Browsing by Author "Matee, Mecky I."

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Evidence of Yersinia pestis DNA in rodents in plague outbreak foci in Mbulu and Karatu Districts, northern Tanzania
(2013-07) Ziwa, Michael H.; Matee, Mecky I.; Kilonzo, Bukheti S.; Hang’ombe, Bernard M.
Human plague remains a public health concern in Tanzania despite its quiescence in most foci for years, considering the recurrence nature of the disease. Appreciable researches have involved serological screening of rodents, fleas and humans but none has involved molecular detection and hence proving the presence of Yersinia pestis in rodents in the most recent affected foci, Mbulu and Karatu districts in northern Tanzania. The objective of the current study was to employ a simple PCR to detect Yersinia pestis plasminogen activator (pla) gene in various potential mammalian hosts/reservoirs. The study was conducted in five villages in Mbulu and one in Karatu districts during the period of no disease outbreak. Rodents and small wild carnivores were captured, anaesthetized, identified, sexed and autopsied. Liver, spleen, heart and lung specimens were collected and DNA extracted after which PCR was used to detect the Y. pestis pla gene. A total of 517 small mammals were captured; of which, 493 (95.4%) were from Mbulu and 24 (4.6%) from Karatu. Two Mastomys natalensis (one from each district) and one Gerbilliscus sp. in Mbulu district were positive for Y. pestis pla gene. In conclusion, our results have provided a proof on the presence of Y. pestis in the two rodent species (Mastomys natalensis and Gerbilliscus sp.) and thus providing indicative evidence that the two are potential reservoirs of the pathogen and hence may be responsible for maintaining the same during periods of no disease outbreaks.
Farm costs and benefits of antimicrobial use reduction on broiler farms in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
(Frontiers, 2022-11-15) Azabo, Rogers R.; George, Janeth I.; Mshana, Stephen E.; Matee, Mecky I.; Kimera, Sharadhuli I.
Of all animal derived-food, the demand for poultry meat is the most dynamic. The poultry sector can meet this demand only by introducing intensive production where antimicrobial use is inevitable. Bacterial infection prevention and control is an important factor in intensive livestock production. Antibiotics are an effective and relatively inexpensive means of preventing and controlling infections, thus maintaining animal health and productivity. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the costs and benefits of various scenarios of antimicrobial use reduction at broiler farms in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This study focused on the economic impact of an average broiler farm. Costs and benefits for various scenarios of antimicrobial use reduction levels were projected by a partial budget framework using the Mclnerney model. The disease cost of the current situation was US$225. On reduction of antimicrobial use by 20% the avoidable disease cost was US$ 31, by 50% was US$ 83 and by 100% was US$ 147. A reduction in antibiotic use can only be achieved if better alternatives are available to combat disease. In conclusion, the model predicts that reducing antibiotic use increases production costs. Future studies on antimicrobial use reduction’s impact on morbidity and mortality and the efficiency of additional control and other measures of producing poultry meat without high concentrations of antibiotics are necessary.
Genetic diversity and risk factors for the transmission of antimicrobial resistance across human, animals and environmental compartments in East Africa: a review
(Springer Nature, 2020-08-06) Katale, Bugwesa Z.; Misinzo, Gerald; Mshana, Stephen E.; Chiyangi, Harriet; Campino, Susana; Clark, Taane G.; Good, Liam; Rweyemamu, Mark M.; Matee, Mecky I.
Background: The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) present a challenge to disease control in East Africa. Resistance to beta-lactams, which are by far the most used antibiotics worldwide and include the penicillins, cephalosporins, monobactams and carbapenems, is reducing options for effective control of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The World Health Organization, Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health have all advocated surveillance of AMR using an integrated One Health approach. Regional consortia also have strengthened collaboration to address the AMR problem through surveillance, training and research in a holistic and multisectoral approach. This review paper contains collective information on risk factors for transmission, clinical relevance and diversity of resistance genes relating to extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing (ESBL) and carbapenemase producing Enterobacteriaceae, and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) across the human, animal and environmental compartments in East Africa. Main body: The review of the AMR literature (years 2001 to 2019) was performed using search engines such as PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Google and Web of Science. The search terms included ‘antimicrobial resistance and human-animal-environment’, ‘antimicrobial resistance, risk factors, genetic diversity, and human animal-environment’ combined with respective countries of East Africa. In general, the risk factors identified were associated with the transmission of AMR. The marked genetic diversity due to multiple sequence types among drug-resistant bacteria and their replicon plasmid types sourced from the animal, human and environment were reported. The main ESBL, MRSA and carbapenem related genes/plasmids were the bla CTX-Ms (45.7%), SCCmec type (27.3%) and IMP types (23.8%), respectively. Conclusion: The high diversity of the AMR genes suggests there may be multiple sources of resistance bacteria, or the possible exchange of strains or a flow of genes amongst different strains due to transfer by mobile genetic elements. Therefore, there should be harmonized One Health guidelines for the use of antibiotics, as well as regulations governing their importation and sale. Moreover, the trend of ESBLs, MRSA and carbapenem resistant (CAR) carriage rates is dynamic and are on rise over time period, posing a public health concern in East Africa. Collaborative surveillance of AMR in partnership with regional and external institutions using an integrated One Health approach is required for expert knowledge and technology transfer to facilitate information sharing for informed decision-making.
Investigation of fleas as vectors in the transmission of plague during a quiescent period in North-Eastern, Tanzania
(2013-12) Haule, Martin; Lyamuya, Eligius E.; Hang’ombe, Bernard M.; Matee, Mecky I.
Yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of plague, is normally transmitted to animals by infective flea-bites. Fleas associated with rodents, cats, dogs and other small mammals are considered important for the maintenance and transmission of the bacterium. Therefore, a study was undertaken to investigate the presence of Y. pestis in fleas of North-Eastern Tanzania during a quiescent period. House rodents were trapped with box traps while field and forest rodents were trapped with Sherman live traps. Fleas were collected from rodents by brushing the animal using shoe-shiner brush. House dwelling fleas were trapped with light traps while fleas from cats, dogs, goats and pigs were collected by rubbing their fur with ether soaked cotton wool and brushing as for rodents. All collected fleas were identified to genus level and subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for Y. pestis DNA. Chi square test was used for comparison of proportions and statistical significance and p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 340 rodents, the majority of which Mastomys natalensis (32.6%), Rattus rattus (26.7%), Lophuromys flavopunctatus (16.6%) and Praomys delectorum (16.3%) were captured. A total of 805 fleas (Xenopsylla spp., Dinopsyllus spp., Ctenophthalmus spp. and Echidnophaga gallinacea) were collected from rodents with an overall flea index of 2.4 fleas/rodent. Fleas from domestic animals were mostly Ctenocephalides spp. (>90%). A total of 270 house dwellings fleas with an overall index of 3.6 fleas per house were collected. Pulex irritans, Xenopsylla spp., Tunga penetrans, E. gallinacea and Ctenophthalmus spp. were dominant. All fleas were negative for Y. pestis DNA. This study has demonstrated a high flea abundance and high density indicating a high susceptibility of the study area to plague if and when other conditions are favorable, hence effective flea and rodent control measures should be put in place. The non-detection of Y. pestis in all fleas collected from rodents, domestic animals and domestic dwellings in the current study suggests that the ectoparasites do not normally harbor the bacterium during periods of quiescence. The findings of the present study further suggest that fleas should be tested for Y. pestis DNA during the active phase of plague outbreaks for confirmation of infection and during inter-epidemic periods to confirm disease quiescence or detect infection activity.
Occurrence of multidrug resistant Escherichia coli in raw meat and cloaca swabs in poultry processed in slaughter slabs in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
(MDPI, 2021) Mgaya, Fauster X.; Matee, Mecky I.; Muhairwa, Amandus P.; Hoza, Abubakar S.
This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and June 2020, in five large poultry slaughter slabs in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Purposive sampling was used to select broilers and spent layers, from which meat and cloaca swabs were collected to determine the occurrence of multidrug resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli. Identification of isolates was done using API 20E, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed as per CLSI (2018) guidelines. EBSL (CTX-M, TEM, SHV) and plasmid mediated quinolone (qnrA, qnrB, qnrS and aac(60)-Ib-cr) were screened using PCR. Out of 384 samples, 212 (55.2%) were positive for E. coli, of which 147 (69.3%) were resistant to multiple drugs (MDR). Highest resistance was detected to tetracycline (91.9%), followed by sulfamethoxazoletrimethoprim (80.5%), ampicillin (70.9%), ciprofloxacin (40.2%) and 25% cefotaxime, gentamycin (10.8%) and imipenem (8.6%) (95% CI, p < 0.01). Out of the E. coli-positive samples, ten (10/212) (4.7%) were ESBL producing E. coli, of which CTX-M was detected in two isolates and quinolones resistant gene (qnrS) in eight, while TEM, SHV, qnrA, qnrB and aac(60)-lb-cr were not detected. The high level of resistance and multidrug resistance imply these antibiotics are ineffective, add unnecessary cost to poultry farmers and certainly facilitate emergence and spread of resistance.
Plague in Tanzania: an overview
(2013-10) Ziwa, Michael H.; Matee, Mecky I.; Hang’ombe, Bernard M.; Lyamuya, Eligius F.; Kilonzo, Bukheti S
Human plague remains a public health concern in Tanzania despite its quiescence in most foci for years, considering the recurrence nature of the disease. Despite the long-standing history of this problem, there have not been recent reviews of the current knowledge on plague in Tanzania. This work aimed at providing a current overview of plague in Tanzania in terms of its introduction, potential reservoirs, possible causes of plague persistence and repeated outbreaks in the country. Plague is believed to have been introduced to Tanzania from the Middle East through Uganda with the first authentication in 1886. Xenopsylla brasiliensis, X. cheopis, Dinopsyllus lypusus, and Pulex irritans are among potential vectors while Lophuromys spp, Praomys delectorum, Graphiurus murinus, Lemniscomys striatus, Mastomys natalensis, and Rattus rattus may be the potential reservoirs. Plague persistence and repeated outbreaks in Tanzania are likely to be attributable to a complexity of factors including cultural, socio-economical, environmental and biological. Minimizing or preventing people’s proximity to rodents is probably the most effective means of preventing plague outbreaks in humans in the future. In conclusion, much has been done on plague diagnosis in Tanzania. However, in order to achieve new insights into the features of plague epidemiology in the country, and to reorganize an effective control strategy, we recommend broader studies that will include the ecology of the pathogen, vectors and potential hosts, identifying the reservoirs, dynamics of infection and landscape ecology