Scabies, caused by Sarcoptes scabiei, is a neglected tropical disease that disproportionately affects underserved rural communities, where transmission is commonly sustained through prolonged close contact and sharing of personal items.This study assessed household scabies experience and associated factors during a past outbreak in Nyasa District. A retrospective community based cross sectional study was conducted among 198 households from four villages. Data were collected using an AfyaData digitized, expert validated questionnaire aligned with the International Alliance for the Control of Scabies criteria to improve syndromic specificity. Quantitative data were analyzed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression. Open ended responses were analyzed thematically and triangulated with regression findings. Overall, 60.6% of households reported scabies experience during the outbreak period. In multivariable analysis, higher odds of household scabies experience were associated with sharing personal items (Rarely AOR = 4.059; Frequent AOR = 4.688) and receiving treatment during the outbreak (AOR = 4.705). Non collaboration with healthcare personnel showed increased odds but was not statistically significant (AOR = 2.035; p = 0.098). Households reporting unsure answers for previous scabies history (AOR = 0.235) and treatment (AOR = 0.249) had lower odds, indicating misclassification due to uncertainty. The following determinants were linked to qualitative themes: sharing items related to laundry, bedding, and clothing hygiene practices; treatment related to concerns about effectiveness and barriers to access; collaboration related to requests for education, outreach, and follow up; and unsure responses related to misunderstandings and uncertainty. In addition to highlighting the need for coordinated outbreak responses that prioritize household level prevention, reducing the sharing of personal items, improving access to effective treatment, and strengthening health system community engagement, the study shows a significant household burden of scabies. Triangulation of regression results with community narratives supports AfyaData value for standardized, criteria-informed investigation and targeted public health action in Tanzania. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The Ethics Committee of the National Health Research Ethics Review Sub-Committee of the Medical Research Coordinating Committee of the National Institute for Medical Research, Tanzania, gave ethical approval for this work. Approval reference: NIMR/HQ/R.8a/Vol.IX/4583. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors

A study was designed and carried out between January and June 2016 as part of a larger initiative to assess the health status of animals in a pastoral village of Naitolia, Monduli District in northern Tanzania. A total of 511 blood samples from 239 cattle, 207 goats, and 65 sheep were collected and analyzed for the presence of haemoparasites causing tick-borne diseases and Brucella spp causing brucellosis in animals and humans. The serum obtained from the blood was tested using a Rose Bengal Plate test for Brucella where cattle had overall 4 positives (1.7 %) and in sheep and goats 12 were positive (4.41 %). Among the sheep and goats, the goats had 11 positives (5.31 %) and only one sheep (1.54 %) was positive for Brucella spp. There was no statistically significant difference with age, sub-village, lactation status and species, however, the Ormang'wai sub-village had a 25 % less chance of seroconversion, and lactating animals had 18 % more odds for seropositivity. On the other hand, goats had more than triple the chance of seroconversion. These findings indicate that herds in pastoral settings are exposed to infections and potentially pose a risk to communities, especially women and children who attend to the animals most of the time. We recommend incorporating food safety education as part of one health intervention to improve rural livelihoods and welfare.

BACKGROUND:Tuberculosis (TB) in cattle negatively affects the cattle economy in Africa, with zoonotic TB posing drug-resistance issues in humans. The burden of TB in cattle and zoonotic TB in humans in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is not well understood. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of both TB in cattle and zoonotic TB in humans in SSA through meta-analysis. METHODS:Research on TB prevalence was sourced from multiple databases. A random effects meta-analysis model estimated TB prevalence in SSA and its regions, while meta-regression identified risk factors. The analysis included 114 studies for cattle and 59 for humans. RESULTS:The estimated TB prevalence in cattle was 5.06% (95% CI: 3.76-6.78), with a higher burden in West Africa. The prevalence was greater on farms than at abattoirs. Among humans, M. bovis prevalence was 0.73% (95% CI: 0.53-1.01), increasing to 1.56% (95% CI: 1.04-2.33) in TB incident cases, especially in the West and East Africa. Higher prevalence was noted among livestock workers, and in drug-resistant cases. Significant factors influencing TB prevalence varied for cattle and humans, including country, diagnostic methods, and study populations. CONCLUSION:Focusing interventions on farms and livestock workers could help reduce the disease burden.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a pressing global public health issue that affects both human and animal health. Small mammals, such as rodents and shrews, represent a significant reservoir of zoonotic infections. However, there is limited documented research specifically addressing Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. resistant strains from small mammals. Purpose: This study was conducted to examin the occurrence of AMR E. coli and Salmonella spp. and their associated resistance genes in rodents and shrews. Methods: A total of 148 fecal samples from rodents and shrews were examined for E. coli and Salmonella spp. using culture methods and biochemical tests. Fifty isolates were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing using the disk diffusion method on Muller-Hinton agar. Genotypic analysis by PCR was used to confirm the bacterial strains and their resistance pattern genes. Results: Two bacteria were confirmed in 57 (38.5%) of the fecal samples. Specifically, E. coli and Salmonella spp. were identified in 54 (36.5%) and 3 (2%) fecal samples, respectively. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed significant resistance in Rattus rattus. Molecular analysis confirmed that Salmonella spp. carry a larger proportion of resistance genes than E. coli. Specific resistance genes, including Sul1 and Sul2, were identified, constituting 15.4% of the total resistance genes. The prevalence of β-lactamase genes was remarkable, with a higher occurrence in Salmonella spp. Conclusion: In terms of human health, the implications of rodents and shrews serving as carriers and transmitters of various pathogens were highlighted. Given the possibility of unexpected zoonoses arising from the bacteria found in this study, these findings contribute to the understanding AMR in the context of bacterial infections in animals and humans.

Background: In livestock disease surveillance, spatial analysis methods play a major role in the identification of areas where the risk of disease could be higher. Though widely used in human health, their extent and depth of use are not well known in livestock health in sub-Saharan Africa and this has hindered their update in livestock disease modeling. This study set out to provide a comprehensive review of spatial analysis methods and their application in livestock disease data analysis in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: Articles were searched using keywords related to spatial and spatio-temporal analysis of livestock diseases in sub-Saharan Africa in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus. Articles were reviewed in terms of name of author, country of study area, study design, livestock species, livestock diseases, research tasks, and spatial epidemiological methods in terms of spatial statistics and models among others. Results: A total of 56 articles were selected for review. Descriptive approaches such as simple maps of incidence and prevalence (n = 22) have been commonly used. Spatial scan statistics of the Kulldorff (n = 15) have also been the common spatial statistics employed. Model based spatial analysis has also been used (n = 14). Key research tasks that have been performed include investigating disease distribution, risk factors, space and time interaction and spatial risk prediction. The shortfalls of the reviewed studies include lack of exploration of irregularly shaped cluster scan statistics in case the actual disease clusters are irregular. There is also lack of use of multivariate scan and joint spatial models in case of multiple groups or diseases to show comorbidity. Model based spatial analysis has not accounted for space and time interaction. Machine learning niche models have failed to account for spatial autocorrelation in the data. Model based spatial risk prediction has mainly been retrospective as opposed to prospective for early warning. Conclusion: Future research may consider the application of multivariate scan statistics and joint spatial models for disease comorbidity analysis. It may also explore the use of irregularly shaped cluster scan statistics to enable detection of irregular disease clusters. Research opportunities may also include the use of machine learning models that account for spatial autocorrelation. Future

Background: Food and mouth disease (FMD) is an endemic disease of cattle and other clovenhoofed animals. The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic characteristics and evolutionary relationships for the 2020 to 2021 field circulating Food and mouth disease virus (FMDV) obtained from reported outbreaks in different parts of Tanzania. Methods: The epithelial tissues were collected from lesions (oral, nasal, interdigital) of FMD suspect cases, stored, and shipped to the laboratory for analysis. In the laboratory, the samples were prepared for nucleic acid extraction, FMDV detection, typing, sequencing, and phylogeny analysis. The construction of the phylogenetic trees was done by aligning current field strains nucleotide sequences with those from past studies stored in GenBank database. Results: The study identified three FMDV serotypes (A, O, and SAT-1) to be circulating in the field as Africa Topotype G-I lineage, EA-2 Topotype, and Topotype I (NWZ) respectively. The identified field strains showed diverse scores of shared identity among current and past study strains. The generated nucleotide sequences from this study type O and SAT-1 field strains were analyzed categorically and showed shared percent identities of 92.0-100.0% and 96.9-98.8% respectively. Conclusion: The sequencing and analysis of the VP1 coding region enhance FMDV knowledge on the genetic and evolutionary relationships existing among field strains, and commend for improved future strategies for effective national, regional, and global FMD control measures.

Background:Identification of common spatial disease trends between cattle bovine tuberculosis (BTB) and human extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) and drug-resistant tuberculosis (DRTB) can support integrated disease control and monitoring programmes. We employed the recently developed multivariate disease mapping methods to examine whether the diseases exhibited any spatial correlation. Methods:A retrospective study of cattle BTB and human EPTB and DRTB cases from 2018 to 2022 was conducted. Bivariate shared spatiotemporal components models were fitted to a) cattle BTB and human EPTB and b) cattle BTB and human DRTB at the district level in Malawi, with cattle density, human density and climatic variables as independent variables. Results:Disease specific spatial effects were higher in the southern half of the country, while the shared spatial effects were more dominant in both the south and western parts of the country. The shared temporal effects showed constant trends, while disease specific temporal effects showed an increasing pattern for cattle BTB and a constant pattern for human EPTB and DRTB. The predicted disease incidence pattern for all forms of TB in the period without data showed a constant pattern over the years. Cattle density was positively associated with cattle BTB ( β : 0.022; 95% Credible Interval (CI): 0.004, 0.042). Human density was positively associated with human EPTB ( β : 0.005; 95% CI: 0.001, 0.009). Conclusion:Cattle BTB and human EPTB and DRTB have a common spatial pattern in the west and southern parts of Malawi. Integrated interventions targeting high-density areas for cattle and human may have positive impacts on cattle BTB and human EPTB and DRTB.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly devastating viral disease affecting all cloven-hoofed animals. The disease threatens food security and livelihoods across different parts of the world. FMD is endemic in Africa; where the continuous circulation of the disease impacts the livelihoods of pastoral communities by reducing the quality and quantity of livestock products such as milk and meat, as well as undermining the access of the livestock sector to regional and lucrative global markets. Strategies used to control FMD in Africa, especially tropical Africa, are typically fragmented national-level focused activities with relatively poor outcomes, rather than regionally coordinated initiatives that have been used on other continents (South America, Europe) to successfully reduce and even eliminate virus circulation. Biotechnological advances have improved our ability to detect and characterize FMD virus strains, but more effective approaches to disease control are needed to encourage disease reporting and outbreak investigation. This review of the challenges to FMD control amongst Africa's diverse pastoral communities is intended to provide information and provoke discussion to improve the strategies and approaches for regional FMD control in Africa.

BACKGROUND:Solving complex public health challenges requires integrated approaches to health, such as One Health. A key element of the One Health approach is the interrelationship between human, animal and environmental health and the associated multistakeholder collaboration across many cultural, disciplinary, institutional and sectoral boundaries. Here we describe a pragmatic approach for One Health operationalisation basing on our long-term engagement with communities faced with health challenges in a human-livestock-wildlife interface in the Maasai steppe in northern Tanzania.METHODS:Using a qualitative study design we performed an outcome mapping to document insights on results integration from our previous project. Data were collected through participatory community meetings, in-depth interviews and field observations. Field notes were coded and analysed using inductive thematic analysis.RESULTS:We found that effective implementation of One Health interventions in complex ecosystems works best by understanding local conditions and their context and by working closely with the local people and relevant disciplinary players as one complex adaptive system. Community engagement, systems analysis, transdisciplinarity as well as political commitment played critical roles in successful operationalization of One Health. We have further emphasized that project ownership is as important to the local community as it is to the researchers. When used in combination, these elements (community engagement, systems analysis, transdisciplinarity) provide essential pillars for co-creation and maintaining collective action to set a common vision across disciplines, serving as inputs for a metrics-based toolbox for One Health operationalisation.CONCLUSION:Considering the novelty and complexity of One Health operationalisation, there is need also to develop scorecard-based guidance for assessment of One Health programs at local and national level. This paper proposes a framework for the optimization of an ecosystems-based One Health approach for prevention and control of Vector-Borne Diseases implemented at the local, sub-national or national level.

Abstract Despite Tanzania's achievement in reducing childhood problems, undernutrition is still a problem. Little is known about how mothers' knowledge on complementary feeding practice affects their children nutritional status. Therefore, the study determined how nutritional status of Maasai children aged 6–24 months is related to their mothers or caregivers' knowledge on complementary feeding. A semistructured questionnaire was used in analytical cross‐sectional study including 286 Maasai mothers and their 6–24‐month‐old children. A convenient and snowball sampling were employed in choosing households and mothers. Using SPSS version 20 and ENA for SMART software, demographic variables, mother's complementary feeding knowledge and practices, and anthropometric data were examined. Respondents were mostly young female aged 29 ± 9.5 years, married (89.2%), housewives (88.8%), with no formal education (39.1%). Maasai mothers (51.1%) introduced complementary foods at 4 months. Of all children, 75.2% did not attain minimum acceptable diet, whereas 66.1% and 57.3% did not meet minimum number of meals per day and recommended variety of foods, respectively. Based on complementary feeding practices, underweight was associated with timely introduction of complementary foods (p = .000), minimum dietary diversity (p = .001), and minimum acceptable diet (p = .001). Stunting was associated with minimum acceptable diet (p = .0027). Regarding mother's knowledge, underweight was associated with breastfeeding duration (p = .000) and meals adequacy (p = .014). Wasting was associated with breastfeeding duration (p = .027). Maasai mothers' weaning practices were unsatisfactory and children's nutritional status was poor. Children's nutritional status was significantly associated with mother's understanding on complementary feeding, which was only somewhat adequate.

Globally, there have been calls for an integrated zoonotic disease surveillance system. This study aimed to assess human and animal health surveillance systems to identify opportunities for One Health surveillance platform in Tanzania. A desk review of policies, acts and strategies addressing disease surveillance that support inter-sectoral collaboration was conducted. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to key informants from the two sectors. Databases with potential relevance for surveillance were assessed. One Health-focused policies, acts, strategic plans and guidelines emphasising inter-sectoral collaboration strengthening were in place. Stable systems for collecting surveillance data with trained staff to implement surveillance activities at all levels in both sectors were available. While the human surveillance system was a mix of paper-based and web-based, the animal health system was mainly paper-based. The laboratory information system existed in both sectors, though not integrated with the epidemiological surveillance systems. Both the animal and human surveillance systems had low sensitivity to alert outbreaks. The findings indicate that individual, organisational, and infrastructure opportunities that support the integration of surveillance systems from multiple sectors exist. Challenges related to data sharing and quality need to be addressed for the effective implementation of the platform.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Mosquito-borne viral diseases (MBVDs) create a dramatic health situation worldwide. There is a need to improve the understanding of factors to be addressed in intervention programmes. This study explored community knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding MBVD in Kinshasa.MATERIALS AND METHODS:A cross-sectional survey was carried out between January and April 2019. The socio-demographic and KAP data collected through a questionnaire were analysed using Epi Info 7.RESULTS:The study included 1464 male and female respondents aged from 18 to 70 years old. Open garbage cans and outdoor water storage units were found in 61.2% and 33.4% of respondent residences, respectively. Polluted water bodies (80.3%) were the most mentioned as mosquito breeding places. Among 86.6% of the respondents that had heard about yellow fever, 12% knew that it is an MBVD. The majority of respondents (72.5%) were perceived to be at risk of contracting MBVD. Environment sanitation (58%) and insecticide use (25%) were among the measures implemented to control mosquitoes. The greater overall knowledge score and attitude were not associated with good practice.CONCLUSION:The residents of Kinshasa had limited knowledge of MBVD. Raising awareness and educational sessions are essential in empowering the community regarding the correct attitudes and practices to effectively manage the risk posed by MBVD.

Dengue is a worldwide public health concern. The current study assessed the extent of human exposure to the dengue virus in relation to the distribution pattern of Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus in Kinshasa. Cross-sectional surveys were carried out in 2021 and 2022. The baseline entomological survey involved 19 municipalities using a grid cell sampling approach. All containers holding water were inspected for the presence of larvae in each grid. The collected larvae were kept in an insectary until the adult emergence for morphological identification. Four hundred febrile patients attending the hospital were screened for the presence of dengue antibodies (IgG, IgM) and NS1 antigen using a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) Biosynex®. Residences of positive cases were geo-referenced. We evaluated 1850 grid cells, of which 19.5% were positive for Aedes larvae. The positive grid cells were identified in the Ndjili (44.0%), Mont Ngafula (32.0%) and Ngaliema (26.0%), and Limete (32.0%) municipalities. The Ae. aegypti (11.2%) predominated in the northwestern, and Ae. albopictus (9.1%) appeared in the high vegetation coverage areas. Of 61 (15.3%) participants exposed to dengue, 8.3% presented acute dengue. Young, (6–17 years), male, and Mont Amba district participants were most exposed to dengue. In conclusion, dengue occurrence in Kinshasa overlaps somewhat the geographical and ecological distributions of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Both species are not homogenously distributed, likely due to environmental factors. These findings can assist the targeted control activities.

Antimicrobial use in livestock production has been linked to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) worldwide; however, optimization of their use has been considered an important strategy in dealing with it. The aims of this study were as follows: (a) to assess the literature on antimicrobial usage (practices, frequency, class, type) in cattle and poultry production with regard to resistance in Escherichia coli (E. coli) including multidrug resistance (MDR) (b) summarize evidence for quantitative (volumes of active antimicrobial ingredients) and quality (identify and quantify active ingredient) and (c) to identify data gaps. Peer reviewed literature search was conducted by querying two online databases: PubMed and Google scholar from November 15, 2018 to February 2019. The inclusion criteria for eligibility were articles: published in English between 2008 and 2018, including poultry (chicken) or cattle or both, E. coli bacteria of choice, antimicrobial use on farms, quantitative data and quality of antimicrobial used. Microsoft Excel was used for data extraction and Rayyan software for eligibility studies. The search retrieved 1,446 probable articles including those from the reference list of significant papers, of which twenty-four articles remained on full text review with more than a third of the studies being conducted in Nigeria. Farm surveys and antimicrobial sales were identified as the main sources of data and the mean quantities of antimicrobials based on sales data were 23,234, 41,280.87, and 1,538,443 kg of the active ingredient in Nigeria, Zambia and South Africa, respectively. One study from Cameroon determined the quantities of active ingredients based on dose metrics while another study still from Cameroon mentioned the quality of antimicrobials. Tetracyclines, beta-lactams/aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones were the most common classes of antimicrobials (antibiotics) used. Our review reveals a dearth of information in Sub- Saharan Africa on the quantity and quality of veterinary drugs and yet they play a role in the overall picture of antimicrobial resistance. This finding gives an opportunity in the area of focus for future research as far as resistance and multidrug resistance are concerned in food producing animals.

Background: Knowledge about malaria control and treatment-seeking behaviour is essential for devising effective area-specific malaria behavioural change communication (BCC) and control strategies. Methods:A social survey was conducted on 398 randomly selected undergraduate students to assess the level of knowledge, control practices, and treatment-seeking behaviour about malaria across four higher education institutions (HEIs) in eastern Tanzania.Semi-structured questionnaires and face-to-face interviews were used for data collection.It was also supplemented with direct observation. Results:The level of knowledge on malaria among the students varied significantly across the four HEIs.The respondents from Sokoine University (56.3 %) were more knowledgeable about malaria relative to Muslim University (36.8 %), Jordan University (31.2 %), and Mzumbe University (27.5 %); and females (23.4 %) were more knowledgeable compared to males (17.8 %).Only 36.7 % of the respondents correctly understood how malaria is transmitted to humans.About 24 % of respondents could name three diseases that present with fever.Approximately 32 % of the respondents correctly mentioned the five typical signs and symptoms of malaria in humans. Conclusions:Results indicate an unexpectedly low level of knowledge about malaria among students of HEIs in eastern Morogoro.Therefore, regular BCC campaigns are necessary to raise awareness among HEIs in view of minimizing their vulnerability to malaria.

Background: Antimicrobials are extensively used in cattle and poultry production in Tanzania. However, there is dearth of information on its quantitative use. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted from August to September 2019 in randomly selected poultry and small-scale dairy farms, in three districts of Dar es Salaam City eastern, Tanzania, to assess the practice and quantify antimicrobial use. Descriptive and statistical analyses were performed at a confidence interval of 95%. The ratio of Used Daily Dose (UDD) and Defined Daily Dose (DDD) were used to determine whether the antimicrobial was overdosed or under dosed. Results: A total of 51 poultry and 65 small-scale dairy farms were involved in the study. The route of antimicrobial administration was 98% orally via drinking water and 2% in feeds for poultry and for small-scale dairy farms, all through parenteral route. Seventeen types of antimicrobials comprising seven classes were recorded in poultry farms while nine belonging to six classes in the small dairy farms. Majority of the farms (poultry, 87.7% and small scale dairy, 84.3%) used antimicrobials for therapeutic purposes. About 41% of the poultry and one third (34%) of the dairy farmers' were not compliant to the drug withdrawal periods. Beta-lactams, fluoroquinolones, sulphonamides, tetracyclines and macrolides were the commonly used antimicrobials on these farms. In the poultry farms both those with records and those which relied on recall, antimicrobials were overdosed whereas in the small dairy farms, sulfadimidine, oxytetracycline and neomycin were within the appropriate dosing range (0.8-1.2). The majority (58.6%) of farmers had adequate level of practices (favorable) regarding antimicrobial use in cattle and poultry production. This was associated with the age and level of education of the cattle and poultry farmers. Conclusion: The study revealed a widespread misuse of antimicrobials of different types and classes in both poultry and small-scale dairy farming in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This result gives insight into the antimicrobial use practices and its quantification. The information obtained can guide and promote prudent use of antimicrobials among the farmers by developing mitigate strategies that reduce antimicrobial resistance risk potentials.

A strong animal health surveillance system is an essential determinant of the health of animal and human population. To ensure its functionality and performance, it needs to be evaluated regularly. Therefore, a process evaluation was conducted in this study to assess animal health surveillance processes, mechanisms and the contextual factors which facilitate or hinder uptake, implementation and sustainability of the system in Tanzania. A mixed-method study design was used to evaluate the national animal health surveillance system guided by a framework for process evaluation of complex interventions developed by Moore and others. The system was assessed against standard guidelines and procedures using the following attributes: fidelity, adherence, exposure, satisfaction, participation rate, recruitment and context. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a cross-sectional survey, key informant interviews, document review, site visits and non-participant observation. Data from questionnaires were downloaded, cleaned and analyzed in Microsoft™ Excel. Qualitative data were analyzed following deductive thematic and content analysis methods. Fidelity attribute showed that case identification is mainly based on clinical signs due to limited laboratory services for confirmation. Data collection was not well-coordinated and there were multiple disparate reporting channels. Adherence in terms of the proportion of reports submitted per month was only 61% of the target. District-level animal health officials spent an average of 60% of their weekly time on surveillance-related activities, but only 12% of them were satisfied with the surveillance system. Their dissatisfaction was caused by large area coverage with little to no facilitation, poor communication, and lack of a supporting system. The cost of surveillance data was found to be 1.4 times higher than the annual surveillance budget. The timeliness of the system ranged between 0 and 153 days from the observation date (median = 2 days, mean = 6 days). The study pointed out some deviations in animal health surveillance processes from the standard guidelines and their implication on the system's performance. The system could be improved by developing a user-friendly unified reporting system, the active involvement of subnational level animal health officials, optimization of data sources and an increase in the horizon of the financing mechanism.

In Tanzania, information on antimicrobial resistance in small-scale dairy cattle is scarce. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the different levels and pattern of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), in 121 Escherichia coli isolated from rectal swab of 201 apparently healthy small-scale dairy cattle in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Isolation and identification of E. coli were carried out using enrichment media, selective media, and biochemical tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out using the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method on Mueller-Hinton agar (Merck), according to the recommendations of Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). Resistance was tested against ampicillin, gentamicin, chloramphenicol, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin and cefotaxime. Resistance to almost all antimicrobial agents was observed. The agents to which resistance was demonstrated most frequently were ampicillin (96.7%), cefotaxime (95.0%), tetracycline (50.4%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (42.1%) and nalidixic acid (33.1%). In this case, 20 extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) producing E. coli were identified. 74.4% (90/121) of the isolates were Multidrug resistant (MDR), ranging from a combination of three to 8 different classes. The most frequently observed phenotypes were AMP-SXT-CTX with a prevalence of 12.4%, followed by the combination AMP-CTX with 10.7% and TE-AMP-CTX and NA + TE + AMP + CTX with 8.3% each. The high prevalence and wide range of AMR calls for prudent antimicrobial use.

Mosquitos continue to be insects of global attention for several centuries due to their ability to inhabit a wide range of ecological conditions that enable them to breed in diversified environments. The Anopheles species particularly the female mosquito is the main vector for malaria transmission in human. In Tanzania, for many years the control of malaria transmission is centered on attacking adult mosquitoes lagging behind the immature stages of the vector. Therefore, area- specific identification and characterization of mosquito breeding sites is important towards designing effective vector control measures among potential clusters such as higher education institutions. The study employed a repeated cross-sectional survey for six months (wet and dry season) that ran from March to August 2021. Each season had three months of data collection at an interval of two weeks. Breeding sites characterization, larval sampling, identification and measurements were done on every visit to every site and recorded. Parametric and non-parametric tests were statistically significant to most of indices at p During wet season, 11 072 and 3 620 mosquito larva for Anopheline and Culicine respectively were observed across institutions. For dry season, 1 436 and 880 for Anopheline and Culicine larva respectively observed across institutions. The study revealed multiple positive breeding sites across institutions that pose a great risk of exposure for malaria transmission. Thus, we recommend for intentional measures to be taken at the root grass of mosquito reproduction rather than concentrating on adult mosquitoes only.

The malaria transmission is largely dictated by climatic, topographic and ecological factors that vary widely from one area or cluster to the other, and to some extent we are lacking some basic background information on malaria especially in higher education institutions within Tanzania. Therefore, a need for more refined area specific interventions that would better consider the past record of malaria data for scrutinizing the disease trend so as to be in a position to act accordingly towards malaria elimination. A retrospective study was conducted to determine a ten-year (2011 – 2020) trend on malaria prevalence based on patients who were attended from a catchment health facility in each institution. We used only malaria cases data diagnosed using either microscopy and/or malaria rapid diagnostic test (mRDT). A binary logistic regression test was significant for the test variables at p < 0.05 and the results showed that; males were likely to be malaria positive by 3.3 percent less compared to females, dry season by 2.6 percent less compared to wet season, Jordan by 2.3 times more than SUA and Mzumbe by 17.8% less as compared to SUA. Overall, SUA had many positive case (n= 27 320) followed by Mzumbe (n= 23 690) and Jordan (n= 14 959). The overall trend of malaria positive cases seemed to decrease starting from 2017 onwards thou the observed prevalence (34.1%) is far high when compared to the national prevalence of 9.5% reported in 2017. Thus, we would recommend for the institutions to have a clear medical record system regarding student’s health status for timely and appropriate decision making.