Productivity of Boran cattle maintained by chemoprophylaxis under trypanosomiasis risk J.C.M. Trail, K. Sones, J.M.C. Jibbo, J. Durkin, D.E. Light and Max Murray February 1985 *j -T- S A 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 arc the International Develcp­ 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, Chitia, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France, Iran. Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands. Nigeria. Norvay, 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 maiil series of scientific pubiications were Systems Studies and Monographs. These two series have now been superceded by the present series of Research Reports. Productivity of Boran cattle maintained by chemoprophylaxis under trypanosomiasis risk 3 J.C.M. Trail', K. Sones 2 , J.M.C. Jibbo , J. Durkin4 , D.E. Light4 and Max Murray5 . 1 Livestock Productivity and Trypanotolerance Group, ILCA, P.O. Box 46847, Nairobi, K.nya. 2 May and Baker Ltd., Dagenham, Essex, UK. 3 Amboni Ltd., P.O. Box 117, Tanga, Tanzania. 4 Biometrics and Computer Unit, ILCA, P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 5 International Laboratory for Research 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 tt 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, ;,cceptable levels of productivity could be obtained. On average, the productivity Iuvel achieved at Mkwaja, expressed per unit of metabolic weight of cow maintained, was approximately 80% of that it 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//disease controli/productivity data//chemoprophylaxis//trypanocidal drugs//Boran cattle//N'Dima cattle/ RESUME La productivitW du betail de race Boran anliore,entretenueparla chimioprophylaxie dans des condi­ tions de grave risque de trypanosomiase,a ete evalue au ranch de hlkwaja, en Tanzanie. 20 000 recense­ ments de vilage couvrantune periode de 10 ans ont ete analyses. II a ete constatedans une r~gion dforte incidence de tse-tr que la raiseen oeuvred'une strategieutilisantun produitchitnioprophylactique(Samo­ rin) permettait d'obtenirdes niveaux de productivite acceptables.En rnoyenne, le niveau de productivitg realis d Mkwaja, exprim en unite depoidsrnetaboliqueparvache, &taitapproximativemnent80% de celui des BoranHevees dans un en vironnernentde ranchingexempt de ts -ts et taitde 35 % plusgrandque cel i des N'Danatrypanotolrantes levees dans des zones infestes de tse-tseen Afrique occidentale et centrale sans mdicationtrypanocide. MOTS CLES ITanzanie//Mkwaja//trypaizosomiase//lutteanti-maladiel/donnieesde productivitg//chimioprophylaxiel Imdicqgments trypanocidesl/bovinsBoran/IbovinsN'Damal ISBN 92-9053-056-1 ii CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... vil PRE FACE .............................................................................................................. viii ACKNOWLEDGEMEN'S ...................................................................................... viii SUM MA RY .......................................................................................................... .... ix 1. AFRICAN TRYPANOSOMIASIS AND APPROACHES TO ITS CONTROL ................. 1 E xtent of the problem ............................................................................................ 1 Complexity of the problem ..................................................................................... 4 Control of the problem .......................................................................................... 5 Tsetse con tro ........................................... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 5 Future prospects for vaccination ......................................................................... 6 Trypanotolerance ............................................................................................ 6 Trypanocid al drugs .......................................................................................... 7 2. MKWAJA RANCH .............................................................................................. 9 History ............................................................................................................... 9 Environmental features ........................................................................................ 11 Clim ate ...................................................................................................... .. 11 Soils and vegetation .......................................................... ............... 12 W ild fauna .................................................................................................. .. 15 Vectors and trypanosomes .................................................................................... 15 Ranch management and production methods .............................................................. 16 Internal organisation ....................................................................................... 16 H erding ..................................................................................................... 16 Registration of calves .................................................................................... 16 Wean ing ................................................................................................... .. 16 B reeding .................................................................................................. .... 19 C ulling ...................................................................................................... .. 19 M arketing ........................................................... .. ...................... .. 19 Disease control .............................................................................................. 19 Wild predators .............................................................................................. 20 3. THE NEED FOR TRYPANOCIDAL DRUGS AT MKWAJA ................................... 21 Sam orin ......................................................................................................... 21 Berenil ........................................................................................................... .. 21 iii Experiment 1 ....................................................................................................... 22 Material 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 an alyses ............................. ......................................................................... 32 5. CATILE PRODUCTIVITY AT MKWAJA ................................... ............. 33 Results of analyses .............................................................................................. 33 Reproductive performance ............................................................................... 33 Mortality ...................................................................................................... 33 Causes of death ............................................................................................ 33 Bodyweights ............................................................................................ ... 37 Cow productivity ..........................................................................................