RESEARCH NOTE PREVALENCE OF BOVINE TRYPANOSOME INFECTIONS IN DAMBOA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA BORNO STATE

African animal trypanosomiasis is a disease complex caused by pathogenic trypanosomes which are cyclically transmitted by tsetse-fly or mechanically by other biting flies to domestic animals. The disease has for long been a limiting factor to livestock production in tsetse-fly  infested regions of Africa (Anosa, 1983; Trail et al., 1985; Dwinger et al., 1986). It is now assuming significance in the tsetse-free vegetational zones (Nawathe et al., 1988) probably due to transhumance and ecological upset in favour of increasing insect population and activity in the area. The study was undertaken to ascertain the prevalence of bovine trypansome infection in the area and hoped that it will provide information on the epidemiology of the disease. A total of 151 blood samples were collected from 11 sedentary herds of cattle in Damboa Local Government Area between February to April, 1992. About 3ml of blood was collected from each animal inbijou bottle containing anticoagulant (Ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid). The sex, age and breed of each animal were noted during blood collection. The blood samples were transported to the Laboratory on ice and examined using wet-film, stained thin smears, haematocrit centrifuge technique (Woo, 1969) and dark ground buffy coat. The packed cell volume was also recorded for each animal using Hawksley's haematocrit reader.