Abstract
Background: Animal trypanosomosis is a major cause of economic loss in livestock production in Africa. A suggested control measure is to use breeds with traits of trypanotolerance. The study examines the effect of natural Trypanosoma vivax challenge on haematological parameters in two trypanotolerant cattle [N'Dama and West African Shorthorn (WASH)] herds. Methods:Trypanosoma vivax-specific primers were used to diagnose T. vivax infection in an N'Dama herd at Cape Coast in southern Ghana and a WASH herd at Chegbani in northern Ghana from May to July 2011 in a cross-sectional study. Levels of haematological parameters comprising packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb) concentration and red blood cell (RBC) and total white blood cell (TWBC) counts; differential WBC counts (neutrophils, lymphocytes, eosinophils, monocytes and basophils); and RBC indices of mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were determined in blood samples and then compared between infected and uninfected cattle. Results: We found that haematological indices for infected and uninfected animals in both breeds were within the normal range. However, the mean PCV values for T. vivax-infected WASH and N'Dama were lower in infected compared to uninfected animals. The difference was significant ( p< 0.05) in N'Dama but not in WASH. Conclusion: Despite the presence of infection by T. vivax, N'Dama and WASH cattle maintained their haematological parameters within acceptable normal ranges, which confirms their trypanotolerant trait. This highlights the need for low-input traditional African farmers in medium, high and severe tsetse challenge areas to be educated on the advantages of N'Dama and WASH breeds to increase their utilization in integrated tsetse and trypanosomosis control programmes.
Highlights
Animal trypanosomosis, caused by trypanosomes mainly transmitted by tsetse flies results in annual economic losses in Africa in the range of US$ 1.0 - 1.2 billion in cattle production alone, and more than US$ 4.75 billion in terms of agricultural Gross Domestic Product (Enyaru et al, 2010)
For the N’Dama cattle, significant differences were observed in packed cell volume (PCV) (p < 0.05), total red blood cell (RBC) count, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) (p < 0.01) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) (p < 0.01) values between infected and uninfected cattle, with PCV, MCV and MCH values being significantly higher in uninfected compared to infected cattle
We found that in spite of the presence of natural T. vivax infection, the haematological parameters of N’Dama and West African Shorthorn (WASH) cattle were within acceptable normal ranges, which confirms their trypanotolerant trait
Summary
Animal trypanosomosis, caused by trypanosomes mainly transmitted by tsetse flies results in annual economic losses in Africa in the range of US$ 1.0 - 1.2 billion in cattle production alone, and more than US$ 4.75 billion in terms of agricultural Gross Domestic Product (Enyaru et al, 2010). Landscape friction maps based on tsetse fly genetic distances and remotely sensed environmental data have identified natural barriers to isolated clusters of Glossina palpalis gambiensis in West Africa (Bouyer et al, 2015). This represents a major advance in locating and eradicating isolated tsetse populations without risk of reinvasion. Conclusion: Despite the presence of infection by T. vivax, N’Dama and WASH cattle maintained their haematological parameters within acceptable normal ranges, which confirms their trypanotolerant trait
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