Trypanosoma brucei Infection in a herd of sedentary cattle in Danja Local Government Area, Katsina State, Northern Nigeria– A possible resurgence of Tsetse flies in the previous Tsetse-free area of Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, African animal trypanosomosis still constitutes a major obstacle to food security in spite of previous attempts towards chemotherapy and tsetse control (Onyiah, 1997; Abenga et al., 2004). The disease is most devastating in terms of poverty and lost of agricultural production (Hursey, 2000). These losses include; reductions in herd sizes as a result of deaths drop in calving rate, reduced market value of animals as a result of loss in body condition, drop in milk production and reduced work efficiency of draft animals (Swallow, 2000). The seasonal migration and grazing from the supposedly tsetse – free (with scarce feed and water resources during dry seasons) to the tsetse infested (but pasture rich and water abundant) areas in the Southern part of the country have tremendously contributed to the persistence infection of the nomadic cattle by trypanosomes; this has resulted in advocacy for pastoralists to settle down into productive cattle production compared to the nomadic behavior which does not enhance productivity.
The approximately one fifth area of the country which tends to be effectively free of tsetse was due to good climatic conditions such as deforestation and bush burning that does not favour the survival of tsetse flies. However, with forestations, strict laws on bush burning and global warming, tsetse flies seems to be moving back into this hitherto declared tsetse - free zone. Several reports of the incidence of tsetse flies in this zone have been received by the Clinical And Ambulatory Services Unit of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and these reports were confirmed by a recent diagnosis of trypanosomosis caused by T. brucei in a herd of Sedentary cattle located within the Northern Guinea Savannah area.