Haemoparasites of cattle slaughtered for sale within Gboko Metropolis of Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

The haemoparasitemia of cattle slaughtered in the three abattoirs in Gboko, Benue State, was determined between the months of June, 2012 and July, 2013. Four-hundred and five blood samples were collected at three abattoirs (Gboko, Yandev and Mkar). Thin, thick smears and Buffy coat preparation methods were used in the blood examination. An overall parasitemia of 28.9% (117/405) was obtained, 16.5% for single  infection and 12.3% for mixed infection (p>0.05). Abattoir-specific prevalence indicated 10.1%, 12.8% and 5.9% for Gboko, Yandev, and Mkar abattoirs respectively (p>0.05). The single infection prevalence showed 2.7%, 2.0%, 2.0% and 9.9% for Babesia bigemina, Trypanosoma brucei, Theileria parva and Anaplasma spp respectively. Sex-related parasitemia revealed that females had higher prevalence 89 (31.8%) than males 28 (22.4%) which was statistically significant (p<0.05) while there was no significant difference by age distribution (p>0.05). Overall mean PCV was 30.09%. The mean PCV of infected cattle was 28.07%, while that of non-infected cattle was 32.10% (p>0.05). There was a significant difference (p<0.0) between the number of cattle infected without anaemia and those infected and anaemic. The implications of the haemoparasites detected and anaemia on cattle production in Gboko was discussed. Ectoparasites were the primary vectors of haemoparasites, therefore levels of ectoparasites and poor management practices should be controlled in order to maximize wholesome beef for the general populace.

Keywords: haemoparasites, cattle, slaughtered, sale.