Characterization of Prognostic Factors for Recovery in Tuberculosis Patients In Northern Ghana

This study was conducted in the three Northern Regions of Ghana. A total 1,199 patients who enrolled for treatment at various treatment centers across Northern Ghana were considered for the study. The study characterized the prognostic factors for recovery in tuberculosis patients in the study area. The Kaplan-Meier estimator and binary logistic regression was used for the analysis. It was revealed that relapse patients are at increased risk of treatment failure compared to those with new cases whiles male patients have about 53% high risk of treatment failure compared to their female counterparts. It was also realized that for each one week increase in time of treatment after treatment initiation, the chance of recovery increases by 50%. Also, treatment success was found to be related to age with elderly and infants more prone to treatment failure. It was found that HIV/AIDS patients have about 24% high risk of treatment failure compared to their counterparts who non reactive to HIV/AIDS. There is therefore a pressing need for enormous care for these vulnerable groups to stem the menace of the tuberculosis disease in Northern Ghana. Keywords: Prognostic factors, recovery, logistic regression, treatment failure, Kaplan-Meier estimato

Effect of Coat Colour on Water Intake and Feed Utilization of Intensively Reared West African Dwarf Sheep in the Humid Tropics

The effect of coat colour variation on water intake and feed utilization needs to be fully investigated, determined and exploited to help West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep breeders in genetic improvement programmes. This study examined the effect of coat colour on water intake and feed utilization of intensively reared WAD sheep in the humid tropics. Sixty (60) WAD sheep of different coat colours were used for the experiment which lasted for 6 months. Prominent coat colour types in the region are black, brown and badgerface.  Animals were grouped into sexes. Daily free water intake (DFWI), DFWI/metabolic weight, daily total water intake (DTWI), DTWI/metabolic weight, daily feed intake (DFI), DFI/metabolic weight, DFWI/DFI, daily weight gain (DWG) and feed efficiency (FE) were measured. Analysis of data revealed that coat colour and sex had significant (P<0.05) effect on parameters measured except DTWI and DTWI/metabolic weight. Brown sheep had the highest value for the parameters measured except DFWI/DFI and FE. There was no significant (P>0.05) difference in DWG of black sheep (96.64±3.42 g) and brown sheep (95.24±2.77 g). Best feed efficiency (0.17±0.01) was observed in black sheep. Rams had the highest value for the parameters measured except DFWI/DFI and FE. Based on our results, we concluded that brown WAD sheep and rams consumed more feed and water, while black sheep consumed less feed and they are better feed utilizers. Keywords: Colour variant, feed intake, qualitative trait, sex, sheep, water consumptio

Effect of Coat Colour on Water Intake and Feed Utilization of Intensively Reared West African Dwarf Sheep in the Humid Tropics

The effect of coat colour on water intake and feed utilization of intensively reared West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep in the humid tropics was examined. 60 WAD sheep of different coat colours were used for the experiment which lasted for 6 months. Prominent coat colour types in the region are black, brown and badgerface.  Animals were grouped into sexes. Daily free water intake (DFWI), DFWI/metabolic weight, daily total water intake (DTWI), DTWI/metabolic weight, daily feed intake (DFI), DFI/metabolic weight, DFWI/DFI, daily weight gain (DWG) and feed efficiency (FE) were measured. Analysis of data revealed that coat colour and sex had significant (P<0.05) effect on parameters measured except DTWI and DTWI/metabolic weight. Brown sheep had the highest value for the parameters measured except DFWI/DFI and FE. There was no significant (P>0.05) difference in DWG of black sheep (96.64±3.42 g) and brown sheep (95.24±2.77 g). Best feed efficiency (0.17±0.01) was observed in black sheep. Rams had the highest value for the parameters measured except DFWI/DFI and FE. Based on our results, we concluded that brown WAD sheep and rams consumed more feed and water, while black sheep consumed less feed and they are better feed utilizers. Keywords: Colour variant, feed intake, qualitative trait, sex, sheep, water consumptio

Effect of leucaena and gliricidia leaf meals on the seminal characteristics, testis weights and seminiferous tubule diameters of rabbits

Eighteen crossbred rabbit bucks aged 8–10 months were placed on one of three diets containing leucaena (LLM), gliricidia (GLM) leaf meals both included at 20% of dry matter, or a control diet (CTL). Semen volume for the CTL group was 0.71 ± 0.02 mL, which was higher (P0.05). There were indications of mild degenerations in some samples from the leucaena and gliricidia groups. These results indicate that the inclusion of leucaena and gliricidia leaf meals at 20% in rations for mature rabbit bucks could cause mild depressive effects on semen production and quality.Effet de l’incorporation de feuilles de leucaena ou de gliricidia dans l’alimentation des lapins sur les caractéristiques séminales, le poids des testicules et le diamètre des tubules séminifères. Dix-huit lapins mâles croisés âgés de 8 à 10 mois ont été répartis en trois groupes et ont reçu soit un régime supplémenté avec des feuilles de leucaena (LLM) ou de gliricidia (GLM) broyées, les deux incorporés à un taux de 20 % de matière sèche, soit un régime témoin (CTL). Le volume de sperme du groupe témoin a été de 0,71 ± 0,02 mL, volume plus élevé (P0,05). Des signes bénins de dégénérescence ont été observés dans quelques échantillons provenant des groupes LLM et GLM. Ces résultats suggèrent que l’incorporation de feuilles de leucaena ou de gliricidia à 20 % de matière sèche dans l’alimentation de lapins mâles adultes pourrait provoquer des effets délétères bénins sur la production et la qualité du sperme

Mitochondrial DNA hypervariable region 1 diversity in Nigerian goats

Goats make up the largest group of ruminant livestock in Nigeria and are strategic in bridging animal protein supply gap and improving the economy of rural households. The Hypervariable Region 1 (HVR1) of the caprine mitochondrial genome was investigated to better understand genetic diversity important for improving selection for animal breeding and conservation programs. We sequenced and analysed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) HVR1 in 291 unrelated indigenous Nigerian goats (West African Dwarf (WAD), Red Sokoto (RSO) and Sahel (SAH)), randomly sampled from around the country and compared them with the HVR1 sequences of 336 Indian goats and 12 other sequences in five different species in the genus Capra (C. falconeri, C. ibex nubiana, C. aegagrus, C. cylindricornis and C. sibirica). A total of 139 polymorphic sites from 291 individuals were captured in 204 haplotypes. Within and among population variations were 77.25 and 22.74 %, respectively. Nigerian goats showed high genetic diversity (0.87) and high FST values and separate from Indian goats and other wild species. Haplogroups in WAD separates it from RSO and SAH concomitant with a different demographic history. Clear genetic structure was found among Nigerian goat breeds with appreciable variation in mtDNA HVR1 region. This study grouped Nigerian goat breeds into two major groups suggesting two different demographic origins for Northern and Southern breeds. High genetic admixing denotes different maternal origins and in contrast to evidence from goats from Levant and Central Asia, where goats were originally domesticated

Morphological and microsatellite DNA diversity of Nigerian indigenous sheep

Abstract Background Sheep is important in the socio-economic lives of people around the world. It is estimated that more than half of our once common livestock breeds are now endangered. Since genetic characterization of Nigerian sheep is still lacking, we analyzed ten morphological traits on 402 animals and 15 microsatellite DNA markers in 384 animals of the 4 Nigerian sheep breeds to better understand genetic diversity for breeding management and germplasm conservation. Results Morphological traits of Uda and Balami were significantly (P FST, FIT and FIS statistics across all loci were 0.088, 0.394 and 0.336 respectively. Yankasa and Balami are the most closely related breeds (DA = 0.184) while WAD and Balami are the farthest apart breeds (DA = 0.665), which is coincident with distance based on morphological analysis and population structure assessed by STRUCTURE. Conclusions These results suggest that within-breed genetic variation in Nigerian sheep is higher than between-breeds and may be a valuable tool for genetic improvement and conservation. The higher genetic variability in Yankasa suggests the presence of unique ancestral alleles reflecting the presence of certain functional genes which may result in better adaptability in more agro-ecological zones of Nigeria. These genetic characteristics are potentially useful in planning improvement and conservation strategies in Nigerian indigenous sheep.</p