct depletion of their assets. Therefore, looking on the impact of climate on food security is crucial to build a sustainable production system. Randomized data from 150 households were collected and analyzed using SPSS software. Household Food Balance Model analysis indicates that 15.7% of the households met the recommended daily calorie intake of 2100 kcal per adult equivalent/day, while 84.3% of the households fell below the daily recommended calorie intake. The average calorie intake of the households covers only 56.2%. Female-headed households are found to be more food insecure than their male counterpart. Those food insecure households use different coping mechanism to avert the shortage like daily laborer, reducing meal, borrowing, selling productive asset and switching meals. Moreover, the annual rainfall of a 20-year record averaged 725 ml (with a standard deviation of 6.7), with the minimum and maximum records at 354.5 and 1037 ml, respectively. Similarly, the average precipitation concentration index (PCI) stood at about 24.4 ml, recording a minimum and maximum PCI of 15.6 ml and 41.7, respectively. Finally, the coefficient of variability of rainfall variability is 0.16, which indicates the variation in inter-annual rainfall distribution is medium. The result shows a high prevalence of food insecurity in the rural community with high prevalence in female-headed household. Therefore, strong intervention is required by the government and should exhaustively work on promoting irrigation, providing credit to farmers and subsidizing farm inputs to improve food security in rural Tigray.

Zoonotic impact and epidemiological changes of leishmaniasis in Ethiopia

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) has significant economic losses on the livestock productivity and poses serious public health risks worldwide. In Ethiopia, bTB is endemic and distributed across all parts of the country. Therefore, the systematic review aims to provide comprehensive investigations of the trends, risk factors, and zoonotic impacts of bTB in Ethiopia. Only English language publications from 2009 to 2022 were included. Databases searched included PubMed, PubMed Central, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate. From a total of 129 articles retrieved, only 44 studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The overall pooled prevalence of bTB over 15 years was 11.04%. Female cattle had a significantly higher prevalence (19.85%) compared to male cattle (4.07%) ( p = 0.002). Emaciated animals were more affected than those in good body condition ( p = 0.04). Prevalence differed significantly among intensive (22.60%), semi‐intensive (17.08%), and extensive (13.70%) production systems ( p = 0.01). The prevalence of bTB showed statistical significance ( p = 0.001) in three different breeds. Exotic breeds had the highest prevalence (28.46%), followed by crossed (12.61%) and local breeds (9.56%). Large herds showed a higher prevalence (42.69%) compared to medium (12.13%) and small herds (11.26%) ( p = 0.001). Poor management systems had a higher positivity rate (31.27%) compared to medium (15.23%) and good (9.89%) management systems ( p = 0.01). Studies with sample sizes less than 400 reported higher prevalence (20.70%) compared to those with 400–800 samples (11.70%) and more than 800 samples (5.83%) ( p = 0.001). Significant variations were observed among different diagnosis techniques ( p = 0.004). Only 40.82% and 35.51% of cattle owners had knowledge of bTB and awareness of its zoonotic impacts, respectively. Overall, the trends of bTB remain a significant impact in Ethiopia, affecting both livestock productivity and public health. Understanding these trends is essential for the development of evidence‐based control strategies. The integration of epidemiological modeling with public health impact assessments can further strengthen policy formulation and guide resource prioritization more effectively. Therefore, effective control and prevention measures, along with continuous public education, are essential to mitigate economic losses and reduce the zoonotic impacts of bTB in the country. Using improved diagnostic techniques should be recommended to estimate the actual prevalence of the disease.

Safety and quality of milk and milk products are an increasing concern worldwide. Milk and milk products are major causes of milk‐borne diseases due to contamination with microorganisms resulting from a lack of standard milk handling procedures and hygienic practices. Thus, the study aims to investigate the microbial quality and safety of cow milk and milk products and isolate some bacteria in Tigray. Questionnaires were conducted to assess milk handling procedures and hygienic practices. Samples were collected from different sampling points in the summer and winter seasons. Laboratory analyses were conducted using microbiological methods. SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the results. The overall mean total bacterial counts were 4.94, 6.02, 6.58, and 6.23 log10 CFU/mL for milk samples collected directly from the udder, milk container, cafeteria, and yogurt, respectively. Total bacterial counts exhibited statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) among different sampling points. The bacterial load in the winter season was significantly higher than in the summer season (p < 0.04). Highly significant differences in coliform counts were observed (p < 0.001) with mean values of 4.29, 5.49, 6.22, and 5.86 log10 CFU/mL for milk samples obtained directly from the udder, milk container, cafeteria, and yogurt, respectively. The averages of spore‐forming and psychrotrophic counts were 4.13 and 5.40 log10 CFU/mL, respectively. Escherichia coli, Salmonella species, and Staphylococcus aureus exhibited significant variations at different sampling points. The isolation rates of Salmonella spp., E. coli, and S. aureus were 41.7%, 75%, and 95.8%, respectively. Total bacterial counts and psychrotrophic counts of the butter were 4.34 and 4.38 log10 CFU/g, respectively. Overall, the results indicate that milk and milk products had high levels of contamination because the bacterial loads were significantly higher than standard limits (5 log10 CFU/mL). Therefore, public education and awareness campaigns on good hygienic practices for dairy farmers and cafeteria owners are essential. Implementation of stringent food quality and safety standards, along with effective regulatory measures, is imperative to ensure safeguard consumer health.