Articles

Serological Survey of Porcine Brucella Infection in SouthEast, Nigeria

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Serological Survey of Porcine Brucella Infection in SouthEast, Nigeria Onunkwo, J.I,; Njoga, E.O.,; Nwanta, J.A.,; Shoyinka, S.V.O.,; Onyenwe, I.W.,; Eze, J.I. Porcine brucellosis, also called contagious abortion of swine is an infectious and zoonotic disease of swine caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella (Young, 1995). Brucella suis is the species found primarily in pigs. It is a zoonotic infection of domesticated and wild animals which humans (especially occupationally exposed workers), acquire by ingestion of improperly cooked contaminated pork, direct contact with infected animals or inhalation of infected aerosols (Radostits, 1995). Brucella infection in pigs is of wide spread occurrence, but the prevalence is low in most countries with the exception of South America and Southeast-Asia where the prevalence is high (Starnes et al., 1999). Pig production is drastically affected by Brucella infection through abortion, birth of weak/unthrifty piglets, infertility and orchitis in the boar and these constitute serious economic losses (Ogundipe et al., 2001). Productivity of pigs in most countries is generally low due to high piglet mortality, slow growth rate, lack of adequate feed stuffs, ectoparasitism, trypanosomosis, helminthosis, lack of government' incentives, poor housing, lack of veterinary services and poor feed conversion ratio (Rekwot, 2003). This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of Brucella infection in swine in southeast Nigeria.

Serological Survey of Brucella Antibodies in Breeding Herds

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Serological Survey of Brucella Antibodies in Breeding Herds Junaidu, A. U; Oboegbulem, S I.; Salihu, M. D., Brucellosis has continued to be a problem in Nigeria with little or no attention being paid towards its eradication. Sokoto state which is the study area for this work is second in terms of cattle population in Nigeria. Several studies on brucellosis in Nigeria are mainly in slaughter cattle and few farms. A serological survey was conducted in all the season to determine the prevalence of brucella antibodies in breeding herds Sokoto. Results: A total of 1547 serum samples and 99 milk samples from lactating cow collected from cattle in the selected herds over a period of one year. Only 305(19.5%) of the cattle were seropositive while 25(25.25%) of the milk samples were positive. Sex distribution of brucella infection in cattle indicates that 16.6% and 21.96% were recorded in males and females respectively. There was an association between brucella infection and sex of animals (χ2=8.80; P=0.009). In the age distribution, 34(11.11%) of 305 at age band of 0-12 months were positive while cattle in the age band > 24 months recorded the highest prevalence of 188(23.82%) of 789. there was a significant association between brucella infection and age (χ2=22.19; P< 0.0001). Sokoto gudali had the highest prevalence rate of 29.59% while Azuwarq and White Fulani recorded 13.23% and 6.45% respectively. There was an association between bruclla infection and breed (χ2=99.11; P< 0.0001). Conclusion: Detection of antibodies against brucella in the herds and detection of brucella in milk is of serious public health and economic importance. This study has shown that brucellosis is endemic in all parts of the state. The high prevalence recoded is a wake-up call to all stakeholders for a rapid response to arrest the spread to other animals within and neighboring states and neighboring countries.

Prolonged Interval Before Conception Following Aglepristone-Induced Abortion In Albino Rats

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Prolonged Interval Before Conception Following Aglepristone-Induced Abortion In Albino Rats Oguejiofor, C.F.,; Ochiogu, S. ,I. For many years now, the several drugs used as abortifacients in animals have often been associated with severe adverse effects on the general and reproductive health of treated animals. Aglepristone is a recent antiprogestin (progesterone-receptor antagonist) used for the induction of abortion in animals. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect on further fertility after mid-gestation termination of pregnancy with aglepristone in albino rats. Fifteen healthy female, 12-14 weeks old, albino rats (Rattus norvegicus) were used. Group I (n = 7) comprised rats whose pregnancies were terminated mid-gestation (day 11) with a subcutaneous injection of 10 mg/kg b.w. aglepristone. Group II (n = 8) comprised rats which were treated midgestation with sterile water and had normal, spontaneous gestation and parturition. The further fertility of the groups was compared by monitoring the following parameters for two subsequent pregnancies: interval before pregnancy, gestation length, litter size, litter weight at birth, fetal weight at birth and percentage of fetuses alive at birth. A subcutaneous injection of aglepristone caused abortion in 100% of rats in group I. There was a longer (P < 0.05) interval between abortion and pregnancy in the aglepristone-treated group (23.7 ± 6.6 days) than in group II (12.5 ± 2.7 days). However, there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between the groups when gestation length, litter size, litter weight, fetal weight and percentage of live fetuses were compared. In the subsequent pregnancy, both groups displayed no differences (P > 0.05) in all the reproductive parameters compared. Aglepristone can be used to induce a single instance of mid-gestation abortion without any severe or prolonged adverse effects on the fertility of treated animals. It will be interesting, however, to evaluate the effects on reproduction following prolonged use or repeated induction of abortion with aglepristone.

Effects of Trypanosoma Brucei Infection and Diminazene Aceturate Therapy on Testicular Morphology and Function of Nigerian Local Dogs

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Effects of Trypanosoma Brucei Infection and Diminazene Aceturate Therapy on Testicular Morphology and Function of Nigerian Local Dogs Obi, C.F,,; Obidike, R.I.,; Ezeh, I.O.,; Omoja, V.U.,; Iheagwam, C.N.,; Idika, I.K.,; Ezeokonkwo, R.C. The effects of Trypanosoma brucei infection on testicular morphology and function and the changes associated with treatment of infectedm dogs with diminazene aceturate were studied using fifteen Nigerian adultmale dogs.The dogs were randomly assigned into three groupsA,B and C consisting of five dogs each.Groups A and B were infected with 1×106 try-panosomes and group C was the uninfected control. Following infection, parasitaemia levels were monitored daily whereas the rectal temperature,body weight,packed cell volume,scrotal circumference and serum testosterone levels were monitored weekly.At parasi-taemia peak,dogs in group A were orchidectomised while dogs in group B were treated with 7.0 mg/kg body weight of diminazene aceturate(DA).Dogsin groups B and C were later orchidectomised on day 73 of the experiment.The harvested testes and epididymides were weighed and the epididymal sperm reserves of all the dogs determined.Also the sperm quality (mass activity,sperm motility and sperm morphology) were determined.The testes were sectioned after processing and studied histomorphologically.Acute try-panosomosis was observed following infection.The low serum testosterone levels observed from day 14 post infection(pi)gradually improved following treatment.Testicular weight,epididymal weight and sperm quality were significantly low(p<0.05)in the infected dogs when compared to the control group but gradually improved following treatment.Histo-morphological studies revealed testicular degeneration characterized by depopulation of seminiferous tubules and depletion of spermatogenic cells in dogs of group A whereas the tissue sections of the testes of dogs in group B were similar to those of the control group.It was therefore concluded that infection of dogs with T.brucei adversely affected testicular morphology and function.Treatment with diminazene aceturate reversed the reproductive abnormalities caused by the parasite