The production performance of imported Friesian cattle under heavy Trypanosoma challenge in a rain forest zone of Nigeria

Br. vet. J. (1991). 147, 275

THE PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE OF IMPORTED FRIESIAN CATTLE UNDER HEAVY TRYPANOSOMA CHALLENGE IN A RAIN FOREST ZONE OF NIGERIA

B . M . ANENE, A . B . CHIME and S. M . ANIKA*

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

SUMMARY The productivity of 76 newly imported pregnant Friesian cattle and two bulls under heavy trypanosome challenge in the rain forest belt of Nigeria is reported . At the first visit in August 1989 and within 7 months of arrival of the heifers, the herd population had reduced by 26 (33 .3%) as a result of deaths (six animals) and culls/salvages (20) . The surviving 52 animals were generally in poor health with classical symptoms of trypanosomiasis . Thirty-one (40 .8%) of the pregnancies were unsuccessful because of abortions (13 animals), premature births (seven), embryonic deaths (five) and death of heifers (six) . Of the 45 successful calvings, 16 perinatal deaths occurred . All serum samples were negative for brucellosis . Only 41 (63 .1%) of the 65 productive heifers lactated of which 24 (58 .5%) yielded milk only for 6 months and less . The remaining 17 (41 .5%) heifers were still at different stages of lactation ranging from 3 to 7 months within the period of analysis . Treatment with isometamidium (Samorin) at 0 .5 mg/kg body weight cured the infection and prevented reinfections and/or relapses within 3 months of administration . A rise in the haematocrit and milk production after Samorin treatment was recorded . Careful analysis of the outbreak indicated that the reproductive wastages and poor lactational performance may have been induced by the severe trypanosomiasis diagnosed in the herd .

INTRODUCTION There is gross animal protein underproduction and malnutrition in most tropical and subtropical regions including Africa (Oyenuga, 1975) . In an attempt to improve the protein supply in these areas through dairy production, there have been importations of high producing European breeds of cattle especially Friesians because of their reputation for fast growth, early maturity, high milk yield and long productive life (Knodt, 1954 ; Adeneye & Adebanjo, 1978 ; Ugochukwu, 1984 ; Ibeawuchi, 1985) . Friesian cattle are used either in cross-breeding programmes to upgrade the best available local breeds or maintained as pure breeds . *Author for correspondence.

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However, the productivity of the Friesians in their new environment has been adjudged inferior to that of their counterparts in temperate countries (Rice, 1965 ; McIntyre, 1971 ; Adeneye & Adebanjo, 1978 ; Ugochukwu, 1984 ; Ibeawuchi & Kalu, 1987) . This has been attributed to their poor adaptation to heat and humidity, local fibre forage feed, low level of livestock management as well as high susceptibility to ectoparasites and diseases such as trypanosomiasis, streptotricosis, foot rot, as well as tick-borne diseases (Wright, 1946 ; Payne & Hancock, 1957 ; Adeneye & Adebanjo, 1978 ; Ibeawuchi, 1984 ; Ugochukwu, 1984 ; Ibeawuchi & Kalu, 1987) . There is very little work on the effects of trypanosomiasis on the productivity of exotic breeds of cattle in Nigeria . This report provides information on the performance of imported Friesian heifers under heavy trypanosome challenge on a ranch in Okpomo in the Ogoja area of Nigeria in their first year after arrival . Information is also provided on the efficacy of isometamidium chloride (Samorin, May and Baker, Dagenham, England) in the treatment of the trypanosomiasis on the ranch .

MATERIALS AND METHOD A foundation stock of 78 imported Friesian cattle consisting of 76 pregnant heifers and two bulls on a dairy farm in the rain forest zone of Ogoja (Okpomo) in Nigeria was used within their first year of arrival . They were brought into the farm on the 17th of February 1989 and temporarily kept in a kraal under the shade of trees for 8 months (February to September) . They were thereafter housed in a large open barn with stalls to accommodate individual animals . The animals were reared intensively and fed with concentrate ration, mineral salt licks and generous amounts of chopped grass, groundnut leaves and rice straw . Water was provided ad libitum . The concentrates fed included spent brewers grain, maize grain, maize offal, wheat offal, rice bran, cassava chip, salt and vitamins in varying proportions depending on the production cycle of the animals . All the animals had been inoculated against rinderpest, anthrax, black quarter, haemorhagic septicaemia and contagious bovine pleuropneumonia . Ectoparasites and helminths were controlled with ivermectin (Ivomec, Merck Sharp and Dohme B .V ., Haarlem) . The animals had been treated with diminazene aceturate (Berenil) in July . Two visits were made to the farm in August 1989 and February 1990 . Records of milk production, calvings, disease conditions and mortalities on the farm were obtained from the farm records . Analysis of lactation records did not extend beyond November 1989 . At each visit, blood samples were taken for trypanosome infections by buffy coat technique (Murray et al., 1983) and for packed cell volume PCV (Coles, 1968) . The degree of parasitaemia was determined by the method of Paris et al. (1980) . Giemsa-stained thin blood films were used to identify the trypanosome species (Murray et al., 1983) . The rose bengal plate test (RBPT) (Morgan et al, 1969) was used to detect brucella antibodies . Clinical signs observed during physical examinations at each visit were recorded . Following the detection of heavy and widespread trypanosome infections in the herd in August, isometamidium (Samorin) at 0 .5 mg/kg body weight was used to treat all the cattle and repeated 3 months later in November . Statistical significance of the difference between the mean PCV of the herd in August and February was evaluated by the Student's t-test (Steel & Torrie, 1980) .

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TRYPANOSOMIASIS AND PRODUCTIVITY OF FRIESIANS IN NIGERIA RESULTS

Of the 76 pregnant heifers imported, 45 calved successfully . There were 16 perinatal deaths and only 29 calves survived . Thirteen abortions and seven premature births occurred while five heifers were unproductive (embryonic death) . The monthly distributions of calvings, abortions and premature births is presented in Table I .

Table I Monthly distribution of calvings, abortions, premature births, death of dams and salvages/culls in trypanosome infected Friesian herd in their first year

Months No . of animals

Calvings Abortions Premature births Death (heifers) Salvages/culls

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

June

July

Aug

45(100%) 13(100%) 2 (15 .4%) 1 (7 .7%)

1 (2 .2%) 17 (38%) 19 (42 .2%) 6 (13 .3%) 2 (4 .4%) 1 (7 .7%) 5 (38 .5%) 1 (7 .7%) 2 (15 .4%) 1 (7 .7%)

7(100%) 6(100%) 20(100%)

1(17%) 1(5%)

5(83%) 2(10%)

3(43%) 2 (10%)

4(57%) 10 (50%) 2 (10%)

3 (15%)

Only 52 cattle including the two bulls survived up to August . Six had died suddenly while 20 salvages/culls were recorded due to ill health (Table I) . During the August visit to the farm, a general unthrifty appearance with obvious signs of ill health was noticed . Clinical signs were dullness, weakness, lymphadenopathy, pale mucosae and ocular discharges . The animals were emaciated with starry hair coat . The attendants reported progressive weight loss and reduction in milk production despite a good appetite . The sick animals which had been culled or salvaged had symptoms similar to the ones described above . The problem in the farm had been unresponsive to treatments with broad spectrum antimicrobial substances . There were no tick infestations in the herd . Of the 65 productive heifers (animals that had full term pregnancy, premature births or abortions) only 41 (63%) lactated, the remaining 24 (37%) did not produce any milk (including two cattle that died after abortions) . Six of the lactations were initiated after abortions and two after premature births ; 24 (58 .5%) of the lactations were for only 6 months or less. Seventeen (41 .5%) of the heifers were still at various stages of lactation ranging from 3 to 7 months within the period of analysis . The mean daily milk yield was 7 .7 ± 0 .74 kg per cow for the first 6 months of lactation . Table II shows the monthly duration of lactations in the herd . The mean daily milk yield of the heifers the month before and after Samorin treatment is presented in Table III . It shows a general improvement in milk production after administration of the trypanocide . Trypanosomiasis was diagnosed in 23 (44%) of the 52 cattle sampled in August with a heavy T. vivax parasitaemia (Table IV) . The PCV of the infected and uninfected animals are shown in Table IV and V respectively . The mean PCV values for infected and uninfected animals were 25 .5±0 .96 (15-33%) and 25 .4±0 .85 (20-34%) respectively . After the Samorin treatment in August, the animals made a rapid and dramatic recovery .

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BRITISH VETERINARY JOURNAL, 147, 3 Table II Duration of first lactation (months) in trypanosome infected Friesian herd

Range (months) 0 1-2 3-4 5-6 * Total

No. of animals

Percentage of productive heifers

Percentage of lactating heifers

24 10 9 5 17 65

36 .9 15 .4 13 .8 7 .7 26 .2 100 .0

0 24 .3 22 .0 12 .2 41 .5 100 .0

* Uncompleted lactations .

Table III Mean daily milk yield of trypanosome infected Friesian herd the month before and after Samorin treatment Cow no. 17* 18* 47* 01* 10 19 31* 40 42 57 58 21* 26* 46 48 50 52* 75* 29* 05* 06* 24

Mean daily milk yield (pretreatment month) 20 .2 5 .2 9 .3 10 .2 8 .8 6 .7 7 .4 6 .9 11 .2 5 .95 7 .8 5 .5 9 .9 9 .8 8.0 9 .3 8 .5 7.8 6 .3 4 .3 11 .1 3 .8

(1 st)t (1st) (1st) (2nd) (2nd) (2nd) (2nd) (2nd) (2nd) (2nd) (2nd) (3rd) (3rd) (3rd) (3rd) (3rd) (3rd) (3rd) (3rd) (4th) (4th) (4th)

* Animals with trypanosomes in their blood . tMonth of lactation in parentheses.

Mean daily milk yield (post-treatment month) 22 .6 8 .0 10 .0 7 .7 9 .9 7 .7 6 .1 8 .4 10 .7 3 .2 10 .3 9 .3 14 .7 9 .8 7 .6 7 .3 8 .6 8 .0 10.1 4.5 10.1 4.1

(2nd) (2nd) (2nd) (3rd) (3rd) (3rd) (3rd) (3rd) (3rd) (3rd) (3rd) (4th) (4th) (4th) (4th) (4th) (4th) (4th) (4th) (5th) (5th) (5th)

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Table IV Haematocrit and parasitaemia in trypanosome infected Friesian cattle before Samorin treatment in August 1989 and after treatment in February 1990

Cow no .

01 05 06 09 15 17 18 21 26 29 31 32 33 35 36 44 47 51 52 59 68 74 75

Before Samorin treatment

After Samorin treatment

PCV (%)

Parasitaemia

PCV (%)

Parasitaemia

30 20 23 15 24 28 24 27 24 23 ND 29 22 31 20 26 29 33 30 ND 28 28 22

1+ T. vivax 6+ T. vivax 5+ T vivax 3+ T. vivax 2+ T. vivax 1+ T. vivax 2+ 1 vivax 6+ T vivax 2+ 1 vivax 2+ T. vivax 4+ T vivax 1+ 1 vivax 5+ T vivax 3+ 1 vivax 4+ T vivax 1+ T. vivax 5+ T vivax 1+ T. vivax 3+ T vivax 2+ T vivax 1+ T. vivax 1+ 1 vivax 2+ T T vivax

35 37 34 23 31 34 35 33 30 35 37 35 31 35 ND 38 39 34 37 32 31 ND 33

Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil

1+ to 6+, range of parasitaemia ; ND, not done.

By the second visit in February 1990, there were no deaths, culls or salvages . The animals were in good body condition with complete absence of trypanosomes in blood samples taken from the animals (Table IV) . The mean PCV for the herd was 34 .3 ± 0 .5 (25-40%) and showed a marked improvement over the values obtained in August . None of the animals showed evidence of infection with brucella . Other conditions recorded in the farm included foot rot (six animals), mastitis (five), abscessation (three), swollen leg (two), corneal opacity and arthritis (one case each) .

DISCUSSION The trypanosome infection rate of 44% recorded in this study is close to 38 .9% reported for Friesians in Ibadan, Nigeria (Anosa & Obi, 1980) but is much higher than the incidences of 4-14 .4% reported for bovine trypanosomiasis generally in recent times in Nigeria (Anosa, 1989) . This suggests higher susceptibility of Friesian cattle to trypanosomiasis and corroborates the observation that imported breeds of cattle are highly

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Table V Hematocrit of uninfected Friesian cattle before Samorin treatment in August 1989 and after treatment in February 1990 Haematocrit (%)

Cow no. 10 58 50 42 24 57 19 40 46 54 48 78 27 07 04 55 45 08 70 62 72 28 02 20 67 77 39 66 73 ND,

Before Samorin

After Samorin

25 ND 20 22 25 20 21 20 28 28 31 25 20 22 21 26 33 27 ND 25 25 23 32 31 22 25 22 32 34

32 36 37 31 32 34 32 37 35 36 40 32 25 32 35 ND 40 32 30 38 40 ND 37 38 40 31 38 32 38

not done .

susceptible to the disease (Anosa & Obi, 1980) . The marked reduction of PCV values in the herd correlates with the occurrence of anaemia which is a major symptom of trypanosomiasis . The occurrence of anaemia in both the infected as well as animals in which no trypanosomes could be detected coupled with the generalized symptoms of the disease in the herd suggest diagnostic failure that may be attributed to the fluctuations of parasitaemia in trypanosomiasis . Of the pregnancies, 40 .8% were unsuccessful, representing an enormous reproductive wastage . Several workers have shown that in the cow, trypanosomes are capable of causing abortion, premature or weak calving and still birth (Hornby, 1921 ; Dikmans et al., 1957 ; Ogwu & Nuru, 1981 ; Djabakou et al., 1985 ; Ogwu et al., 1986) . The abortions (17 .1%), premature births (9 .2%), death of pregnant heifers (7 .9%) and embryonic deaths (6 .6%) recorded in the farm were presumed to be caused by the trypanosome infections

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in the absence of any evidence of brucellosis in the herd, the main causes of bovine abortions in Nigeria (Esuruoso, 1974 ; Nuru, 1974) . The 38% calf crop recorded in this study is low although higher than 26% reported in a Friesian herd at Nsukka, Nigeria in which trypanosomiasis was prevalent (Ugochukwu, 1984) . The causes of the 35 .6% perinatal mortality in the farm were not recorded but the extreme debility of infected dams may have affected their nursing ability . Congenital transmissions may also have accounted for some of the perinatal deaths recorded (Woo & Limebeer, 1971 ; Liggett & Goldsmith, 1986 ; Ogwu et al., 1986). Thirty-five (46 .1%) of the pregnant heifers imported for the dairy project did not produce milk because of agalactiae (24 animals), deaths (six) and embryonic deaths (five) representing a significant economic loss . The mean daily lactation of 7 .7 kg per cow obtained for the first 6 months of lactation in this study is lower than the 9 .16 kg (Ugochukwu, 1984), 8 .2 kg (Ibeawuchi, 1985) and 8 .5 kg (Ibeawuchi & Kalu, 1987) reported for the whole period of first lactation of Friesians in Nigeria . It is, however, higher than 5 .2 kg reported by Adeneye & Adebanjo (1978) for the length of first lactation in Western Nigeria . They attributed the poor milk yield to a combination of disease, genetic and climatic factors . Although 41 .5% of the heifers in the present study had not completed their lactation within the period of study, nevertheless, the lactation lengths of less than 6 months recorded in 58 .5% of the animals signifies a very poor lactation performance and is quite incompatible with the 346 days (Adeneye & Adebanjo, 1978) and 321 days (Ibeawuchi & Kalu, 1987) first lactation lengths reported for Friesians at Vom and Western Nigeria respectively . This disappointingly low lactation performance was probably due to the effects of severe trypanosomiasis . The absence of trypanosomes in the blood of the animals at the second visit (Table IV), after administration of two doses of Samorin 3 months apart shows that the drug was effective in clearing the blood of the parasites and preventing reinfections within the period . The cessation of deaths and remission of clinical symptoms after Samorin treatment coupled with the improvement in the haematocrit (Table IV and V) and milk yield (Table III) shows that trypanosomiasis was the major problem in the farm . In conclusion, T. vivax infection of Friesian cattle produced severe clinical disease associated with deaths, culls/salvages, abortions, premature calving and poor lactational performance, leading to loss of productivity . Samorin treatment was effective in curing the disease, and with a retreatment 3 months later, prevented reinfections and/or relapses within the 6 months observation period . This study thus indicates that Friesians can be maintained in good health and productivity in a trypanosome endemic area by a judicious use of Samorin .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The study was supported by EEC Lome III Research Fund for the Control of Animal Trypanosomiasis .

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