Browsing by Author "Joseph, Otimong"

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    PREVALENCE AND CONTROL OF ANAPLASMOSIS IN CATTLE: A CASE OF GULU DISTRICT
    (Gulu University, 2024) Joseph, Otimong
    Tick-borne diseases present a major economic burden to communities across East Africa, especially Anaplasmosis affecting livestock production in Uganda. This study aims at determining the prevalence, risk factors and common control measures of Anaplasmosis in cattle, Gulu district. Samples of blood were collected from 384 cattle in a period of three months and examined microscopically using Giemsa staining procedures. The overall prevalence of cattle with Anaplasmosis was 17.97%. Locality, cattle not injected during treatment and cattle breeds had no significant difference (P>0.05) with prevalence of Anaplasmosis. However, higher prevalence of Anaplasmosis was recorded among cross breed (26.47%) and least in Small East African zebu breeds (16.13%) of cattle. Body condition, tick infestation, cattle of age group less than one year (28.95%) and previously injected with needles observed variations that were statistically significant (P<0.05), with highest prevalence’s of 59.65%, 20.54% and 28.95% respectively. There was statistically significant (P<0.05) difference in risk of infection, indicating that different factors influenced the prevalence of Anaplasmosis in the study area. The major control measures were mainly; spraying with Amitix (62%), treatment of cattle using oxytetracycline (77%), with inappropriate acaricide and other drug usage, inadequate veterinary staff and infrequent spraying of cattle. In conclusion, study showed that endemic stability of Anaplasmosis in Gulu district was due to inappropriate control measures employed by cattle farmers. The study recommends that cattle farmers should be sensitized on rationale and effective use of acaricides during spraying and drugs during treatment of infected cattle.