Causes of morbidity and mortality in goats in Morogoro district, Tanzania: The influence of management

Abstract

An investigation on the causes of morbidity and mortality in tethered, stall-fed and pastoral goats was carried out in the tropical highland and semi-arid areas of Morogoro district, Tanzania. Ectoparasitism was found to be common in all management systems with fleas, lice and ticks infesting 84–95%, 77–95% and 37–98% of the animals, respectively. The prevalences of the three ectoparasites were significantly higher in tethered goats in the tropical highland area than in other management systems ( p<0.05). Helminth eggs (49–98%), coccidia oocysts (71–93%) and diarrhoea (14–44%) were common in all herds. The prevalences of diarrhoea and gastrointestinal parasitism were significantly higher in stall-fed goats than in other animals ( p<0.05). Footrot, caseous lymphadenitis, dermatophilosis and mange were encountered only in pastoral goats. Respiratory infections were more common in pastoral than in stall-fed and tethered animals ( p<0.05). Prevalences of footrot and diarrhoea were significantly higher during the rainy than the dry period ( p<0.05). Helminthiasis (7.2%), diarrhoea (6.1%) and respiratory conditions (4.2%) were the major causes of mortalities.