Veterinary Service Delivery in the Pastoral Regions, the Case of Baringo County, Kenya.

Baringo County falls largely in the categories of arid, semi-arid lands, receiving an average annual rainfall of 600mm. the communities are mainly pastoralists, keeping cattle, sheep, goats, camels and donkeys. It is recognized that livestock productivity is generally low due to among other factors, poor veterinary service delivery due to inadequate numbers of veterinary staff on the ground, and poor funding. A cross-sectional survey was carried out using a questionnaire administered randomly amongst 60 smallholder households in Nginyang and Marigat divisions.  The objective was to establish and rank the most commonly treated diseases in the small ruminants, the frequency of anthelmintic use, and the service providers. The results of the study show that a lot of emphasis has been on provision of drugs with little effort on development of diagnostic and surveillance services.  With nine qualified veterinary officers and 26 paravets the government was generally thin on the ground. The role of NGO’s and CBO’s as service providers is increasing in ASAL’s.  It is recommended that surveillance and disease reporting systems need to be developed to comply with international des epizooties conditions for international trade, especially in provision of basic data on important livestock diseases.   Key words: Arid-semi arid lands, veterinary services

Emerging Parasitic Infections in Goats in Pastoral Systems in Kenya

A cross-sectional survey of ixodid tick infestation and gastrointestinal strongylosis was carried out in 76 herds, in 25 districts in five provinces representing arid and semi-arid lands in Kenya. A total of 832 indigenous goats consisting of 500 Small East African and 332 Galla breeds were sampled.  The total number of ticks counted was 17,748, consisting of three major genera, Rhipicephalus, Boophilus and Amblyomma. The mean tick abundance per animal was 21.4 ticks, with the highest count of 111.8 ticks per animal in Tharaka Nithi district of Eastern province. The highest prevalence rate of 100% was in Tharaka Nithi and Kitui districts of Eastern province, Taita/Taveta of Coast province and Siaya and Homa Bay of Nyanza province. The mean strongyle egg count in the five provinces was 545 EPG. The ranges indicated very high counts in some herds such as 13700 EPG and 11,100 EPG in Eastern and Rift Valley. The Rift Valley recorded the highest prevalence rate of 81.7% while the Coast recorded the lowest prevalence rate of 39.7%. The ectoparasites and endoparasites will increasingly become economically important considering the increasing pressure on communal grazing land and watering points in pastoral districts of Kenya.   Key words: Goats arid and semi-arid lands, ixodid ticks, strongylosis, Kenya

Effect of Aflatoxin B-1 on Course of Infection of Trypanosoma congolense in Mice

Mycotoxins as secondary metabolites are known to be common contaminants of both human food and animal feed. If ingested in minute but regular doses, they are known to cause suppression of the immune system and therefore, alter pathogenesis of many infectious diseases. Trypanosoma congolense an intravascular parasite is the most important cause of African animal trypanosomosis. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of aflatoxin B-1, a common mycotoxin on progression and response of T. congolense to chemotherapy. Female Swiss white mice were intra-peritoneally injected with 0.05mg/kg body weight aflatoxin B-1 every after 3 days upto 10 times and on the 21st day were infected with T. congolense. Parasitological parameters including weight, packed cell volume and parasitaemia levels of aflatoxin B-1-injected-T. congolense-infected mice were compared with those of T. congolense-infected mice. ANOVA and mean separation were used to determine differences between the test and control mice. It was observed that there was significant difference (p?0.05) in body weight and mean death time but no significant difference in packed cell volume. It was concluded that aflatoxin B-1 has an effect on pathogenesis of T. congolense. Key words: Trypanosoma congolense, Aflatoxin B-1, progression, chemotherap

Acute Borehole Poisoning in Livestock in Kargi, Marsabit, Kenya: A Case Report

In January in the year 2000, sudden deaths of an estimated 7,000 heads of livestock occurred following drinking of water from a Government managed borehole in Kargi settlement, Marsabit District. The incidence was investigated by, amongst others, a veterinary toxicologist. Informal interviews from a cross-section of community leaders and affected pastoralists were conducted, samples of water from the borehole was collected for toxicological analyses, clinical examinations of surviving animals and autopsies of dead ones were carried out. Key clinical observations included acute muscular weakness, ataxia, brown mucous membranes and abortions. Major autopsy observations were methamoglobinaemia, gastrointestinal corrosion, cooked appearance of internal organ, swelling, and rapid decomposition of carcasses. Chemical analyses showed that both nitrates were five to ten times higher than WHO recommended levels in drinking water, while the levels of other normally toxic chemicals like arsenic, selenium, lead and fluoride were within acceptable ranges. The clinical picture, autopsy and chemical analyses led to a high probability of nitrate poisoning. Keywords: Borehole, water poisoning, livestock, Kargi, Marsabit, Nitrite, Nitrate.

Production Challenges and Socio-Economic Impact of Dairy Goat Farming amongst Smallholder Farmers in Kenya.

Dairy goats were first introduced in Kenya in 1950s by British settler farmers in the highlands of Kenya. About 25 years ago the population was estimated at 6,000. The most recent estimate puts the dairy goat population in Kenya at 175,000. The rapid growth has been attributed to the NGOs like Heifer Project International involving smallholder farmers in a participatory approach. The objective of this study was to identify opportunities and challenges amongst smallholder dairy goat farmers, and specifically to evaluate production levels, consumption trends and potential for growth and marketing.  Sixty households were interviewed. Amongst households 826 were women of whom 304 were widows, 226 were men. The mean family size was 9.24. There were a total of 4545 children in the households, amongst them 2200 orphans.  68% households had male heads, while 32% had female heads.  However, in 74% of the households, females took charge of the daily management of the goat, while in only 26% households males were in charge. Milk production levels ranged between half a litre and ten litres, with overall mean production of 2.15 litres per goat per day. In total, 56.9% of respondents depended entirely on farming activities for livelihood, while 43.1% combined farming and off-farm activities for livelihood. Only 12% used hired labour while 88% depended entirely on family labour for managing the goats. None of the farmers had previous experience in managing a dairy goat.  There was need for a systematic practical initial training with a focus on key areas such as feeding and feed resources, breeding, milking, health and record keeping.  There was no standard record keeping format. The small pieces of land, especially in Nyanza had a negative effect on dairy goat farming in terms of pasture and fodder production.  In Oriang and Ndiru clusters all the family land available was utilized for subsistence farming. There was lack of knowledge of feeding regimes for various categories e.g. the lactating doe, flushing and kids. None of the farmers had knowledge of estimating feed weights, and making appropriate mixtures of the available feeds. Local goats were popular.  Upgrading of these goats through crossbreeding would form entry point for a large number of farmers thus increasing dairy goat population faster. Key words: Dairy goats, socio-economic, production, smallholder farmer

Molecular Identification of Key Mastitis causing Bacteria in Dairy Goats in Kenya.

Mastitis remains one of the most common diseases of the dairy goats, causing the biggest economic loss. Use of antimicrobial treatment is the generally recommended, but only after identifying the causal organisms. The use of PCR has emerged as the most accurate in microbial identification due to several advantages, including high sensitivity and specificity. The objective of this study was to apply PCR techniques in identification of the key mastitis causing bacteria, E. coli and Staph. aureus, isolated from a farm-survey carried out on goat milk in three goat keeping regions of Kenya, Coast, Rift Valley and Nyanza. Two gene specific primers for amplification of Staph. aureus sequence targeting the nuc gene, and E. coli sequence targeting the pic gene, were used as described in the materials and methods applied to 16 randomly selected pure bacteria cultures representing the three regions.  In total six of the samples were positive for the pic gene, while five were positive for the nuc gene. Each of the genes was distributed to all the three regions. The positive identification of these genes indicates the potential for use of PCR in accurate goat mastitis diagnosis; it also indicates these mastitis causing pathogens are widespread in all dairy goat keeping regions of Kenya

California Mastitis Test and Somatic Cell Counts as Indicators of Intramammary Infection in Dairy Goat in Kenya.

Intramammary Infections in goats is an important and costly disease.  Subclinical Mastitis (SCM) constitutes the greater part of this problem.  Several methods are available for diagnosis of SCM. The objective of this study was to evaluate the application of somatic cells measured indirectly by CMT, and directly by SCC – as possible markers for IMI in dairy goat mastitis. CMT was performed randomly on 138 udder halves at milking site, while in the laboratory SCC was conducted on 239 samples. Bacterial culture was done on 250 samples. The results of CMT showed that 12.3% of samples were negative, while 30.4%, 23.2% and 34.1% recorded +ve 1, 2, 3 respectively. The SCC ranged between 248 x 106 and 1693 x 106, with a mean of 869 x 106. The key bacterial isolates were Staph. aureus 58%, E.coli 40.5%. A statistical analysis to determine the strength and direction of association between CMT & SCC indicated a positive but not statistically significant correlation. ANOVA across the key bacterial isolates showed all bacteria falling between CMT mean scores of 2 and 3. The SCC showed that the key bacteria isolated had mean scores 86169 x 106 for E. coli and 8810 x 106 for Staph. aureus. There is a consensus amongst researchers in this area that a CMT scores of 2 and above are indicative of infection in goat milk. The results of this study on Staph. aureus and E. coli, and the fact that 73.9% of E. coli and 68.5% of Staph. aureus fall in the range 500,000 and 1 million cells, SCC was an accurate determinant of infection. Key words: Somatic cell counts, goat mastitis

Cellular Immune Response and Abomasum worm burden in Goats Vaccinated with HC58cDNA Vaccine against H. contortus Infection

Vaccination with DNA vaccines derived from adult H. contortus induces significant level of protection against homologous infection in goat. To date however, mechanism of protection is not well understood, especially in goat. In this study, HC58 DNA vaccinated goats were artificially infected with 5, 000 dose of infective H. contortus L3 (third larval stage), and cellular immune responses and abomasum worm burden examined. The results showed that peripheral CD4+, CD8+ T and B lymphocytes for nematode challenged Groups 1, 2 and 4 increased subsequent to L3 infection compared to negative control Group 3. Likewise, the mean eosinophil and lymphocyte counts increased substantially after vaccination and L3 challenge. On the contrary, circulating neutrophil and white blood cells reduced under similar experimental conditions in goats carrying an equal L3 nematode burden. These findings suggested that regulation of H. contortus expulsion in goat is a complex mechanism orchestrated by CD4+ and CD8+T cells, recruitment of eosinophil and lymphocytes and inclined towards development of Th2 responses. Keywords: Haemonchus contortus; goat; HC58DNA vaccine; cellular immune responses

Factors Influencing the Somatic Cell Counts in Goat Milk in Kenya

The dairy goat sector in Kenya is young and rapidly growing. There are many breeds being introduced e.g. the Saanen, Toggenburg and Alpine, in varying agro-climatic zones, ranging from Coast, Rift Valley and Western Kenya.    The objective of this study was to look at the impact of breed, location, parity and lactation length on Somatic Cell Counts (SCC) considering the fact that SCC thresholds are often used as parameters to determine quality standards of milk. This study demonstrated significant SCC variations amongst breeds, especially Toggenburg / Saanen, Toggenburg ? Alpine / Saanen, and Saanen / Alpine. The SCC also varied significantly amongst various study sites.  This study also established an increasing SCC with parity and lactation length.  In developing SCC as milk quality standard for Kenya Dairy Board these factors will have to be considered. Key words: Somatic cell counts, goat breeds, location, parity, lactation length

Soil Transmitted Helminthes Prevalence among Pre-School Age Children in Elburgon Municipality, Kenya

The prevalence of soil transmitted helminthes infection in pre-school age children was assessed in Elburgon Municipality, Kenya using Kato Katz as the standard parasitological survey diagnostic technique. Children between 6 months and 5 years were examined for STH infections. Out of 179 children examined, 154 (86%) were positive for the STH studied with Trichuris trichura accounting for the highest infection with 91 (50.84%), Ascaris, lumbricoides 45 (25.14%), and hookworm 18 (10.06%). Multiparasitism was evident with an overall 48 (28%) infection with a combination of two or three of the STH species studied. The high STH prevalence reported in this study was a result of unhygiene living environment with conditions that facilitate STH infections and transmission. T. Trichura had the highest prevalence because this is an urban STH species as compared to A. lumbricoides and hookworm. STH in pre-school age children is a virgin field in helminthes control. Mass deworming programs and parental education are required for effective STH control in this age group population that other is most vulnerable to helminthes infection. Keywords: soil transmitted helminthes, pre-school age children, prevalence, kato kat