Poultry production has important economic, social and cultural benefits and plays a significant role in family nutrition in the developing countries. It has been estimated that 80% of the poultry population in Africa are found in traditional scavenging system which makes substantial contributions to household food security throughout the developing world. Ethiopia has about 60 % of the total chicken population of East Africa, which includes local, exotic and hybrid chicken breeds. About 97% of the Ethiopian poultry population consists of indigenous chickens, while the remaining 3% consists of crossed and exotic breeds of chickens. All over the country, the indigenous chickens are an integral component of the livelihoods of most of rural, peri-urban, and some urban households and are likely to continue to meet this role for the foreseeable future. The indigenous chickens are characterized by slow growth, late maturity and low production performance. Due to these and other factors, there has been substantial efforts to introduce improved exotic chickens particularly introduction of Issa Brown (IB), Bovan Brown (BB), Babcock and dual-purpose hybrid Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK) breeds to the country by government and some Non-Governmental Organization with the aim of improving the existing indigenous breeds.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the top global public health and economic threats. The use of antimicrobials (AMs) in animal production is a major contributor to the development of AMR globally. Animal health professionals (AHPs) play a key role in ensuring judicious use of AMs. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of antimicrobial usage (AMU) and AMR among healthcare professionals in Nekemte town, Leka Dulecha and Sibu Sire districts. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 120 purposively chosen AHPs residing in the districts and the town. A semi-structured questionnaire consisting of 49 questions was used to ascertain the KAP. The chi-square test (X²) was used to analyze the association between the knowledge score and demographic profile of the study participants. Results: In the study the overall knowledge of the participants was moderately appreciable, and all participants had positive attitudes toward AMR and appropriate usage. In terms of knowledge of antibiotic use, the majority (93.33%) of the participants correctly answered the statement that antibiotics can kill viruses. About 84.17% of the participants correctly knew that antibiotics killed or stopped the growth of both bad and good bacteria. The majority of the participants (74.17%) always or (25.83%) sometimes rely on usage of antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription. It was shown that comparing respondents from Sibu Sire, Leka Dulecha and Nekemte town, the scores of knowledge of AMU were significantly (X²=14.13, p=0.007) different. Most animal healthcare professionals from the Sibu sire have a good knowledge of AMU, and contribute to AMR development. Conclusion: The study revealed that there was moderate knowledge and positive attitude toward AMU and resistance. This warrants continuing capacity building programs for the professionals on AM usage and resistance, and development of field-friendly disease diagnosis and management tools is essential in the need to reduce AMR.

Background: Households consider their dogs and cats as their close friends. They act as companion animals. The contact between pets and their owners results in transmission of zoonotic disease. In Ethiopia, dogs and cats are the most abundant carnivores, and diseases associated with them affect wide parts of the community. There is limited knowledge, practice, and attitude within the communities toward pet contact associated zoonotic disease. Methods: A community-based semi-structured questionnaire complemented with an interview was delivered to 633 household pets' owners in Sibu Sire, Jimaa Arjo, and Wayu Tuqa districts in Western Ethiopia to evaluate knowledge, attitude, and practices toward pet contact associated zoonotic disease. Results: Socio-demographically, 54.6% of the study participants were female. According to this finding concerning common pet contact zoonotic disease, 70% of the respondents had knowledge about rabies, with Echinococcosis, toxoplasmosis, and ring worm also being commonly heard of. Contamination of feed and water (21.71%) and animal bites (21.01%) are the predominant modes of transmission, whereas animal waste, fecal oral route, and touching pets are also common ways for disseminating zoonotic disease. The dominant symptoms noted by respondents were behavioral change, depression, lack of appetite, itching, and diarrhea. In all attitude-related responses, there was a significant association (p<0.05) between the number of respondents and the variable studied. There was also a statistically significant association of KAP score (p<0.05) with educational rank and the work of respondents. Conclusion: This study indicates the importance of pet ownership to the community, which is also associated with transmitting different zoonotic diseases. Moreover, there are inconsistencies on regular veterinary use, pet management, and proper prevention and treatment measures of the disease. Coordinated efforts are expected from different stakeholders in enhancing community KAP level towards pet contact associated zoonosis.

Background. Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is a highly contagious viral disease of chicken typically affecting the reproductive and respiratory tract and results in possible economic causes from its serious infectious and transmission characteristics. Methods. A cross‐sectional study was carried on serum samples of chickens selected from six (two commercial and four small holder) farms and two types of production (broiler and layer) to detect seroprevalence of IBV and its associated risk factors in Bishoftu and Holeta areas of central Ethiopia from June 2021 to September 2021. A total of 354 blood samples were collected and subjected to indirect ELISA test by IBV antibody test kit ((ProFLOK IBV), from ProFLOK Laboratories Inc., (USA)) to detect specific antibodies against IBV. Results. Overall, 97.46% seroprevalence was identified. From 230 and 124 samples collected from commercial and smallholder poultry farms, 226 (98.26%) and 119 (95.98%) positive results were obtained, respectively. Among the production types of chickens, high seroprevalence (99.31%) was found in layer poultry, and lower seroprevalence (96.17%) was found in the case of broiler chicken. Significant association was observed among different associated risk factors particularly age, sex, breed, and production types of chickens. From the tested chickens, all age groups, species, and farm types have high seroprevalence of IBV. The prevalence of IBV was highly significant (p ≤ 0.01) in the study site. The risk factors indicated could have increased infection prevalence, pathogens’ economic impact, and disease occurrence. Conclusion. IBD is complicating factor affecting poultry production systems in the area. Vaccine and biosecurity measures are recommended for the control of IBV. Furtherly, identification and characterization (by using RT‐PCR) of persistent serotype of IBV circulating in the field are recommended.

Background: Animal production is an important tool for improving the living standard of humans and is the backbone of Ethiopia's agricultural development. The country is known for its high livestock potential, but it is not well exploited due to various hindering factors.Objectives: The objective of the study is to assess the key issues related to animal health and production.Methods: The evaluation was carried out in three purposively selected districts of East Wollega zone, namely Gidda Ayana, Sibu Sire and Jimma Arjo by using well‐designed and structured questionnaire surveys.Result: During the study period, 200, 145 and 165 respondents were sampled from the animal owners in the districts of Gidda Ayana, Sibu Sire and Jimma Arjo, respectively. Of these, about 97.89%, 95.68% and 94.9% practice extensive management in Gidda Ayana, Jimma Arjo and Sibu Sire, respectively. The majority of respondents in Gidda Ayana (98.1%), Jimma Arjo (97.21%) and Sibu Sire (98.9%) use natural pastures. For cattle breeding, uncontrolled natural mating is used in Gidda Ayana (90.79%), Jimma Arjo (86.3%) and Sibu Sire (95.69%). The major constraints of animal health and production were also assessed. Accordingly, a lack of access to adequate animal production and health expert in Gidda Ayana (27.33%), Jimma Arjo (29.36%) and Sibu Sire (31.59%) was recorded, whereas the lack of sustainable and structured modern livestock market was observed in Gidda Ayana (25.94%), Jimma Arjo (21.31%) and Sibu Sire (19.80%).Conclusion and recommendations: Livestock need improved animal health, management systems and breeding methods. The study revealed key issues related to animal health and production, such as poor management systems and breeding methods, limited coverage of veterinary services and a modern livestock market. Thus, it is indispensable to increase the coverage of veterinary services, animal extension services and alternative sources of animal feed.

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2014 to April 2015 to determine the prevalence of bovine mastitis, isolation of mastitis causing bacteria’s and characterize antimicrobial susceptibility pattern at Holeta Agricultural Research Centre (HARC) Dairy Farms. Purposive sampling technique was employed and all lactating cows were involved in the study. Among 186 lactating cows consists of 92 Jersey as well as 94 cross breed (Boran X Holistein Fresian) were included in the study. Among selected cows, 131 (70.43%) cows were identified as bovine mastitis positive and out of which 10 (5.37%) had clinical mastitis and 121 (65.05%) had subclinical mastitis. The different types of bacterial species isolated in present study includes S. aureus (30.93%), staphylococcus other than S. aureus (14.43%), Str. agalactiae (5.15%), Str. Dysgalactiae (5.15%), Str. Uberis (12.37%), C. bovis (13.40%), E. coli (6.18%), P. aerogenosa (10.3%) and K. pneumonie (2.05%). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that 94% and 78.6% of total isolates were susceptible to gentamycin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, respectively which was followed by erythromycin and tetracycline with susceptibility rate of 73.8% and 69%, respectively. However, penicillin had shown susceptibility of 55.9% which was the least effective among the drugs used. In conclusion, different types of mastitis causing pathogens with variable rate of susceptibility to antimicrobials were able to identify. Therefore, antimicrobial therapy should be used after isolation of the suspected pathogen to avoid emergence of drug resistance.