Sero Prevalence of Brucellosis in Goat in Sokoto, Nigeria

Abstract: Serum samples were collected from goats slaughtered at the Sokoto metropolis abattoir and were screened using Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT), the Serum Agglutination Test (SAT) and the Competitive Elisa (complisa) for brucellosis. A seroprevalence of 22.93% was recorded. The female had more prevalence (28.35%) than the male while the age band of 13-24 months had the highest prevalence of 22.46% Sokoto red was the breed with the highest prevalence of 34.12% while the hot season had the highest prevalence of 28.57%. Due to the zoonotic implications of the disease, there is the urgent need to consider the vaccination of small ruminants against brucellosis in addition to other recommendations suggested

Intercurrent antibodies to Mycoplasma bovis in cattle infected with haemoparasites in an institutional farm at Sokoto, Nigeria

A cross-sectional study of four institutional farms (Prison farm, Livestock Investigation and Breeding centre (LIBC), Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching and Research (UDUTRF) and Kebbe Cattle Ranch (KCR)) in Sokoto state, Nigeria, involving a total of 62 cattle comprising 49 females and 13 males was undertaken to determine the presence of Mycoplasma bovis antibodies. The cattle sampled were local breeds comprising Gudali, Rahaji, White-Fulani and their crosses. They were aged 1–10 years and were managed semi-intensively. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for the detection M. bovis antibody. Of the 62 cattle screened, M. bovis antibody was detected in 41(66%). Also, 24 out of the 41 M. bovis positive cattle were found infected with haemoparasites. Similarly, 11 out of the 21 serologically negative cattle were infected with one or more haemoparasites. Seven (20%), 3(8.5%) and 7(20%) of the M. bovis positive cattle were infected with Babesia bigemina, Anaplasma marginale, and or B. bigemina and A. marginale respectively. Overall, 35 of the 62 screened cattle were infected with one form of blood parasites or another or combinations of the parasites. There was however no significant statistical  relationship (p>0.05) between the number of cattle positive for M. bovis and the presence of haemoparasites among the examined cattle.Keywords: Mycoplasma bovis, cattle, ELISA, hemoparasitism, institutional farms, Nigeri

Prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis in Cattle Slaughtered at Sokoto Central Abattoir

This study was undertaken to screen cattle slaughtered at the Sokoto Central Abattoir for antibodies against Mycobacterium bovis. By the lateral flow technique (immunochromatography), using monoclonal antibodies for M. bovis (BioNote, Inc. Gyeonggi-do, Korea) and by post mortem examination. A total of 194 slaughtered cattle were randomly selected (using systematic sampling technique) and screened. Eight (4.12%) were positive for antibodies against M. bovis. No lesions suggestive of bovine tuberculosis were found during post mortem inspection. More females than males appear to have M. bovis antibodies (p<0.005). Also cattle of ages between 24-48 months had the highest prevalence in relation to age groups (P<0.005). Four breeds of cattle were encountered during this work although representation was determined by the sampling method. Sokoto Gudali breed had the highest number of cases of bovine tuberculosis (P>0.005). This study indicate an increase (from 0.69% to 4.12%) in the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in the study area. The public health implications of this findings is that infected animals in the past have been slaughtered and consumed undetected; this will continue to be so long as the relevant authorities do not improve on the current methods of ante mortem screening animals for tuberculosis.Keywords: Antibodies, Cattle, Prevalence, Post mortem examination, Slaughter, Sokoto, Tuberculosi