A study on prevalence of bovine trypanosomosis in selected areas of Konta Special Woreda, Southern Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2010 to March 2011 to determine the prevalence of bovine trypanosomosis, to identify the species of trypanosomes in the study area and to assess the community awareness regarding the effect of trypanosomosis and control methods in selected areas of Konta Special Woreda of Southern Nation Nationalities and Peoples Regional States. Thirty households were interviewed using prepared questionnaire format during the study period. In the parasitological survey, blood samples of 300 cattle were examined using a buffy coat technique and thin smear under Gimsa stain. The packed cell volume (PCV) value of each animal was also measured using hematocrit reader. The overall prevalence of trypanosomosis in the study area was found to be 21.33%. There was no significant difference in prevalence between the study areas. The dominant trypanosome species found in the area were Trypanosoma congolense (64%) followed by Trypanosoma vivax (23%) and Trypanosoma brucei (13%). The prevalence of 44.29, 14.13 and 15.22% was observed for animals with poor, medium and good body conditions, respectively and there was statistically significant (p<0.05) difference between animals with different body condition. There was no difference in prevalence between the different age groups of cattle. The mean PCV value (%) of parasitaemic and aparasitaemic animals during the study period were 19.42 and 27.64 with a statistically significance (p<0.05) difference between the two groups. The study also demonstrated variations in the prevalent between both sexes which was statistically significant (p<0.05). It was concluded that the present work evidenced that trypanosomosis has continued to pose a considerable threat to cattle production in the study area warranting an integrated control and prevention to safeguard cattle production and productivity.