Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Bovine Trypanosomosis in Diga District, Western Ethiopia

Trypanosomosis is a protozoal disease caused by different species of unicellular parasites found in the blood and other tissues of vertebrates including livestock, wildlife, and people. It is the most serious animal production problem in sub-Saharan Africa including Ethiopia. The present study was conducted to assess the prevalence of bovine trypanosomosis and prevailing species of Tyrpanosomes in Diga district and to identify host related risk factors for trypanosomosis prevalence in Western Ethiopia. Blood samples were collected from 384 randomly selected indigenous cattle (Bos indicus) and analyzed using parasitological and hematological techniques. Out of the 384 animals examined 22 (5.73%) were found trypanosomosis positive. Of which 11 (2.87%) were infected with T. vivax, 9 (2.34%) with T. congolense and 2 (0.52%) with mixed infection of T. vivax and T. congolense. This difference in trypanosomes species prevalence was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The association of prevalence with the various risk factors including kebele, age, sex, body condition and coat color were measured. There was a significant variation in the prevalence of trypanosomosis (P<0.05) among cattles with different body conditions, poor body conditioned animals with the highest prevalence followed by medium and good body condition animals, respectively. There was no any statistically significant difference in other variables considered. The overall Packed Cell Volume (PCV) mean PCV value of 25.67 was recorded during the study period. The mean PCV value of infected animals was lower (20.18) than that of non-infected animals (26.0). The difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The result of the present study indicated the prevailing occurrence of trypanosomosis in the study area necessitating integrated control measures.