Fish can harbour and spread pathogenic bacteria that form the natural micro-flora of the environment, but the flora may be altered by man’s activities such as sewage effluent disposal. The aim of this study was to isolate, identify and enumerate bacteria associated with the different organs of Oreochromis niloticus in Lake Chivero, Zimbabwe and compare their diversity and prevalence. Bacteria were isolated, identified and enumerated from the gills, intestine, kidney, liver, muscle and skin of thirty (30) fish using the culture-based technique on selective and non-selective media. A total of twelve (12) bacteria were isolated, namely Acinetobacter spp., Aeromonas spp., Bacillus subtilis, Citrobacter spp., Edwardsiella tarda, Enterobacter spp., Escherichia coli including E. coli O157:H7, Klebsiella spp., Listeria ivanovii, Shigella spp., Staphylococcus spp., and an unidentified isolate. Staphylococcus spp. were most prevalent on primarily all organs with prevalence rates ranging from 53.3% to 100%. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was least prevalent and was not detected on intestine, liver and kidney. Staphylococcus spp. was the most abundant isolate (1.46 x 105 ± 4.014 x 104 cfu/g) on the skin whereas E. coli, L. ivanovii and Shigella spp. were absent on the kidney. Fish pathogenic bacteria (Aeromonas spp. and Edwardsiella tarda) did not vary significantly in their distribution between the organs (p > 0.05), though high counts were recorded on the gills. Opportunistic pathogens of fish and humans, were significantly high on external organs mainly the skin and gills. The high bacterial infection levels indicate that the fish are heavily stressed and this may negatively impact the populations of O. niloticus in Lake Chivero. The several human pathogenic bacteria isolated render O. niloticus unfit for consumption according to the CODEX Alimentarius standards and pose health risks to consumers.

Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb. H or Temu hitam is an important medicinal plant. This potential herb has been used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases. Due to its high medicinal value and absence of propagation system, tissue culture technique can be utilized to overcome this problem. In this study, multiple shoots formation was induced from young bud of C. aeruginosa Roxb. Cultured in MS liquid medium containing various concentration of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). Shoots were induced in MS liquid medium supplemented with BAP after 8 weeks of culture. Optimum shoots induction occurred at 4 mg/L BA with an average of 18 shoots per explant. The plantlets grew well without any phenotypic aberrations. They were transferred to MSO prior to acclitimazation. This protocol could be useful for germplasm conservation and cultivation of C. aeruginosa.

Malaria is a devastating disease affecting millions of lives in tropical and subtropical countries since ages. Despite significant reduction in malaria cases since 2010, malaria continues to be one of the major infectious diseases. Malaria elimination efforts are hampered with the emergence of multidrug resistant strains. The most promising vaccine candidate against malaria is RTS,S that showed an efficacy of 39-50%. The development of efficient vaccine remains elusive because of parasite multistage life cycle and antigenic variation. Global efforts are underway to eradicate malaria and there is significant progress in fight against malaria with many countries certified malaria free during last five years. The recent addition to this list is Algeria and Argentina and China is heading forward to be malaria free with no indigenous malaria case. However, rapid development of drug resistance strains highlights requirements of more efforts to defeat the pathogen.

The development of sea transportation has led to an increase in the intensity of ship use both for people, goods, and ship departure schedules. The volume of ship departure and arrival has an important role in the transmission of various kinds of insect pests that can potentially cause disease to the crew (ABK) and passengers, both between regions or across countries. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors associated with the presence of rats on passenger ships that dock at the Port of Kendari City. This type of research is analytic cross sectional design research. The population in this study is the local passenger ship that docked at the Port in the city of Kendari as many as 44 ships. The sample size of 40 ships was selected using simple random sampling technique. Measurement of temperature and humidity using a hygrothermometer while lighting using a lux meter. Data on sanitation conditions was collected using a marine sanitation checklist sheet. The collected data is then analyzed using the chi square test and the phi coefficient. The results showed that there was a relationship between temperature, humidity and lighting with the presence of rats on the ship, where the value of p <α = 0.05 was obtained. Periodic maintenance and cleaning efforts are needed for lighting and room maintenance facilities so that the temperature, humidity and lighting in the room always meet the requirements and can reduce the potential for rat activity on the ship.

Abstract: A cross sectional study was conducted from November, 2016 to March, 2017 to determine the prevalence and to identify ectoparasites on small ruminants presented at Mekelle University Veterinary Hospital. A total of 381small ruminants (231sheep) and (150 goats) were examined for the presence of ectoparasites. Accordingly, a total of 231 (51.9%) sheep and 150 (56.0%) goats were found infested with one or more ectoparasites. The overall ectoparasite prevalence of both sheep and goats was 53.5% (204). Ectoparasites identified in sheep were: ticks (37.6%), fleas (5.2%), lice (3.9%), sheep ked (1.7%), mite (2.2%), and mixed infections (1.3%); whereas, in goats ectoparasites encountered were: ticks (46%), fleas (6%), and lice (4%).No statistical significant difference (P>0.05) were found between the species of small ruminants and the overall ectoparasite infestation as well as ectoparasite prevalence to body condition. However, species of small ruminants were significantly associated with Tick infestation (P<0.05). Total ectoparasite prevalence was significantly (P<0.05) higher in adult than young and female than male small ruminants respectively. The analysis showed us there was statistically significant association (P<0.05) in the prevalence of ticks with age of small ruminants, while it was relatively higher prevalence of ticks (36.5%) in adult than (4.5%) in young. This study demonstrates high infestation of ectoparasites in small ruminants signifying the need for control activities to be undertaken in the area to reduce their impact on the growth and productivity of small ruminants as well as on the leather industry by creating awareness about the importance and control of ectoparasites for farmers.

Hyperlipidemia is one of the major risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease. Many bioactive compounds extracted from plants, particularly polyphenols, have demonstrated a beneficial effect on health. Obtaining these molecules requires extraction, conventional extraction techniques uses solvents whose residue affects these compounds, the environment and the health of consumers. Faced with these problems some techniques, a new axis has been developed it is the dry extraction (controlled sieving-differential spray). Diospyros mesiliformis is poorly studied regarding the bioactive compounds of its fruits. The aim of this study is to find out the optimal conditions for the dry extraction of bioactive compounds compare to solvent extraction and to study antihyperlipidemic activity of the fruit. Granulometric classes ranging from 50 μm to 315 μm were studied. Hydroethanolic and ethanolic extracts of Diospiros mesiliformis were analyzed for total phenolic, total flavonoid, and total tannin contents. For study of antihyperlipidemiac activity, hyperlipidemia was induced by feeding animals with high fat diet daily and orally ad libitum. Ten groups of five animals in each received normal saline, high fat diet, high fat diet plus D. mesiliformis powder (600 mg/kg) and extracts (600 mg/kg) body weight was given in both models and Atorvastatin (10mg/kg) body weight was given in both models respectively for 30 days. At the end of the study, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), atherogenic index (AI) of rats were evaluated and were compared with the rats treated with Atorvastatin (10mg/kg) body weight. The particle size and the extracts had high influence on the total phenolic compounds, total flavonoid and tannin content as well as on the antihyperlipidemic activity. Diospyros mespiliformis can be safely used in the treatment of mild to moderate cases of hyperlipidemia considering its easy availability, cost effectiveness, and other beneficial effects.