Survey Of Ketosis And Hypoproteinaemia In Slaughtered Cattle In The Sahel Region Of Nigeria

Abstract

Serum ketone and total protein concentrations of 966 cattle slaughtered at the metropolitan abattoir, Maiduguri, Nigera, were estimated durng the dry and rainy months of the year. None of the sera had a titrable ketone concentration. Serum total protein (STP) concentration of <60.0 g/L,considered as hypoproteinaemia, was more frequent in the dry than rainy period. The prevalence rates of hypoproteinaemia in the dry and rainy periods were 91.1 and 17 percents respectively The mean STP concentration for all the cattle was 59.9 ± 289 g/L. Thus, the poor quality o herbage in the dry season may be responsible for undernutrition among the cattle population, reflected by hypoproteinaemia withou ketosis.

Keywords: Nigeria, Sahel region, Cattle, Serum ketones, Serum total protein, Undernutrition