Frequently Encountered Animal Diseases at Animal Hospital Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State - Nigeria

Data from the clinical record of the Animal Hospital Birnin Kebbi was used to determine the frequency of occurrence of various diseases of animals from February 2009 to January 2010. A total of 794 cases were presented. 155 (19.5%) for routine check and vaccination, while the bulk 639 (80.5%)were presented as a result of disease conditions. Diseases diagnosed include; helminthoses 141(22%), followed by fowl pox 65(10.2%), lousiness 61(9.5%), traumatic injuries 46(7.2%), enteritis 32(5.0%), upper respiratory tract infection 29(4.5%), mite/mange 24(3.8%), septicemia22(3.4%), bloat 19(3.0%), and abscess 17(2.7%). Other moderately occurring, disorders included dystocia & post partum complications 14(2.2%) each, mal-directed horn/hooves 12(1.9%), tick infestation 10(1.6%), coccidiosis 9(1.4%), fracture 8(1.3%), hernia, PPR, pregnancy toxemia & castration 7(1.1%) each. Poisoning, infectious coryza, arthritis, rumen impaction & vaginal prolapse were 6(0.9%) each, pneumonia and mastitis 5(0.8%) each. The less occurring disorders included urinarytract infection, Gumboro disease, black leg, abortion, paraphimosis & dog bite 4(0.6%) each. Rhinitis & chronic respiratory diseases 3(0.5%) each, Foot and Mouth disease, New castle disease, cowdriosis, and hygroma numbering 2(0.3%) each. The least occurring disorders were Fowltyphoid, dislocation, trypanasomosis, pyometra, orf, stomatitis, grass tetany, canine distemper, atresia ani and rectal prolapse 1(0.2%) case each. Information generated can be useful to Government agencies involved in formulating policies and guidelines for prevention andcontrol of animal diseases

Prevalence of Cysticercus tenuicollis cysts in sheep slaughtered at Sokoto abattoir, Sokoto state, Nigeria

A prospective study was conducted based on the principle of post mortem examination on sheep slaughtered at Sokoto abattoir for the presence of Cysticercus tenuicollis cysts. A total of 261 sheep were examined with 34 (13.03%) infected. Prevalence of infection increased with the age of the  animals. Males had relatively higher prevalence than females. Infection was recorded in several visceral organs with omentum having the highest  prevalence (35.29%) and the lungs the least(11.76%). The results suggest that C. tenuicollis is common and may constitute a health problem in sheep and a source of economic loss in the meat industry, thus emphasizing the need for proper meat inspection and handling of offals in the study area

Determination of the Biogas Yielding Potentials of Cattle Dung and Cattle Egret Dropping

Anaerobic fermentation of cattle dung and cattle egret droppings was carried out to determine their biogas yielding capacities. Two digesters labeled A and B were used. Digester A contained 50 g cattle dung and 500 ml of water and digester B contained 50 g cattle egret dropping and 500 ml of water (i.e. 0.1 gcm-3 slurry concentration). The retention time was 10 weeks (70 days). The fermentation temperature varied from 27 to 330C. The pH also varied from 6.8 to 8.2. The total biogas yield (TBY) over the 70 days was 6.779 liters for digester A and 4.494 liters for digester B. Analyses of physicochemical properties that had bearing on the digesters biogas production capacity was also carried out. The N., P and K analysis on the samples showed greater contents in undigested sample of A and contrarily, greater contents in digested sample of B