ISSN 2756-3871
International Journal of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health Vol. 11 (2), pp. 001-005, February, 2020. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Studies on farmer awareness on caprine abortion and the presence of Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis in selected flocks in an arid zone of Nigeria
M. Adamu3,4*, G. D. Mshelia2, N. Elelu1, L. Ouda1 and G. O. Egwu1
1Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
2Department of Veterinary Surgery and Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria.
3Department of Veterinary Parasitology and Entomology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agriculture Makurdi, Nigeria.
4Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, South Africa Bag X04 0110 Onderstepoort, South Africa.
Accepted 13 October, 2019
Abstract
A survey was conducted to evaluate farmer’s awareness on caprine abortion and the occurrence of Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis in flocks in the arid zone of Nigeria. The survey revealed that 80% of the flocks studied had a mean kidding rate of 3 per 2 years, while 19% had a rate of 1 per year. The result also showed that 47% of the farmers use deep burial, 11% discards aborted materials freely, only 3% of farmers burn the foetuses and 15% do not bother at all. The survey further revealed that 42% of farmers seek veterinary assistance, 30% employ the use of local remedies, while 10% were not aware of the availability of veterinary care. Of the 250 blood samples screened, the result showed that 3.2 and 5.6% of the samples were positive for antibodies against B. melitensis antigen using Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT) and complement fixation test (CFT), respectively. Whereas, 1.6 and 3.2% tested positive for antibodies against B. abortus antigen with RBPT and CFT respectively at a titre level ≥10. The results also demonstrate the superiority of the CFT over the RBPT. Sex predisposition was particularly not significant (P< 0.05) in this study. There was a moderate level of awareness among farmers in this area and considerable low reproductive efficiency in goats as a consequence of poor kidding rates. The study identified farmer education as a possible risk factor for caprine abortion and lowered fertility. It was concluded that caprine brucellosis is still endemic in Nigeria and that B. abortus antibodies exist in goats, thus underscoring the need to separate goats from cattle during grazing or housing.
Key words: Abortion, Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis, goats, Nigeria.