Situational analysis of bovine tick-borne diseases and control in Tanzania: A retrospective study

Abstract

Tick-borne diseases (TBD) are among the main causes of morbidities and mortalities in cattle leading to economic losses to livestock keepers in Tanzania. Following Government investment in TBD control through dipping, a retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the trends in dipping and TBD occurrence in cattle from January 2018 to June 2023. The study involved retrieving the data of distribution of active dip tanks, immersions /number of dipped cattle, and TBD cases reported in the annual surveillance reports in the DVS office at the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (MoLF). The data were analyzed and summarized by use of Microsoft Excel 2007. Descriptive statistics was used to establish the trends, distribution and temporal pattern of TBD occurrence. During five and half years, the number of dipped cattle increased from 22,400,170 in 2018/2019 to 456,027,356 in 2022/2023. The number of reported TBD decreased from a total of 34,158 cases in 2018 to a total of 8,054 cases in 2022. Trends of mortalities decreased from 4,072 in 2018 to 878 in 2022. TBD cases were distributed in all regions throughout the year with the highest magnitude recorded during the rainy season. There is a significant decrease in trends of TBD cases and mortalities with an increase in trends of dipping. This indicates the effectiveness of TBD control through dipping. For effective and sustainable TBD control in the country, education to livestock keepers on uninterrupted dipping is required coupled with regular monitoring and evaluation of the dipping practice.