The aim of the present study was to obtain information about the presence and distribution of the suckling louse Haematopinus tuberculatus in water buffalo farms in central Italy. The survey was carried out on 127 farms (epidemiological units), selected using a grid approach within a Geographical Information System, followed by proportional allocation. In each farm 6 buffaloes were examined in order to detect the louse presence. Parasitological examinations were performed on each buffalo at predilection sites. A total of 762 water buffaloes were examined. H. tuberculatus was found in the 11.0% (14/127) of the farms and in the 4.5% (34/762) of the animals. The presence H. tuberculatus should be routinely considered because it is a cause of serious health, production and economic damages in intensive breeding buffaloes

Alessandro Fioretti

Aniello Anastasio

Antonella Cristina Romano

Antonella Pesce

Esterina De Carlo

Francesco Buono

Georgiana Deak

Gianluca Marucci

Giovanni Sgroi

Laura Pacifico

Lucia Palazzo

Maria Interisano

Mariateresa Toce

Nicola D’Alessio

Pasquale Fraulo

Valerio Toscano

Vincenzo Veneziano

Italian Journal of Animal Science

English

The aim of the present study was to obtain information about the presence and distribution of the suckling louse Haematopinus tuberculatus in water buffalo farms in central Italy. The survey was carried out on 127 farms (epidemiological units), selected using a grid approach within a Geographical Information System, followed by proportional allocation. In each farm 6 buffaloes were examined in order to detect the louse presence. Parasitological examinations were performed on each buffalo at predilection sites. A total of 762 water buffaloes were examined. H. tuberculatus was found in the 11.0% (14/127) of the farms and in the 4.5% (34/762) of the animals. The presence H. tuberculatus should  be routinely considered because it is a cause of serious health, production and economic damages in intensive breeding buffaloes

Archivio della ricerca - Università degli studi di Napoli Federico II

Ital.J.anIm.ScI. vol. 6, (Suppl. 2), 926-927, 2007926Lice (Haematopinus tuberculatus) in water buffalo farms from central Italy   V. Veneziano1, M. Santaniello1, S. Carbone1, S. Pennacchio1,  M.E. Morgoglione1, M. Schioppi1, R. Condoleo2, G. Cringoli11 Dipartimento di Patologia e Sanità Animale, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”,  CREMOPAR Regione Campania, Italy  2 Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana, Sezione di Latina, Italy Corresponding author: G. Cringoli. Dipartimento di Patologia e Sanità Animale, Università degli Stu-di di Napoli “Federico II”, CREMOPAR Regione Campania, Napoli, Italy - Tel. 0039812536283 - Fax: 0039812536282 - Email: cringoli@unina.it   ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to obtain information about the presence and distribution of the suckling louse Haematopinus tuberculatus in water buffalo farms in central Italy. The survey was carried out on 127 farms (epidemiological units), selected using a grid approach within a Geographical Information System, followed by proportional allocation. In each farm 6 buffaloes were examined in order to detect the louse presence. Parasitological examinations were performed on each buffalo at predilection sites. A total of 762 water buffaloes were examined. H. tuberculatus was found in the 11.0% (14/127) of the farms and in the 4.5% (34/762) of the animals. The presence H. tuberculatus should  be routinely considered because it is a cause of serious health, production and economic damages in intensive breeding buffaloes. Key words: Parasites, Haematopinus tuberculatus, Lice. INTRODUCTION - The sucking louse Haematopinus tuberculatus (Burmeister, 1839) Lucas 1852, is a harmful ectoparasite found on water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Haemat-opinus tuberculatus has been reported on water buffalo in Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America (Meleney and Kim, 1974; Munoz Cobenas et al., 1987). In Europe it has been re-ported in Macedonia (Piotrowski, 1974), and recently in England (McFarland and Coles, 2002) and Italy (Veneziano et al., 2003). Louse infestation often leads to skin irritation, ane-mia, anorexia, restlessness and reduced productivity (Butler, 1985; Veneziano et al., 2003). Until now, epidemiological surveys aimed to evaluate the presence and distribution of H. tuberculatus in water buffaloes have not been performed. The aim of the present study was to obtain information about the presence and distribution of this louse in water buffalo farms in the Latium region of central Italy.MATERIAL AND METHODS - The survey was carried out in 20 contiguous munici-palities (1,250 km2 surface area) located in the provinces of Latina and Frosinone (Latium region). A geographical information system (GIS) was constructed utilizing as data-layers the topographic base map and the digital aerial photographs of the study area, as well as the geo-referenced points of all the buffalo farms. The survey was performed on 127 farms (epidemiological units), selected using a grid approach followed by proportional allocation. For this purpose, a grid representing quadrants of 5 x 5 km was overlaid on the study area within the GIS. The study area was divided in equal quadrants, and the number of farms sampled in each quadrant was proportional to the total number of study population in that quadrant (Cringoli et al., 2005; Rinaldi et al., 2006). In each farm 6 buffaloes were examined in order to study the louse presence (total number = 762 water buffaloes). Parasitological examinations were performed on each buffalo at the following predilection sites: cheeks, ears, neck and dewlap, withers, forelegs, backhindlegs, tailhead and perineum. Louse speci-mens were examined under optical and dissection microscopes to detect  morphometric characters. Species determination was based on the keys proposed by Chaudhuri and Ku-mar (1961) and Meleney and Kim (1974).RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS - H. tuberculatus was found in 14 out of the 127 farms examined (11.0%; 95% Confidence Interval = 6.4-18.1%) and in 34 out of the 762 animals (4.5%; 95% CI = 3.2-6.2%). In the past decades, Italian buffalo farms have adopted inten-sive breeding techniques, replacing grazing with a constant supply of concentrated and/or stored forages. This has led to a considerable reduction in the incidence of the helminths infections. Intensive breeding implies a high density of animals. This favours the diffusion of ectoparasites, in particular those with a life cycle entirely on their hosts, such as H. tu-berculatus. This sucking louse can produce a clear symptomatology. Chaudhry (1978) has reported that erythematous itching areas are often seen on the skin of infested buffaloes. In addition, these animals are troubled and restless, they scratch themselves nervously, often causing skin lesions as eczema and crusts. These lesions can cause anorexia, cachexia, and reduced productivity. H. tuberculatus infestation observed in this  study did not cause clinical signs. However, such infestations could elicit negative effects on milk production of lactating animals and on the weight gain of growing animals. REFERENCES - Butler, J.F., 1985. Lice affecting livestock. In:Williams, R.E., Hall, R.D., Broce, A.B., Scholl, P.J. (Eds.), Livestock Entomology. Wiley, New York, pp. 101–127. Chaud-hry, N.I., 1978. Common disease problems in buffalo calves. Pakistan Journal of Science, 30: 120-126. Chaudhuri, R.P., Kumar, P., 1961. The life history and habits of the buffalo louse, Haematopinus tuberculatus (Burmeister) Lucas. Indian Journal of Veterinary Science, 31: 275-287. Cringoli, G., Rinaldi, L., Veneziano, V., Musella, V., 2005. Disease mapping and risk assessment in veterinary parasitology: some case studies. Parassitologia, 47: 9-25. Mc-Farland, J., Coles, G.C., 2002. Haematopinus tuberculatus on water buffalo in England. Vet-erinary Record, 150: 616. Meleney, W.P., Kim, K.C., 1974. A comparative study of cattle-in-festing Haematopinus, with redescription of H. quadripertusus Fahrenholz, 1919 (Anoplura: Haematopinidae). Journal of Parasitology, 60: 507-522. Munoz Cobenas, M.E., Barci, D., Popovici, A., 1987. Ectoparasites found in a herd of buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in Corrientes, Argentina. Veterinaria Argentina, 4: 724-727. Piotrowski, F., 1974. Research on the biting and sucking lice (Mallophaga Ischnocera and Anoplura) of domestic animals in Macedonia. Makedonski Veterinaren Pregled, 3: 33-44. Rinaldi, L., Biggeri, A., Cringoli, G., 2006. Geo-graphical information systems and remote sensing in veterinary disease mapping. CAB Re-views: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources, 1: 1-16. Veneziano, V., Rinaldi, L., Giannetto, S., Cringoli, G., 2003. The first record of Haemat-opinus tuberculatus on Bubalus bubalis (water buffalo) in Italy. Bubalus bubalis, 9: 69-75.Ital.J.anIm.ScI. vol. 6, (Suppl. 2), 926-927, 2007 927vIII World Buffalo congreSS

Lice (Haematopinus tuberculatus) in water buffalo farms from central Italy

V. Veneziano

M. Santaniello

S. Carbone

S. Pennacchio

M.E. Morgoglione

M. Schioppi

R. Condoleo

G. Cringoli

Open Access Repository

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found athttp://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tjas20Download by: [80.82.78.170] Date: 29 December 2016, At: 19:49Italian Journal of Animal ScienceISSN: (Print) 1828-051X (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tjas20Lice (Haematopinus tuberculatus) in water buffalofarms from central ItalyV. Veneziano, M. Santaniello, S. Carbone, S. Pennacchio, M.E. Morgoglione,M. Schioppi, R. Condoleo & G. CringoliTo cite this article: V. Veneziano, M. Santaniello, S. Carbone, S. Pennacchio, M.E. Morgoglione,M. Schioppi, R. Condoleo & G. Cringoli (2007) Lice (Haematopinus tuberculatus) in waterbuffalo farms from central Italy, Italian Journal of Animal Science, 6:sup2, 926-927, DOI:10.4081/ijas.2007.s2.926To link to this article:  http://dx.doi.org/10.4081/ijas.2007.s2.926Copyright 2007 Taylor and Francis GroupLLCPublished online: 15 Mar 2016.Submit your article to this journal Article views: 39View related articles An unidentified buffalo disease  in Remote Mountains of Far West Nepal  B.R. Joshi, B.S. ShresthaSenior Scientist, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Kathmandu, Nepal  Corresponding author: B. R. Joshi, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Kathmandu, Nepal - Tel. 977-1-4262570 - Fax: 977-1-4262500 - Email: joshi_bhoj@hotmail.comABSTRACT: In the remote mountain districts of far west Nepal, an unidentified chronic debilitating disease has been recorded primarily in adult buffalo population since last 10-15 years. The disease locally known as “Khari disease” is characterized by weak, thin and porous hooves with chalky dust powder formation associated with general weakness, anorexia, dry and scaly skin with white patches, fatigue of brachial and major skeletal muscle. The symptoms are mostly evident in the lactating buffaloes particularly during dry winter months. The other symptoms are pruritus, emaciation, low production and dermal lesion above the hoof.  The dis-ease is recorded more in stall fed animal, which becomes lame and unable to walk. Although, accurate prevalence figures are unavailable, about 4-5% of the adult buffalo population is re-garded to be affected with annual mortality of about 2% in clinically affected animals. Some therapeutic attempts with ivermectin injection and mineral supplementation have shown only temporary relief. This disease has seriously affected the livelihoods of farm families dependent heavily upon buffaloes. The disease has not been investigated properly so far, due to funding constraints, poor technical expertise, remoteness, inaccessibility and conflict situation and is in need of technical and financial support from the international community.Key words: Buffalo, Chronic debilitation, Khari disease, Nepal. INTRODUCTION - Livestock rearing is an important and integral component of mixed farming system in Nepal. Ruminant farm livestock species comprise of buffaloes, cattle, goats and sheep, of which buffaloes are the most important farm animal species contribut-ing about 52% of livestock gross domestic production (APP, 1995) and provides about 70% milk and 65% meat production in the country. In the hills, about 58% 0f household keep buffaloes. Nepalese economy is primarily an agrarian economy with more than two third of country’s population being dependent upon mixed agriculture for their livelihoods, and this dependency is even higher in rural areas. Buffaloes are the most important farm livestock species providing milk, meat, manure and farm power and an important source of cash income from the sale of milk and churned butter (ghee). These animals are reared along with other farm livestock species and are managed upon the crop residues and other farm produce. Thus, a complex and integrated farming system has evolved over the centuries, where the small holder crop livestock production system is interdependent upon each other and nothing is wasted in the system. In this complex farming system, buffaloes are the most preferred animal species due to their multi purpose use and high salvage value and are reared with highest possible care. Ital.J.anIm.ScI. vol. 6, (Suppl. 2), 928-931, 2007928In the far west remote mountainous districts of the country, an unidentified chronic debili-tating disease has been recorded since late nineties, which has now been seen in adult buf-falo population of two districts, Baitadi and Darchula. The disease locally known as “Khari” which means “chalk powder” because of the formation of chalk like powder from the hooves of affected animals. The disease was initially confined to buffalo population mainly in the lactating animals, however, some recent report has also shown its presence in cattle popu-lation as well (Shrestha, et al., 2005). Although, the actual prevalence figure have not been evaluated so far, it has been regarded that about one third of the adult buffalo population is affected by this problem in a total population of about 75000 heads, with high mortali-ty in the affected animals (Singh et al, 1996). However, the recent survey shows that the mortality in affected animals was about 0.35-2% of the affected cases (Nirmal et al., 2000). The district clinical reports indicate that about 3-4000 animals are affected by this disease every year in these two districts. The disease was not found to be communicable even with close contact even within the same herd, yet the infected area is gradually expanding in the districts. There have been some attempts for symptomatic treatment of the ailing animals, which included treatment of skin lesion, incorporation of mineral mixture in the feed, howe-ver, the responses to these interventions are of temporary nature. In the affected areas, as the livelihood of the farming community is primarily based on subsistence agriculture production, to which contribution from buffaloes is very significant, the chronic disease problem in buffaloes, creates a serious problem not only to the health and well being of animals and  the overall household economy of the farm family but also a serious welfare issue for the affected animals and the caring individual. The present paper describes the disease situation of these animals and reports the responses of some thera-peutic attempts against this problem so far.        MATERIAL AND METHODS - There has been some attempt to investigate this dis-ease, though, the investigations are not very comprehensive. The sick animals were clini-cally examined by veterinarians and symptoms were recorded. Similarly, the skin scrapings and hoof samples were analysed for parasites and fungus and blood and serum samples from clinically ill and healthy normal animals from the same area were analysed for bio-chemical and haematological parameters and for blood parasites. Various therapeutic ap-proaches were attempted to relieve the ailments of affected animals and their responses were recorded.     RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS - Clinical symptoms: Clinical examination of sick an-imals showed general dermatitis, chronic wasting, abducted limbs and emergence of chalk like powder from the hooves of the sick buffaloes leading to recumbency, lameness and re-luctance of affected animals to move. The disease is primarily confined to lactating animals managed under stall fed management. The affected animals show unthriftiness, partial anorexia, emaciation, and almost cease to produce milk. There is swelling of the joints, lameness and stiffness and animal tries to avoid weight on the affected legs. More than one foot is commonly affected, with thin sole and exposure of sensitive parts of hoof with the formation of chalky powder from the sole of the hoof. There is however, no febrile reaction and some animal recover naturally in the next rainy season. Nirmal et al., (2000) recorded number of cases treated by veterinary hospitals and service centres of the two districts dur-Ital.J.anIm.ScI. vol. 6, (Suppl. 2), 928-931, 2007 929vIII World Buffalo congreSSing different seasons (Table 1), which shows that the number of cases increased during the autumn and winter months (October-May), and decreased during wet rainy season (June-September), yet with high  case fatality rate in rainy season. This data however, does not include all infected animals in these districts because not all infected animals are being attended by the clinicians in the remote and inaccessible villa-ges of the districts, yet it gives an indication of seasonality of clinical symptoms shown by animals. Laboratory examination of skin samples showed the presence of Psoroptes and Sarcoptes mites and hoof powder cultured on selective media showed no bacterial growth but some fungus species of Candida and Blastomyces species (Shrestha et al., 2005). The haematologi-cal and biochemical parameters of clinically ill and healthy buffaloes from the same locality did not show any characteristic differences between clinically ill and normal animals except high eosinophil percent and low phosphorus level in sick animals (Singh et al., 1996). Therapeutic response to ivermectin injection at 200 mcg/kg body weight and mineral supplementation showed some improvement in body condition and skin lesions of the animals but some of these animals again developed the disease condition during coming winter months.  Considering the importance of buffaloes in the small holder farming system and livelihoo-ds of the farm families of these hill districts, chronic ailment of buffaloes without any therapeutic and preventive approach is a serious cause of concern not only for the overall health and well being of the affected animals but also a serious welfare issue of the im-portant farm animal. The symptomatic therapeutic intervention so far has provided only temporary relief to the situation and no strategy could be developed so far for the control and prevention of this ailment on a permanent basis. It is thus important to study this complex problem in a more systematic and comprehensive manner, which could provide a permanent solution to this problem. Nepalese society is gradually recovering from the trauma of a decade long conflict in the country and is in need of economic and technical support from the international community to improve the socioeconomic condition of the nation. Proper study on this unidentified disease problem of buffaloes would also need some support from the international community to identify its causative agents/factors and to develop the appropriate prevention/control strategy against this complex disease condition, which will ultimately contribute not only to health and welfare of the most im-portant farm livestock but also to the overall livelihoods of the farm families dependent upon these animals.                           Table 1.  Khari disease infected buffaloes between June 1996 and December 1998. Period Number of cases Animals died Case fatality %June-September 342 7 2.04October-January 3067 9 0.29February -May 1756 12 0.68Ital.J.anIm.ScI. vol. 6, (Suppl. 2), 928-931, 2007930vIII World Buffalo congreSSREFERENCES - APP, (1995). Agriculture Perspective Plan of Nepal. NPC/APROSC/JMA, Kathmandu. Nirmal, B.K., Thaguna, P.S. and Chaudhary, D.P.(2000). A retrospective study on Khari disease in Darchula and Baitadi districts of Nepal. Nepalese Veterinary Journal, 26, 107-109. Shrestha, R. M., Gautam, R. and Sharma, K. (2005).  Khari disease investigation-a report. Annual Technical Report, 061/62. Central Veterinary laboratory Tri-pureshwor, Kathmandu, pp. 124-130. Singh, U.M., Shrestha, S. P. and Pant, G.R. (1996). Study of Khari disease in buffaloes of Baitadi and Dharcula districts of Nepal. Proceedings of first National livestock fishery research workshop, pp 179-184. Ital.J.anIm.ScI. vol. 6, (Suppl. 2), 928-931, 2007 931vIII World Buffalo congreSS

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Lice (Haematopinus tuberculatus) in water buffalo farms from central Italy

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