Cross-sectional survey of congenital and acquired genital disorders in sahraoui female camels (Camelus dromedarius) at El Oued abattoir, south-east Algeria

Abstract

The present study was carried out to highlight the prevalence and the incidence of the genital tract abnormalities in Sahraoui female camels at south-east Algeria. One hundred and sixty five (165) animals were examined at El Oued abattoir before and after slaughter from February 2013 to August 2014. The prevalence of female camels with genital tract pathologies was 20.0 %. The total number of identified genital tract pathologies was 41, representing an incidence of 124.2 %. These pathological conditions were ranked in descending order of incidence: ovarian disorders (48.8 %), uterine pathologies (21.1 %), ovarian bursal pathologies (18.2 %) oviducts affections (18.2 %), adhesions (15.2 %) and pathology of the cervix (3.0 %). The prevalence of dominant pathologies was 7.9 % for ovarian cysts, 3.6 % for oviduct lesions, 2.4 % for infundibular cyst, 1.8 % for chronic endometritis and 1.8 % for tubo-ovarian adhesion. This study is the first report of uterine agenesis in camel from Algeria. The number of female camels with multiple pathologies (two or three pathologies) was 6, representing prevalence of 3.6 %. Higher prevalence of female camels with genital disorders was recorded in >10 years old, high BCS and during the dry season. However, a nonsignificant chi-square dependence test (p>0.05) was observed for the risk factors. In conclusion, the ovarian, uterine, and bursal pathologies were most commonly recorded in the genital tracts of the female camels from south east, Algeria. Their contribution in the reduction of fertility and fecundity of local herds needs further investigation.

Keywords: Female camel, Camelus dromedarius, Genital disorders, Incidence, Prevalence, Risk factors