Productivity of Boran Cattle Maintained by Chemoprophylaxis Under Trypanosomiasis Risk
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ILCA Research Report No. 9 Productivity of Boran cattle maintained by chemoprophylaxis under trypanosomiasis risk J. CM. Trail, K. Sones, J.M.C. Jibbo, J. Durkin, D.E. Light and Max Murray February 1985 INTERNATIONAL LIVESTOCK CENTRE FOR AFRICA ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA ILCA PUBLICATIONS The International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA) is an autonomous, non-profit making research and in formation centre with a mandate to improve livestock production throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The activi ties and publications of the centre are financed by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Re search (CGIAR). The CGIAR members which have funded ILCA to date are the International Develop ment Research Centre, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the United Nations Devel opment Programme, the World Bank, and the govern ments of Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France, Iran, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United King dom and the United States of America. Responsibility for ILCA publications rests solely with the centre and with such other parties as may be cited as joint authors. Until 1982, the centre's two main series of scientific publications were Systems Studies and Monographs. These two series have now been superceded by the present series of Research Reports. "This Or III II I III II III RHQS-AUA-623J Productivity of Boran cattle maintained by chemoprophylaxis under trypanosomiasis risk J.C.M. Trail1, K. Sones2, J.M.C. Jibbo3, J. Durkin4, D.E. Light4 and Max Murray5. 1 Livestock Productivity and Trypanotolerance Group, ILCA, P.O. Box 46847, Nairobi, Kenya. 2 May and Baker Ltd., Dagenham, Essex, UK. 3 Amboni Ltd., P.O. Box 1 1 7, Tanga, Tanzania. 4 Biometrics and Computer Unit, ILCA, P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 5 International Laboratory for ReseResearch on Animal Diseases (ILRAD), P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, Kenya. ILCA Research Report No. 9 International Livestock Centre for Africa February 1985 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH ABSTRACT The productivity of grade Boran cattle maintained by chemoprophylaxis under severe trypanosomiasis risk was evaluated at Mkwaja Ranch, Tanzania. Twenty thousand calving records collected over a period of 10 years were analysed. It was established in an area of high tsetse challenge that, using a chemopro- phylactic drug (Samorin) strategy, acceptable levels of productivity could be obtained. On average, the productivity level achieved at Mkwaja, expressed per unit of metabolic weight of cow maintained, was approximately 80% of that of Boran reared in a tsetse-free ranching environment in Kenya and was 35% greater than trypanotolerant N'Dama kept in tsetse-infested areas of West and central Africa without trypanocidal drugs. KEY WORDS /Tanzania//Mkwaja//trypanosomiasis//diseasecontrol//productivitydata//chemoprophylaxis//trypanocidal drugs//Boran cattle//N'Dama cattle/ RESUME La productivite du betail de race Boran amelioree, entretenue par la chimioprophylaxie dans des condi tions de grave risque de trypanosomiase, a ete evaluee au ranch de Mkwaja, en Tanzanie. 20 000 recense- ments de velage couvrant une periode de 10 ans ont ete analyses. II a ete constate dans une region a forte incidence de tse-tse que la mise en oeuvre d'une strategie utilisant un produit chimioprophylactique (Samo rin) permettait d'obtenir des niveaux de productivite acceptables. En moyenne, le niveau de productivite realise a Mkwaja, exprime en unite de poids metabolique par vache, etait approximativement 80% de celui des Boran elevees dans un en vironnement de ranching exempt de tse-tse et etait de 35% plus grand que celui des N'Dama trypanotolerantes elevees dans des zones infestees de tse-tse en Afrique occidentale et centrale sans medication trypanocide. MOTS CLES ITanzaniel I Mkwajal Itrypanosomiasel llutte anti-maladiel Idonnees de productiviteI Ichimioprophylaxiel lmedicaments trypanocidesl Ibovins BoranI Ibovins N'DamaI ISBN 92-9053-056-1 CONTENTS LISTOFTABLES v LISTOFFIGURES vii PREFACE viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii SUMMARY ix 1 . AFRICAN TRYPANOSOMIASIS AND APPROACHES TO ITS CONTROL 1 Extent of the problem 1 Complexity of the problem 4 Control of the problem 5 Tsetse control 5 Future prospects for vaccination 6 Trypanotolerance 6 Trypanocidal drugs 7 2. MKWAJA RANCH 9 History 9 Environmental features 11 Climate 11 Soils and vegetation 12 Wild fauna 15 Vectors and trypanosomes 15 Ranch management and production methods 16 Internal organisation 16 Herding 16 Registration of calves 16 Weaning 16 Breeding 19 Culling 19 Marketing 19 Disease control 19 Wild predators 20 3. THE NEED FOR TRYPANOCIDAL DRUGS AT MKWAJA 21 Samorin 21 Berenil 21 Experiment 1 22 Materials and methods 22 Results and discussion 22 Experiment 2 24 Materials and methods 24 Results and discussion 26 General conclusion 29 4. APPROACH TO ANALYSIS OF MATCHING PRODUCTIVITY AND HEALTH DATA AT MKWAJA 30 Background 30 Data preparation 31 Data analyses 32 5. CATTLE PRODUCTIVITY AT MKWAJA 33 Results of analyses 33 Reproductive performance 33 Mortality 33 Causes of death 33 Bodyweights 37 Cow productivity 37 Cow culling 37 Performance levels at Mkwaj a Ranch 37 6. ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON PERFORMANCE TRAITS AT MKWAJA 39 Effect of specific factors on performance 39 Year of calving or birth 39 Area and location on ranch 39 Cow age 42 Season of calving or birth 42 Sex of calf 43 Development of effective management systems 43 Increasing selection efficiency 43 7. CHEMOPROPHYLAXIS AT MKWAJA 44 Prophylactic and therapeutic regime 44 Trypanosomiasis diagnosis from blood smears 44 Environmental influences on number of treatments required 45 Effect of trypanocidal treatments required on performance 46 Number of Samorin treatments required 47 Berenil treatment given 47 Interaction between Samorin and Berenil treatments: Its relevance to drug resistance 48 Timing of Samorin treatment 50 Conclusions 51 8. LINKS BETWEEN TSETSE POPULATION DYNAMICS AND CATTLE PRODUCTIVITY AT MKWAJA 52 Introduction 52 Comparison of northern and southern areas 52 IV 9. COMPARISON OF BORAN GENOTYPES AT MKWAJA 57 Introduction 57 Genotype effects on pre-weaning growth characters 57 Genotype x year of birth interaction effects on pre-weaning growth characters 59 Location effects on pre-weaning growth characters 61 Genotype x location interaction effects on pre-weaning growth characters 61 Genotype x year x location effects on pre-weaning growth characters 61 Conclusion 62 10. MKWAJA CATTLE PRODUCTIVITY IN AN AFRICAN CONTEXT 66 Comparison of Mkwaja Boran with Boran in Kenya 66 Comparison of Mkwaja Boran with N'Dama in West and central Africa 68 Conclusion 68 11. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 70 The trypanosomiasis problem 70 Unique nature of Mkwaj a data 70 Trypanosomiasis risk at Mkwaja Ranch 70 Outcome of the Samorin prophylactic strategy 70 Insecticide application and release of sterile male tsetse flies 72 Mkwaja and Kenya Boran 72 Can productivity be increased? 72 Implications for other tsetse-infested areas 72 Abbreviations used in the text 73 REFERENCES 74 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Livestock populations in the 37 countries of Africa infested with tsetse fly 3 Table 2. Populations of domestic ruminants in the East Africa region 4 Table 3. Influence of level of tsetse challenge on productivity of trypanotolerant cattle, West and central Africa, 1977-78 7 Table 4. Primary bush cleared in the northern area of Mkwaja Ranch, 1967-81 11 Table 5. Total annual rainfall, total and mean monthly rainfall, and number of rain days by season at Mkwaja Ranch headquarters, 1972-82 13 Table 6. Identification of blood meals in Glossina captured by vehicle trapping, Mkwaja Ranch, 1976 17 Table 7. Packed red cell volume estimations in three groups of cattle, Mkwaja Ranch, 1975-77 24 Table 8. Causeof death among three groups of cattle, Mkwaja Ranch, 1975-77 24 Table 9. Mean weight changes among three groups of cattle, Mkwaja Ranch, 1975-77 25 Table 10. Cause of death among four groups of cattle, Mkwaja Ranch, 1975-77 27 Table 11. Mean weight changes among four groups of cattle, Mkwaja Ranch, 1975-77 28 Table 12. Overall performance achieved by Mkwaja Boran cattle, 1973-82 34 Table 13. Causeof death among calves and cows, Mkwaja Ranch, 1973-82 36 Table 14. Mean squares for performance traits of cows and calves, Mkwaj a Ranch, 1973-82 40 Table 15. Estimated least squares means for performance traits of cows and calves, Mkwaja Ranch, 1973-82 41 Table 16. Estimated least squares constants for interaction between area on ranch and year of calving or birth for performance traits, Mkwaja Ranch, 1973-82 42 Table 17. Effect of season of calving or birth on performance traits, Mkwaja Ranch, 1973-82 43 Table 18. Evaluation ofthickbood smears from cattle, Mkwaja Ranch, 1973-82 45 Table 19. Mean squares for number of Samorin and Berenil treatments required annually, Mkwaja Ranch, 1973-82 46 Table 20. Estimated least squares means for number of Samorin and Berenil treatments required annually, Mkwaj a Ranch , 1973-82 47 Table 21 . Summary of significance of trypanocidal treatments and their interactions on performance traits, Mkwaja Ranch, 1973-82 48 Table 22. Effects of number of Samorin treatments required from parturition to 240 days after parturition, on performance traits, Mkwaja Ranch, 1973-82 48 Table 23. Effects of Berenil treatment given from parturition to 240 days after parturition, on performance traits, Mkwaj a Ranch, 1973-82 49 Table 24. Interaction constants between Berenil