Abstract

Besnoitia besnoiti, a re-emergent parasite of cattle in Europe, occurs in many countries of Africa and other parts of the world. Clinical observations and incidental findings of B. besnoiti in cattle have been reported in the Southern and Northern regions of Nigeria, but the prevalence of antibodies against this parasite is not yet known. This investigation was designed to determine the seroprevalence of bovine besnoitiosis in Northern Nigeria. A total of 400 cattle were selected at random through cluster sampling of herds from two Local Government Areas (LGA) each, of 5 States in the region (Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto and Borno States), between May, 2008 and November, 2009. Sera samples obtained from cows, bulls and calves, and milk from lactating cows with suckling calves were screened with indirect immunofluorescent antibody technique (IFAT) for antibodies to B. besnoiti. Out of the 400 samples 321 (80.3%) were positive for antibodies to B. besnoiti. Cattle sampled in Borno had the highest (87.5%) prevalence of antibodies to B. besnoiti, while those sampled from Katsina State had the least prevalence (62.3%). Wamako LGA of Sokoto State had the highest prevalence of the antibodies (100.0%), while Dan Musa LGA in Katsina had the least prevalence (53.0%) among the ten LGA sampled, however, these differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Similarly, the overall prevalence of antibodies to B. besnoiti did not vary significantly between bulls (84.0%) and cows (79.0%), or in the dry (83.6%) and wet (77.1%) seasons (p > 0.05). The high prevalence of antibodies to B. besnoiti in cattle in Northern Nigeria indicates an endemic state of the disease in this region.

Keywords: Antibodies, Besnoitia, Cattle, Northern Nigeria, Prevalence