Journal of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine

5

Authors: A. Y. Raji and W. A. Hassan

A study was undertaken to investigate the reproductive performance (incubation, hatching and brooding) of 14 flock indigenous domestic fowls comprising of 119 hens from July to October, 2008. The study was conducted in two villages; Takalmawa and Nasarawa villages in Dange Shuni and Shagari Local Government Areas of Sokoto State respectively. The hens in the selected households were monitored weekly for three months and information such as date of visit, live weight, eggs laid, laying duration, egg weight and hatchability were recorded. Results of the study revealed that mean body weights of hens varied significantly according to physiological state and incubation periods (p<0.05). The mean body weights were 1.37, 0.88 and 1.08 kg for laying hens, incubating hens and brooding hens, respectively. The mean value for number of eggs laid, laying duration, egg weight and hatchability were 12.21, 16.70 days, 21.56 g and 86% respectively. Percent brooding loss was 20.89% and mean age at weaning was 44.33 days. Hatchability was negatively correlated with number of eggs laid and hen weight.

6

Authors: Maikai Victor Ambrose and Beatty Viv Maikai

Fish is the cheapest source of protein amongst the mostly African poor population and specifically Nigeria. Investigations were conducted to determine the type of gastrointestinal (GIT) parasites affecting Clarias gariepinus within Kaduna metropolis. Three hundred (300) catfish from various ponds collected during the wet season from June 2016 to September 2016, were dissected and their mesenteric cavities were examined for GIT parasites. Out of the 300 Clarias gariepinus examined, 107 (35.6%) were infected with GIT parasites. Four parasites namely, Monobothrium spp. (40.2%), Polyonchobothrium claire (28.0%), Procamallanus laevionchus (24.3%) and Cryphobia iubilans (7.5%) were recovered. Out of the 140 female fish examined, 62 (44.2%) were infected with GIT parasites, while 45 (28.1%) out of the 160 males examined were infected. The difference was statistically significant at p<0.05 between the females and males. Fishes having length >18 cm had higher rate of GIT parasites as seen with those >25 cm having the highest prevalence (49.1%) compared to those within 13 to 17 cm (30.8%), and the least were those 8 to 12 cm (5.3%) in length. The result of the study indicated that the association (P<0.05) between the prevalence of infection, sex, length and weight of the host was statistically significant (X2 = 3.96,16.34 respectively). Monobothrium spp. (41.3%) was the most recovered GIT parasite, followed by Polyonchobothrium claire (27.0%) and Procamallanus laevionchus (22.2%). The rate of infection of the intestine with GIT parasites was higher (91.3%) compared to stomach (8.7%). No parasite was recovered in the rectum. This study has shown that catfish within Kaduna metropolis harbour GIT parasites that are both of veterinary and public health importance.

8

Authors: NGAH OSOE BOULI Freddy Patrick, AWAH-NDUKUM Julius, TEJIOKEM Cyrille Mathurin and MINGOAS KILEKOUNG Jean-Pierre

Rabies has been proven to be endemic in Cameroon and in order to understand the determinants of this situation a Knowledge-Attitudes-Practices (KAP) evaluation has been undertaken in three regions with different sociodemographic characteristics of the country (Centre, North and Adamawa) from September 2012 to July 2014. Fourty-five questions have been addressed to 2500 households, 500 each in Garoua and Ngaoundéré cities in North and Adamawa, and 1500 in Yaoundé, one person chosen randomly per household. The overall answered rate was 44.72%, with 79.6% in Garoua, 49.6% in Ngaoundéré and 31.47% in Yaoundé with a total of 1118 households with exploitable data. 88.73% of these persons said they have heard about rabies, 97.88% of them being able to name at least one of the susceptible species. The transmission of rabies has been mostly associated to bites which has been cited 90.87% in animals and 96.44% in humans respectively by 64.01% and 79.33% of the population. However, this knowledge was very limited as wrong means of transmission as sexual intercourses, dirtiness, and consumption of dogs have also been listed. Furthermore, more than a half (52.22%) of people who have heard about rabies claim that the disease can be cured at any stage of its evolution, 3.65% of them saying that the disease can be cured through traditional means like plants, or by eating the raw liver or heart of the affected dog. The attitudes and practices regarding rabies were also wrong as more than a half of dog owners have not vaccinated their animals and 34.25% recommended to kill stray dogs as a mean to control rabies rather than vaccination (16.35%) and education (1.61%). In general, the population of Yaoundé have shown a better knowledge attitude and practices of the disease than those of Ngaoundéré and Garoua respectively. An association has been established between the knowledge of the issue of the disease and the localization (p=0.00069). The eradication of the disease being based on the appropriate knowledge of the disease, there is a need for all the different parts of the community to be involved in an establishment of a sensitization program for the population.