Animal Research International

3809 – 3820

Authors: NJOGA, Ugochinyere Juliet, AJIBO, Festus Ejike and NJOGA, Emmanuel Okechukwu

Contraceptives are widely used in medical practice for birth control but dearth of information exists on the veterinary use for control of stray dog population in Nigeria. A closed-ended questionnaire survey of 309 dog owners and 333 dogs presented for veterinary care across three states of Nigeria was conducted; to assess the owners’ awareness on use of contraceptives in dogs, vaccination history and demographics of the dogs. Only 23.6 % of the dog owners have good knowledge of contraceptives, although 42.7 % of them were educated up to tertiary level. Of the 333 dog, 47.8 % and 44.1 % were kept as security dogs and pets respectively. Most dog keepers (56.3 %) were not aware that contraceptives can be used in dogs, while 31.0 % of those who are aware have not used any contraception method on their dogs. Reasons adduced for non-use of contraceptives were: unawareness that contraceptives are available for veterinary use (60.4 %), opposition to birth control methods due to religious or cultural belief (15.9 %) and lack of access to the veterinary service providers (4.2 %). Only 76.9 % of the dogs were validly vaccinated against rabies. Statistical association existed between educational levels and awareness/use of contraceptives in dogs. The findings underscore the need for public enlightenment and legislation on use of contraceptives in dogs kept for non-breeding purposes; as contraception is cardinal in control of proliferation of stray dogs, known to be major reservoirs of rabies virus in Nigeria.

3829 – 3835

Authors: GURUMYEN, George Yilzem, BUBA, Deborah Maigawu, ORAGWA, Arthur Obinna, PATROBAS, Maryam Nyeta, POLYCARP, Tanko Nwunuji, DUNKA, Hassana Isaac, OZIEGBE, Stanley David, TIZHE, Emmanuel Vandi and UBACHUKWU, Chidiebere Chiemerie

Postmortem examination of chickens from a semi-intensive system was carried out following complaint of high mortality, loss of weight, sneezing and raising of heads and gaping. The farm had other types of birds which were also evaluated to ascertain their risk of transmission of Syngamus trachea. Lesions seen included anaemia, hyperemia of the trachea containing forked red warms (S. trachea), congested and haemorrhagic lungs and presence of Raillietina tetragona in the small intestine. Histologically, there was necrotizing trachiesis, pulmonary congestion and haemorrhages. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first case report of S. trachea in Jos, North Central Nigeria.

3845 – 3853

Authors: AUDU, David, IDOWU, Adewunmi Babatunde, IDOWU, Olufunmilayo Ajoke, MSHELBWALA, Fakilahyel Musa and OMOTAINSE, Samuel Olatunbosun

Pregnancy associated malaria (PAM) is a potentially life-threatening condition that affects the new-born. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of PAM on the haematological parameters and histopathology of some vital organs of pups delivered by mice infected with malaria in the second and third stages of pregnancy. Thirty female Swiss albino mice were randomly assigned into three groups, two groups of which were intraperitoneally infected with inoculums containing 3.97 x 106 Plasmodium berghei infected red blood cells at gestational days (GD 12 and 17), while the third group were uninfected (control). Pregnant females were allowed to deliver and progenies were monitored for three weeks. The red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), packed cell volume (PCV) and haemoglobin (HB) concentration was significantly lower (p<0.05) in pups of mice infected in the 2ndand 3rd stages of pregnancy as compared to the pups from non-infected mother. Histopathological alterations observed in the pup’s organs of mice infected in the 2nd and 3rd stages of pregnancy include fatty degeneration in the liver, interstitial pneumonia and oedema in the alveolar sac of the lungs, severe lymphoid depletion of the spleen, degeneration of tubular epithelial cells of the kidney and vacuolar degeneration in the brain. More severe damages were seen in pups from mice infected in the 2nd stage of pregnancy. This study showed that pregnancy associated malaria induce anaemia and damaging effects on vital organs of progeny of mice infected in the 2nd and 3rd stages of pregnancy.

3863 – 3868

Authors: ATAWALNA, Joseph, AGBEHADZI, Richard Koblah, ESSEL, Daniel Cobbinah Junior and AMPONSAH, Patrick

A study was conducted to investigate the reproductive performance of Guinea fowls on a commercial farm in the Ashanti region of Ghana. This study reported for the first time in Ghana, the reproductive performance of Guinea fowls reared under an intensive production system. The birds were intensively reared on deep litter with a mating ratio of one male to ten females for the production of day-old keets. Eggs were collected daily and stored for seven days at temperatures between 16 – 20º Celsius and selected for incubation in an automated Petersime incubator. Data on incubated Guinea fowl eggs for the period 2011 – 2018 were obtained from the hatchery unit records and analyzed using Graph Pad Prism version 5.00 for Windows. The percentage overall fertility, total hatchability, fertile hatchability, embryonic mortality, viable keets and non-viable keets were 50.7 ± 13, 30.5 ± 14, 50.4 ± 15, 22 ± 10, 91.7 ± 5.4 and 8.3 ± 6.3 % respectively. Fertility and fertility hatchability were low on this farm, while embryonic mortality was high. The study recommends a change in the mating ratio to one male Guinea fowl to four females, improvement of hygienic conditions in egg processing, regular fumigation of the farm and improved incubator management.

3878 – 3891

Authors: SULAIMAN, Muhammad, OLADIMEJI, Yusuf Usman, EGWUMA, Henry and YUSUF, Hannatu Ohunene

Empirical evidence from literature revealed that the studies of integrated crop-livestock farming systems (ICLFS) are scanty in Nigeria. Hence, the study estimated the benefits of ICLFS and factors associated with profit among rural households in north-west Nigeria. Primary data was obtained using structured questionnaire administered to the croplivestock farmers (CLF). 428 CLFs were sampled from 84 villages belonging to seven Local Government Areas. State-wise, this translated to 178, 128 and 122 CLFs in Kaduna, Kano and Katsina states respectively. Descriptive statistics, net farm income and multiple regression models were used to achieve the objectives. The results of the mean output indicated that ICL farmer produced 3,302.66 ± 749.70, 2,955.45 ± 350.90, 1,004.24 ± 20.98, 3,971.55 ± 932.12 and 1,026.29 ± 144.91 kg of maize, sorghum, cowpea, rice and soybean per hectare/year respectively. Findings established that the mean number of large ruminant, small ruminant and poultry reared per farmer were 19.00 ± 2.70, 24.00 ± 13.56 and 149.00 ± 119.01 herds respectively. The mean benefit-cost ratio of 1.64 ± 0.21, 1.39 ± 0.53, 1.44 ± 0.39, 2.67 ± 0.27, 2.30 ± 0.31 and 1.52 ± 0.15 were estimated for crop production per ha, dairy cow, beef cattle, goat, layer and broiler bird respectively. Coefficients of farm size (1.06), livestock worth (0.54), household size (0.10), extension contact (0.13), farming experience (-0.13) and credit accessed) (-0.01) were factors determining profit among CLFs. Farmers are encouraged to increase the farm size and livestock to seek opportunities of economic of scale, income and food security.

3903 – 3910

Authors: AWOSOLU, Oluwaseun, ADESINA, Femi, AFOLABI, Olajide and OGUNSANYA, Damilola

Malaria remains a major challenging infectious disease across the globe particularly in sub-Sahara Africa and is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Management strategy depends majorly on reliable epidemiological information. Thus, this study is to investigate the malaria parasite distribution and knowledge among students of Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. Blood samples were obtained from volunteered subjects. Thick and thin blood films stained with Giemsa were prepared and viewed under the x100 objective lens of the light microscope to determine the presence or absence of malaria parasite. A well-structured questionnaire was employed to collect relevant epidemiological information such as demographic, socioeconomic, environmental variables and their knowledge regarding malaria. Of the total 203 participants examined, three-quarter (84.20 %) tested positive to malaria infection, while 80.30 % had moderate parasitaemia level. All the participants (100.00 %) identified mosquito as the malaria parasite vector. Age group (χ2 = 11.88, p = 0.01), marital status (χ2 = 21.81, p = 0.01), income (χ2 = 27.52, p = 0.01) and environmental sanitation (χ2 = 6.25, p = 0.04) were predisposing factors (p<0.05) associated with malaria infection among participants. Meanwhile, female participants are 0.92 times (CI: 0.42 - 2.02) less prone to malaria infection compare to male and monthly environmental sanitation was 3.62 times (CI: 1.21 - 10.87) prone to malaria infection than those who observed environmental sanitation weekly. The present study has revealed high prevalence of malaria infection among the students. School management and government should implement malaria control strategies among tertiary students.