Search

Goats are important in the livestock economy by their adaptability to adverse environmental conditions as they are good sources of protein and income for the rural poor. Studies conducted on the bacterial flora of the respiratory tract in goats focused on the pneumonic lungs, with fewer studies on the apparently normal nasal passage and antibiogram of isolated organisms. This study was carried out on 60 apparently healthy West African Dwarf goats. The nasal swab from each goat was analyzed using standard methods. The disc diffusion technique was used for the antibiotic sensitivity test. Three hundred and twenty-eight isolates were obtained. The most frequently isolated species was Streptococcus spp., while Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were the second dominant bacteria. Other species were isolated at relatively lower rates. The isolation of Mannheimia haemolytica and Pasteurella multocida from the nasal cavity of apparently healthy goats in this study reflects their possible role in most common respiratory diseases encountered in small ruminants. Most of the bacteria were found to be susceptible to streptomycin, quinolones (perfloxacin, ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin) and gentamicin, while they were resistant to tetracycline, augmentin and erythromycin. This study shows the relationship between misuse or unrestricted use of antibiotics and drug resistance. Therefore, there is a need for practitioners and researchers to be informed of the appropriate antibiotics to be used in respiratory infections and during control programs.

The main aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of disease prophylaxis on the reduction of mortality in small ruminants in a peasant environment. The study was conducted in 60 villages of Northern Cameroon (North and Extreme-North provinces). The small ruminant flocks of thirty villages were dewormed with BolumisolR (levamisole) against gastrointestinal helminthoses, and vaccinated against peste des petits ruminants with BovipestovaxR. The other thirty villages served as untreated control. In total 18,469 small ruminants, of which 10,179 had been treated, were monitored monthly from August 1995 to July 1996. After a year, results showed that mortality rates significantly decreased (p < 0.0001) from 22.21% to 10.92% and from 25.06% to 13.15% in goats and sheep, respectively. This prophylaxis plan should be adopted in order to control the high mortality that plagues small ruminant farms of Northern Cameroon. Its economic impact is obvious and would even be greater if reproductive and growth performances were considered.

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is a contagious respiratory disease of cattle caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides small colony. CBPP heavily constrains cattle farm development in Africa and results in mortality, decrease in animal production, and control costs. A conceptual model of CBPP spread within an infected herd (vaccinated or not) is proposed. It was developed based on today’s epidemiological knowledge of the disease. This conceptual model was translated into a mathematical model, which can be used to test various CBPP control strategies at the herd level. It will have to be tried out in various CBPP epidemiological contexts of Africa and to be tested against future experimental results in order to be validated and eventually improved. Finally, it will be essential to conduct surveys during CBPP outbreaks, carry out clinical trials, and promote publications of the detailed results of these actions to assess in a more reliable manner the epidemiological parameters that control the model behavior.

Resumen en inglès, ver archivo PDF

Resumen en inglès, ver archivo PDF