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The prevalence study of bovine trypanosomosis was conducted in 43 smallholder farms which
were randomly selected from 350 cattle farms and seven medium scale farms purposively selected in
Morogoro, Tanzania. A total of 509 and 102 cross breed and local cattle, respectively aged six months and
above were used in the study. The selected animals were examined for clinical signs of trypanosomosis and
thereafter screened for haemoparasites using direct blood smears and micro-centrifugation methods. The
overall prevalence of trypanosomosis in cattle was 2.3% (95% CI: 1.4-3.8, n = 691). Infected animals (n = 16)
had the mean rectal temperature of 39.1oC±1.03. The mean number of parasites and PCV was 8.6±13.6 and
24.8%±7.9, respectively. Specific infection rates based on trypanosomas species were 0.4%, 0.6%, and
1.3% for T. congolense, T. brucei and T. vivax respectively. A highly significant (P < 0.05) infection rate was
found in cattle on farms located in northeastern part of Morogoro town (4.0%, n = 303) than those in the
southwest (1.0%, n = 388, RR = 3.84, 95% CI = 1.18 - 16.98). Sex, breed, grazing system, farm size, acaricide
application and chemoprophylaxis were not the risk factors for the trypanosomosis infection. It was
concluded that, despite a continuous uses of chemoprophylaxis, synthetic pyrethroids, bush clearing and
many other methods against tsetse flies, trypanosomosis is still prevalent in cattle in Morogoro. Animals in
the livestock-wildlife interphase are at higher risk of infection. It was recommended that trypanosomosis
losses due to cattle mortalities, reduced production and reproduction performance, continuous disease
treatment and control costs need to be quantified. Knowing the associated losses may call for strengthening
the disease surveillance, treatment and control strategies which are aimed at reduction or total elimination
of the tsetse flies. |
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