Kivaria F.M., Ruheta M.R., Mkonyi P.A., Malamsha P.C.
Animal Diseases Research Institute, P.O. Box 9254, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Kivaria, F.M., Animal Diseases Research Institute, P.O. Box 9254, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Ruheta, M.R., Animal Diseases Research Institute, P.O. Box 9254, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Mkonyi, P.A., Animal Diseases Research Institute, P.O. Box 9254, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Malamsha, P.C., Animal Diseases Research Institute, P.O. Box 9254, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
A cross-sectional study based on clinical examination, inspection of herd health records and a questionnaire was designed to determine the epidemiology, economics and potential impact of immunisation against theileriosis in Tanzania. The results showed annual theileriosis costs to be US$ 205.40 per head, whereas the introduction of immunisation reduced this by 40-68% depending on the post immunisation dipping strategy adopted. Morbidity risk due to theileriosis was 0.048 in immunised and 0.235 in non-immunised cattle, and the difference was significant (χ2 = 66.7; P = 0.000). The questionnaire results indicated that immunised cattle had a significantly (χ2 = 6; P = 0.015) higher risk of anaplasmosis compared with non-immunised cattle, whereas the risk of bovine babesiosis did not differ significantly (χ2 = 0.06; P = 0.807) between the two groups. Mortality risk due to anaplasmosis was 0.046 in immunised and 0.018 in non-immunised cattle and this difference was statistically significant (χ2 = 4.48; P = 0.043). The theileriosis mortality risk was 0.203 in the non-immunised cattle, while the risk was 0.009 in the immunised cattle and these differences were also significant (χ2 = 103; P = 0.000). It was concluded that farmers who have immunised their cattle may cautiously cut down acaricide application by 50% for extensively grazed herds and by 75% for zero grazed animals depending on the level of tick challenge at the herd level. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
acaricide; agricultural worker; anaplasmosis; animal experiment; animal model; animal parasitosis; article; babesiosis; cattle disease; clinical examination; controlled study; cost benefit analysis; economic evaluation; epidemiological data; grazing; herd; immunization; medical record; morbidity; mortality; nonhuman; prevalence; questionnaire; statistical significance; Tanzania; Animals; Cattle; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data Collection; Insecticides; Protozoan Vaccines; Tanzania; Theileriasis; Tick Control; Vaccination; Animalia; Bos; Bovinae; Ixodida