scholarly journals Prevalence and determinants of Cryptosporidium spp. infection in smallholder dairy cattle in Iringa and Tanga Regions of Tanzania

Author(s):  
E.S. Swai ◽  
N.P. French ◽  
E.D. Karimuribo ◽  
J.L. Fitzpatrick ◽  
M.J. Bryant ◽  
...  

The prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. infection in a cross-sectional study of dairy cattle, from two contrasting dairying regions in Tanzania, were determined by staining smears of faecal samples with the modified Ziehl-Neelsen technique. Of the 1 126 faecal samples screened, 19.7% were positive for Cryptosporidium spp. The prevalence was lower in Tanga Region than in Iringa Region. The prevalence of affected farms was 20% in Tanga and 21% in Iringa. In both regions, the probability of detecting Cryptosporidium oocysts in faeces varied with animal class, but these were not consistent in both regions. In Tanga Region, Cryptosporidium oocysts were significantly more likely to be found in the faeces of milking cows. In Iringa Region, the likelihood that cattle had Cryptosporidium-positive faeces declined with age, and milking cattle were significantly less likely to have Cryptosporidium positive faeces. In this region, 7% of cattle were housed within the family house at night, and this was marginally associated with a higher likelihood that animals had Cryptosporidium-positive faeces. Our study suggests that even though herd sizes are small, Cryptosporidium spp. are endemic on many Tanzanian smallholder dairy farms. These protozoa may impact on animal health and production, but also on human health, given the close associations between the cattle and their keepers. Further studies are required to assess these risks in more detail, and understand the epidemiology of Cryptosporidium spp. in this management system.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-118

The optimum production in dairy cows aims at getting a calf per cow per year. This, however, is limited by repeat breeding syndrome (RBS), which has multiple etiologies that cause either fertilization failure or early embryonic death. This study objective was to determine the prevalence of repeat breeding syndrome in dairy cattle within the selected regions of Kenya. A cross-sectional study design was carried out in 205 smallholder dairy farms in Makueni, Kakamega and Nandi counties. A total of 553 cows/heifers were recruited and examined per rectal to determine their reproductive status. Information on the breeding history of the cow and heifer was acquired at the farm. The results revealed that cross bred cattle were most affected by RBS at 38.9% followed by Jersey, Guernsey Ayrshire and least in Frisians at 21.1, 16.7, 25 and 14%, respectively. The overall animal level prevalence of RBS in cattle in the three counties was at 18.4%, while the overall farm-level prevalence was 58.3%. However, per county prevalence’s were different with animal level prevalence at 31.9, 20.9 and 12.5% in Makueni, Kakamega and Nandi, respectively. The farm-level prevalence’s at the counties were 75.4, 58.3 and 48.4% in Makueni, Kakamega and Nandi counties, respectively. Cattle kept in the zero-grazing/intensive system had the highest level of RBS at 30.1% compared to semi-intensive and extensive farming systems. The prevalence of RBS was also higher in multipara at 76% in comparison to primipara cows. Finally cows over four years which were in third or more parities had the highest prevalence of RBS, accounting for 65%) of the cases. In conclusion, the prevalence of RBS is significantly high in the Kenyan smallholder dairy farms. Further research should be undertaken to identify risk factors and appropriate intervention approaches for RBS to enhance its management.


Author(s):  
Rosália Páscoa ◽  
Andreia Teixeira ◽  
Micaela Gregório ◽  
Rosa Carvalho ◽  
Carlos Martins

Lifestyle interventions are recognized as essential in the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases. Previous studies have shown that Portuguese patients tend to give more importance to diagnostic and laboratory tests than to lifestyle measures, and seem unaware that behavioral risks are the main modifiable risk factors. The study aimed to analyze patients’ perspectives about lifestyle behaviors and health in the context of family medicine in Portugal. A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out in Portugal (the mainland). A total of 900 Portuguese patients aged ≥20 years, representative of the population, were surveyed using face-to-face questionnaires. Participants were selected by the random route method. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were performed to evaluate differences between the personal beliefs and the personal behavior self-assessment, as well as between the level of importance given to the family doctor to address health behaviors and the reported approach implemented by the family doctor, and its association with bio-demographic variables. The results indicate that the vast majority of this Portuguese cohort has informed beliefs regarding lifestyle behaviors, tends to overestimate their own behavior self-assessment, and strongly agrees that it is important that their family doctor asks/advises on these lifestyle behaviors, although the proportion of those who totally agree that their family doctor usually does this is significantly lower. Differences concerning bio-demographic variables were found. Future research directions should focus on the politics, economics, and policy aspects that may have an impact in this area. It will also be important to understand more broadly the relationships between lifestyle behaviors and clinical, physical, and sociodemographic variables.


2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (suppl 5) ◽  
pp. 2258-2263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ângela Maria Mendes Abreu ◽  
Rafael Tavares Jomar ◽  
Gunnar Glauco de Cunto Taets ◽  
Maria Helena do Nascimento Souza ◽  
Daiane Belisário Fernandes

ABSTRACT Objective: to identify the lifetime use of alcohol and other drugs among users of the Family Health Strategy and apply Brief Intervention to problems related to the use of these substances. Method: a descriptive cross-sectional study where 1,031 users of the Family Health Strategy of the city of Rio de Janeiro answered a form with socio-demographic information and the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test. Statistical analysis with simple frequency distribution was performed. Results: the most commonly used drugs in lifetime were alcohol and tobacco; among the illegal drugs, marijuana, hypnotics and cocaine/crack stood out. Those who received most Brief Intervention were users of tobacco, hypnotics, marijuana, cocaine/crack and alcohol. Conclusion: it is important to detect early problems associated with the use of alcohol and other drugs in Primary Care, since it has the promotion/protection of health and the prevention of diseases as priority health practices.


2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 1367-1374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Alexandre de Oliveira ◽  
Rose Maria Manosso ◽  
Gisela Braune ◽  
Priscila Cavalheiro Marcenovicz ◽  
Leandro Nagae Kuritza ◽  
...  

Dog bites are the third most common cause of absenteeism among postal workers of the Brazilian National Postal Service in Southern Brazil, with an average off-work time of approximately two days for each biting episode. The objective of this study was to evaluate the neighborhood characteristics involving dog bites that occurred during work time in postal workers, its impact on work and consequent preventive alternatives. A descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study was designed for all Curitiba postal workers. Data were descriptively analyzed and the hypothesis of correlation between median monthly income, population density and occurrence of dog bites was tested. A total of 34.9% of the postal workers answered the questionnaire and 64.6% of them had been bitten while working. The odds of bites occurring in a neighborhood increase by 1.035 times for every increase in one unit in the population density and decrease by 0.998 times for every increase of US$ 1.00 in the neighborhood median monthly income of the head of the family. The occurrence of dog bites among postal workers in Curitiba is related to income and population density and prevention strategies should address mailbox position and adequate fencing to provide protection for postal workers.


2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosely Almeida Souza ◽  
Gislaine Desani da Costa ◽  
Cintia Hitomi Yamashita ◽  
Fernanda Amendola ◽  
Jaqueline Correa Gaspar ◽  
...  

Objective: To classify families of elderly with depressive symptoms regarding their functioning and to ascertain the presence of an association between these symptoms, family functioning and the characteristics of the elderly. Method: This was an observational, analytical, cross-sectional study performed with 33 teams of the Family Health Strategy in Dourados, MS. The sample consisted of 374 elderly divided into two groups (with and without depressive symptoms). The instruments for data collection were a sociodemographic instrument, the GeriatricDepression Scale (15 items) and the Family Apgar. Results: An association was observed between depressive symptoms and family dysfunction, female gender, four or more people living together, and physical inactivity. Conclusion: The functional family may represent effective support for the elderly with depressive symptoms, because it offers a comfortable environment that ensures the well-being of its members. The dysfunctional family can barely provide necessary care for the elderly, which can exacerbate depressive symptoms.



Author(s):  
MR Begum ◽  
M Anaruzzaman ◽  
MSI Khan ◽  
M Yousuf

A cross sectional study was conducted to observe the factors affecting the productive performance of dairy cattle from northern rural areas of Bangladesh during July and September 2013. Data of 105 cows, 85 (80.95%) from local and 20 (19.05%) cows from cross breed, were randomly selected for the study. A binary logistic regression, expressed by odds ratio with 95% confidence interval, was done to determine the association of daily milk production categorized into ? 2 and > 2 liters (L), based on median, with the significant explanatory variables of body weight, age at first calving, lactation period, vitamin use, type of floor and milking person. The result demonstrated that the probability of milk production of >2 L was 6.16, 4.5, 20.65 and 5.7 times higher from the with animal body weight of >140 kg, age at first calving of >36 m, lactation period of >8 m and vitamin use than that of body weight of 140 kg, age at first calving of ?36 m, lactation period of ? 8 m, and not vitamin used respectively. The chance of milk production of > 2 L was 0.25 and 0.22 times lower for mud floor, and owner milking than that of brick floor and gowala (professional milking person) respectively. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/ijarit.v4i2.22646 Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 4 (2): 41-45, December, 2014


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohan Chandra Regmi ◽  
Laxmi Subedi ◽  
Ramesh Shrestha ◽  
Baburam Dixit ◽  
Neha Shrestha

Aims: To find out the prevalence of domestic violence in pregnant women attending Antenatal clinics (ANC) of B. P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, a tertiary centre in eastern Nepal.Methods: It was a hospital based cross-sectional study done at antenatal clinics of BPKIHS from 14th March 2015 to 30th August 2015. The total number of recruited antenatal patients was 470. Data were collected by face to face interview via pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis.Results: The prevalence of domestic violence among pregnant women was 53.2% of which prevalence of physical domestic violence was 9.6%. The most common person inflicting the domestic violence was husband (23.6%). Emotional abuse was the most common form of domestic violence experienced by the pregnant women (26.8%) and threatening for remarriage was most common emotional violence faced (43.2%). As the age of the pregnant women increases, they tend to have more domestic violence.Conclusions: The prevalence of Domestic Violence among pregnant women seemed alarmingly high in our society. Awareness to the family members and strengthening the women empowerment at community level might play a major role for reducing such violence. Pregnancy-related violence is a serious public health issue.


Author(s):  
Fawaz Hassan Alamri ◽  
Faisal Dhahi Aldahash ◽  
Sa’ad Alqahtani

Background: Family physicians have a pivotal role in responding to the medical community's needs and have a crucial role in disaster health management. Family physicians have several tasks and duties during and after the disaster, such as event detection, critical information’ collection and distribution, and rehabilitative activities. It is important to identify the level of awareness of the family physicians regarding their role in the management of disasters. Aim: To assess the awareness of family physician residents of their roles in disaster health management, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study was cross-sectional; it was performed on Saudi family physician residents in family practice clinics and centers in Saudi Arabia. A self-administrated questionnaire has been sent electronically to the participants to investigate their awareness. IMB SPSS version 22 was used to analyze the collected data. Results: This study included 400 family physicians; more than one-half 52.75%were in the age of 28-30 years old. There were 61.5% worked previously at hospital emergency services. A few percentages reported receiving training on disaster medicine management in the clinic, 38.5%. 47.75% reported willingness to train on disaster management. There was 71% of physicians had high knowledge regarding their role in disaster management. Conclusion: There was high awareness among the family physicians regarding their role in the management of disaster with an acceptable attitude toward receiving training.


Author(s):  
Sima Rafiei ◽  
Rafat Mohebbifar ◽  
Mohammad Ranjbar ◽  
Fatemeh Akbarirad

Background: One of the most important methods for improving the fair access of people to health services is the family physician program, which is facing many challenges. One of these challenges is the lack of policymakers' understanding of physicians' preferences regarding the provisions of the family physician contract. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate general practitioners' preferences regarding the type of family doctor contract in one of the underprivileged regions of Iran. Methods: An analytical-cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 general practitioners (GPs) who registered in Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MoHME) family physician plan and were working in the health network of deprived regions in Iran. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) questionnaire was developed by the researchers and then distributed to GPs. Results were analyzed using Ordered Logistic Regression. Data were collected using a questionnaire designed by orthogonal method in SPSS 20. Data analysis was performed using logistic regression model in Stata 13 software. Results: Findings revealed that “type of employer” had the most significant effect on GPs’ preferences (OR = 2.5), followed by “allocating quota for admission to medical specialty courses after 5 years” (OR = 2.25), being allowed to give medical services to population without geographical restriction (OR = 2.8), being allowed to provide services out of the defined service packet (OR =   1.4), and “decreased length of contract” (OR  =  0.93). Conclusion: The amendment of the provisions of the family physician contract in accordance with physicians' preferences increases the probability of their participation in and compliance with the family physician program. However, the compliance of the provisions of this contract with relevant international standards and upstream laws of the country should be maintained as much as possible.  


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Bjørge ◽  
Kari Kvaal ◽  
Milada Cvancarova Småstuen ◽  
Ingun Ulstein

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the relationship between caregivers and care receivers, defined as home-dwelling family members with dementia. We used a self-rating questionnaire, the Felt Expressed Emotion Rating Scale (FEERS; 6 simple questions), to measure caregiver perceptions of the care receiver’s criticisms (CCs) and emotional overinvolvement (EOI) toward the caregiver. We performed factor analyses to rank single items on the FEERS pertaining to CC and EOI. We included 208 caregiver/care receiver pairs. Logistic regression analyses tested associations between FEERS items and caregiver and care receiver variables. The main contributors to caregiver perceptions of CC were the caregiver’s own distress and the amount of time spent with the care receiver. Socially distressed caregivers perceived the care receiver as emotionally overinvolved. When offering a psychosocial intervention, a tailored program should target the caregiver’s perceived relationship with the family member and the caregiver’s distress. The program should also endeavor to give the caretaker more opportunities for leisure time.


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