Trypanosomosis in hunting dogs in kaduna, north central Nigeria: implications on the disease in humans

Abstract

A parasitological survey of hunting dogs during the month of August, peak of rainy season, was carried out in Kaduna, North Central Nigeria using the standard trypanosome detection techniques and concentration methods. This was with the view of assessing the socio-economic importance and public health implications of canine trypanosomosis in the area. About 3mls of cephalic blood was collected into Bijou bottles containing ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) as anticoagulant. Identification of trypanosome, was done using Giemsa stained films. The over all infection rate in the hunting dogs was 17.39%. The infection due to trypanosome brucei (75%) was higher compared to infection due to T. congolense (25%), while the packed cell volume of infected dogs was significantly (P≤0.05) lower than that of parasitogically negative ones. The study confirms the resurgence of canine trypanosomosis in Nigeria and the roles of dogs as reservoir hosts for hunting infective T. brucei gambiense in the area. It was concluded that hunting occupation predisposes to human trypanosomosis in Nigeria.

Keywords: Hunting dogs, Trypanosomosis, infection rate, Nigeria.

Journal of Biomedical Investigation Vol. 4 (1) 2006: pp. 15-18