Xpert MTB/RIF assay is considered as a great advance over conventional smear and culture in the diagnosis of TB and MDR-TB by simultaneously detecting M.tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance bacilli. However, very little information regarding the performance characteristics of Xpert MTB/RIF assay is available in Ethiopia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of Xpert MTB/RIF assay compared to conventional sputum smear and culture methods for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in remote health care facility. A paired expectorated sputum samples were obtained from 227 consecutively recruited patients with signs and symptoms suggestive of tuberculosis at Karamara hospital during December 2013 to May 2014. One of the sputum specimen was tested directly by Ziehl-Neelsen staining and Xpert MTB/RIF assay without NALC-NaOH decontamination. The other of pair of sputa specimen was cultured for isolation of TB bacilli by conventional methods. Diagnostic performance of Xpert MTB/RIF assay and AFB smear microscopy were calculated against culture as the gold standard. Overall 25.5 % (58/227) samples were positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) by MGIT and/or LJ media of which 36.2 % (21/58) and 65.5 % (35/58) were positive by AFB smear microscopy and Xpert MTB/RIF respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, as well as the positive and negative predictive value of Xpert MTB/RIF assay were 65.5 % (95 % CI: 53.3–77.7 %), 96.3 % (95 % CI: 93.4–99.2 %), 86.4 % (95 % CI: 76.2–96.5 %), and 88.6 % (95 % CI: 83.9–93.3 %) respectively. Eighteen of 58 (31 %) cases that were smear microscopy negative, were positive by Xpert MTB/RIF assay. Although Xpert MTB/RIF assay demonstrated high sensitivity in detecting MTBC in sputum specimens compared with conventional AFB smear microscopy, it demonstrated suboptimal sensitivity in smear negative patients compared to conventional culture.

Background: Aflatoxins (AFs) are major contaminants of feed used in the poultry industry that negatively affect animal and human health. In Ethiopia, previous studies on AFs mainly considered cattle feed and milk but scarce information exists for poultry feeds. Methods: The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of AFs in poultry feed in selected chicken rearing villages of Bishoftu. The study was conducted from December 2018 to May 2019. Thirty-three compound poultry feed samples were collected and analyzed for aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), aflatoxin B2 (AFB2), aflatoxin G1 (AFG1), aflatoxin G2 (AFG2) and total AFs (AFT) using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The moisture content of the samples was also determined. Results: The result indicated that 31 (94%) from a total of 33 samples were contaminated with AFs. The mean levels of AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2 and AFT were 70.11 μg/kg, 13.50 μg/kg, 88.55 μg/kg, 18.00 μg/kg and 190.18 μg/kg, respectively. This study found AFs at a level above the limit of FDA regulatory levels of 20 μg/kg in 25 (72.75%) samples for AFT and 22 (66.67%) samples for AFB1. The analysis of moisture content of the samples, ranges from 7.33% to 11.17%, indicating all were at optimal value (< 12%). Conclusion: The study showed the high contamination of AFs in poultry feeds with optimal moisture content and hence further investigations are needed to address the cause. The study also supports the need for preventive strategies of AFs contamination in poultry feeds in Bishoftu.

The biuret method is frequently used to determine serum total protein. On the other hand refractometer, a quicker and less expensive option, is available to determine serum total protein. However, there is no study conducted in Ethiopia to compare serum total protein measurement in veterinary settings. Therefore, this study was conducted to compare the serum total protein concentration measurement in cattle and goats obtained by the biuret method and refractometer. Serum samples from 60 cattle and 60 goats were assayed by both methods and data were analyzed with a paired t-test, Pearson’s correlation, and Bland-Altman plots. There was a strong positive correlation between the total protein values determined with the refractometer and the biuret method in cattle (r = 0.93) and goats (r = 0.97). There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in the protein values measured with the refractometer and those evaluated with the biuret method in both species. Bland-Altman plots showed that biases indicating the analytic and user error were 8.33% in both species which is below the acceptable total error (< 10%). Thus, refractometer can be used in place of biuret method since it is valid enough to measure serum total protein in cattle and goats.

Background: In Veterinary Medicine biochemical investigation of serum is widely used to aid diagnosis and treatment. However, delays usually happen between sampling and analysis. As a result, the serum is stored in refrigerators. In this regard, information on the effects of temperature and storage duration on the stability of the analyte is incomplete in general and its effect in sheep and goat serum is not described. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the stability of selected biochemical analytes from sheep and goat serum following storage at − 20℃ for 2 months. Methods: Serum from 20 apparently healthy male 2– 2.5 year-old sheep and goats was obtained and aliquots of serum from each sample were kept in three tubes. The first tube is for baseline (T0), which is done within an hour, while the other two (T1 and T2) are stored at − 20℃ for 1 and 2 months, respectively. Total protein, albumin, urea, total cholesterol, and triglycerides were assayed. Results: The results revealed that storage temperature and duration for up to 2 months had no significant effect on any analytes except for urea in goats. The changes in terms of total observed error (TE_o) for total protein; albumin and urea were greater than the acceptable values in both animals. Conclusion: Thus, further studies are required to assure alteration of analyte at various storage temperatures and duration. In addition, implementation of quality systems to achieve quality targets for analytes with greater TE_o as compared to the established TE_a is needed.

Introduction: In veterinary medicine, vaccines help in combating various infectious diseases, thus maintaining the health and welfare of the animals. However, in Ethiopia, the use of vaccines has been hindered by multiple challenges, and the extent of willingness to vaccinate (WTV) has not been properly assessed.Methods: A cross‐sectional study was carried out from December 2023 to February 2024 to assess the willingness of livestock owners to vaccinate and the factors affecting it in Negele‐Arsi, Shashemene and Hawassa, Ethiopia. A total of 100 questionnaire samples (50 from Negele‐Arsi, 30 from Shashemene and 20 from Hawassa) were collected from veterinary clinics in these areas.Results: Overall, 38% of the respondents reported WTV for their animals, 36% of the reported willingness to pay, whereas 75% of the respondents also chose drugs as a control method for diseases compared to vaccines. Age, educational level of livestock owners and the rate of importance of vaccines were also shown to have a significant association with WTV (p < 0.05). As challenges, livestock owners mentioned that inaccessibility, high price of vaccines and harm caused by vaccines as the major obstacles they face when vaccinating their animals.Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that the lack of awareness and knowledge about vaccines, coupled with challenges livestock owners are facing, are the obstacles hindering the vaccination of a vast number of livestock in the three areas. Therefore, it is necessary to address these problems properly to ensure the effective delivery of vaccines for the appropriate service of vaccines.