Browsing by Author "Nonga, H.E."
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Item Ecological niche modeling as a tool for prediction of the potential geographic distribution of Bacillus anthracis spores in Tanzania(International Society for Infectious Diseases, 2018-11-27) Mwakapeje, E.R.; Ndimuligo, S.A.; Mosomtai, G.; Nyakarahuka, L.; Nonga, H.E.; Mdegela, R.H.; Skjerve, E.; Ayebare, S.Anthrax is caused by the spore-forming, Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus anthracis. The aim of this study was to predict the potential distribution of B. anthracis in Tanzania and produce epidemiological evidence for the management of anthrax outbreaks in the country. Methods: The Maxent algorithm was used to predict areas at risk of anthrax outbreaks based on the occurrence and environmental data in Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions; the model was later transferred to predict the entire country. Seventy percent of the occurrence data were used to train the model, while 30% were used for model evaluation. Results: Four regions of northern Tanzania are predicted to have a high risk for anthrax outbreaks, while the southern and western regions had low-risk areas. Soil type (56.5%), soil pH (23.7%), and isothermally (10.4%) were the most important variables for the model prediction, and the most significant soil types were solonetz, fluvisols, and lithosols. Conclusions: A strong risk level across districts of the Tanzania mainland was identified in this study. A total of 18 districts in Tanzania Mainland are predicted to be at very high risk of an anthrax outbreak occurrence. These findings are important for policymakers to effectively mount targeted control measures for anthrax outbreaks in TanzaniaItem Evaluation of chemotherapeutic and prophylactic efficacy of Kelamedium® in Bovine trypanosomosis(AFRICAN UNION, 2008-12-20) Nonga, H.E.; Kambarage, D.M.Chemotherapeutic and chemo-prophylactic efficacy of Kelamedium® an isometamidium was evaluated in five medium dairy farms and two traditional herds with a number of animals above 6 months age being 275 and 100 respectively. The trial also involved 42 smallholder dairy herds with 316 animals. The animals were clinically examined for trypanosomosis signs then screened for haemoparasites using blood smears and micro-centrifugation methods. Positive animals on smears were classified as “cases” and were treated with a curative dose (1 mg/kg bodyweight) of Kelamidium® and monitored for parasitological recovery on days three, six and nine. A total of six “cases” were encountered and five which were treated with Kelamidium® showed parasitogical and clinical recovery by days 3 and 9 respectively, whereas one animal died. Smear negative animals were randomly assigned to two treatment groups; with one group receiving a prophylactic dose (0.5 mg/kg) of Kelamidium® and the controls being treated with the same dose of Samorin®. These animals were then monitored clinically and re-screened on days 60 and 90-post intervention for re-infections. Kelamidium® showed a prophylactic efficacy of 99.4% and this was comparable (p>0.05) to that of Samorin® (99.7%). These results thus show that Kelamidium® offers an alternative choice to Samorin®.Item Prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants in Northern Tanzania and their distribution between breast milk, maternal blood, placenta and cord blood.(Elsevier, 2019) Müller, M.H.B; Polder, A.; Brynildsrud, O.B.; Grønnestad, R.; Karimi, M.; Lie, E.; Manyilizu, W.B; Mdegela, R.H.; Mokiti, F.; Murtadha, M.; Nonga, H.E.; Skaare, J.U.; Solhaug, A.; Lyche, J.L.Human exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) begins during pregnancy and may cause adverse health effects in the fetus or later in life. The present study aimed to assess prenatal POPs exposure to Tanzanian infants and evaluate the distribution of POPs between breast milk, maternal blood, placenta and cord blood. For assessment of prenatal exposure, 48 maternal blood samples from Mount Meru Regional Referral Hospital (MMRRH), Arusha Tanzania, were analyzed for organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), brominated flame retardants (BFRs), dioxin-like (DL) activity and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs). For evaluation of POPs distribution between maternal/infant compartments, breast milk, placenta and cord blood corresponding to the maternal blood were analyzed for OCPs, PCBs and BFRs. In maternal blood, p,p ́- DDE was detected in 100% of the samples ranging between 29 and 1890 ng/g lipid weight (lw). PCB-153 was the only PCB detected in maternal blood, with detection rate of 29% and concentrations up to 116 ng/g lw. BDE-47 was detected in 65% of the maternal blood samples, ranging betweenItem Risk factors for human cutaneous anthrax outbreaks in the hot-spot districts of Northern Tanzania: an unmatched case control study(Royal Society Open Science, 2018-09-05) Mwakapeje, E.R.; Nonga, H.E.; Mdegela, R.H.; Skjerve, E.; Høgset, S.; Softic, A.; Mghamba, J.Bacillus anthracis is an aerobic, Gram-positive and sporeforming bacterium, which causes anthrax in herbivores. Humans get infected after coming into contact with infected animals’ products. An unmatched case–control study was conducted to identify the importance of demographic, biological and/or behavioural factors associated with human cutaneous anthrax outbreaks in the hotspot areas of Northern Tanzania. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to both cases and controls. The age range of participants was 1–80 years with a median age of 32 years. In the younger group (1–20 years), the odds of being infected were 25 times higher in the exposed group compared to the unexposed group (OR¼ 25, 95% CI ¼ 1.5–410). By contrast, the odds of exposure in the old group ( 20 years) were three times lower in the exposed group compared to the unexposed group (OR ¼ 3.2, 95% CI ¼ 1.28–8.00). Demographic characteristics, sleeping on animal’s skins, contacting with infected carcasses through skinning and butchering, and not having formal education were linked to exposure for anthrax infection. Hence, a One Health approach is inevitable for the prevention and control of anthrax outbreaks in the hotspot areas of Northern Tanzania.Item A slaughterhouse survey of lung lesions in slaughtered stocks at Arusha, Tanzania(Elsevier, 2010) Mellau, L.S.B.; Nonga, H.E.; Karimuribo, E.D.An abattoir survey was conducted on clinically healthy 115,186 cattle, 61,551 sheep and 37,850 goats slaughtered in Arusha municipality, Tanzania, between 2005 and 2007. The objective was to determine the prevalence of disease conditions affecting the lungs. Routine meat inspection procedures were used to detect the presence of the pathological lesions. A total of 15,245 (13.2%), 4668 (7.8%) and 3192 (8.4%) lungs of cattle, sheep and goat, respectively, were condemned due to nine diseases/conditions namely pneumonia, hydati- dosis, emphysema, abscesses, anthracosis, pleurisy, calcified cysts, melanosis and bovine pulmonary tuberculosis. Pneumonia was the leading cause of condemnations as it was responsible for 4594 (30.1%), 1495 (31.4%) and 1072 (33.6%) of all the condemned lungs in cattle, sheep and goats, respectively. Anthracosis, pleurisy, melanosis and pulmonary tuberculosis were only recorded in cattle attributing to 7.3%, 6.4%, 2.9%, and 0.7% of lung condemnations, respectively. The percentages of lung conditions recorded in 2005, 2006 and 2007 were not statistically different (P > 0.05) among cattle, sheep and goats. The differ- ent lung lesion percentages recorded in cattle were significantly higher (P < 0.05) compared to sheep and goats. There were no significant (P > 0.05) variations between lung condemna- tion percentages due to various diseases during the rainy and dry seasons. Because of their zoonotic nature, occurrence of hydatidosis and tuberculosis may pose a public health risk. The study showed that different lung diseases/lesions in domestic ruminants are prevalent in Tanzania. Thus, there is a need to introduce appropriate control measures of diseases affecting lungs to minimize the rate of infection and reduce the ensuing economic losses. The data obtained from this survey cannot be wholly relied upon as accurate, but it can be used as a baseline for more extensive epidemiological investigations.