Prevalence of Besnoitia besnoiti antibodies as related to skin lesions among indigenous and exotic cattle in northern Nigeria

Abstract

A total of 400 cattle which comprised of 6 indigenous and 1 exotic breeds were examined for gross skin lesions in northern Nigeria. It was observed that 126 (31.5%) of the cattle had various gross skin lesions. The frequency of these skin lesions was highest (34.3%) among the White Fulani and lowest (2.8%) among the Friesian breed of cattle. Indirect immunofluorescence antibody technique (IFAT) used to analyse 64 milk and 336 sera samples for antibodies against Besnoitia besnoiti revealed 321 (80.3%) of the cattle positive to the test. The Association of antibodies against the parasite was high and varied (x² = 0.6, p > 0.5) from 75.45% to 88.37% among the breeds. Cattle with apparently normal skin also higher (86.67%) prevalence of the antibodies, compared to 70.0% observed among those with gross skin lesions. It was concluded that breed and presence of skin lesions may not influence the seroprevalence of Bovine besnoitiosis in northern Nigeria.

Keywords: Exotic breeds, Skin lesions, besnoitia besnoiti, immunofluorescence antibody technique, Friesian breed

Nigerian Journal of Parasitology, Vol. 32 [1] March 2011, pp. 31-36