Introduction
Livestock diseases are classified according to causative agents as follows:
� Protozoan diseases -caused by protozoans.
� Bacterial diseases - caused by bacteria:
� VIral diseases - cause by virus.
� Nutritional diseases - brought about by nutritional disorders.
Protozoan Diseases
� East coast Fever (ECF).
� Anaplasmosis (gall sickness)
� Coccidiosis
� Trypanosomiasis (Nagana)
East coast Fever
� Animals attacked: Cattle
� Cause: Protozoan. (Theileria parva)
� It is a tick-borne disease transmitted by red-�legged tick and brown ear tick.
Symptoms
� Rise in body temperature.
� Swelling of lymph glands below the ear.
� Difficulties in breathing.
� Dullness.
Control and Prevention
� Control of vectors through dipping and fencing.
� Treatment by use of clexon in the early stages.
Anaplasmosis (gall sickness)
Animals attacked:
� Cattle between 2 months and 2 years.
� Poultry.
� Lambs and kids.
� Rabbits.
Cause: Protozoan (Anaplasma marginale)
� Transmitted by the blue tick
� contaminated surgical instruments and hypodermic needles.
Symptoms
� Fever/rise in body temperature.
� Constipation or hard dung.
� Paleness in the gums, eyes and lips.
� Drop in milk production.
Control
� Tick control.
� Intramuscular injection of antibiotics and iron giving injections.
� Coccidiosis
Coccidiosis of Poultry
� Cause: Protozoan (Eimeria spp.)
Symptoms
� Sudden death of chicks.
� Whitish, yellow and blood stained diarrhoea.
� Ruffled feathers.
� Chicks become paralysed before dying.
� Chicks become anaemic and dull.
Control
� Disinfection of chick house.
� Prevention of contamination of food and water with droppings.
� Use of prophylatic drugs for example, Coccidiostats.
Trypanosomiasis (Nagana)
� Animals attacked: cattle, sheep and goats.
� Cause: Protozoan of the trypanosome species,
� Vector-tsetse flies.
Symptoms
� Fever.
� Dullness.
� Anorexia/loss of appetite.
� Loss of body condition/emaciation.
� Swollen lymph nodes.
� Lachrimation which leads to blindness.
� Diarrhoea
� Rough coat and sometimes without hair and may be cracked.
� Swelling in parts of the belly.
� Drop in milk production in lactating cows.
� Loss of hair at tail end.
� Anaemia.
� Abortion may occur in pregnant females.
Control
� Treating animals with trypanocidal drugs.
� Effective vector (Tsetse flies)control
� Confinement of wild animals in game parks.
Bacterial Diseases
� Fowl typhoid
� Foot rot.
� Contagious abortion.
� Scours.
� Blackquarter.
� Mastitis.
� Anthrax.
� Pneumonia.
Fowl Typhoid
� Animals attacked: All domestic birds which include chicken, turkey and ducks.
� Causes: Bacteria (Salmonella gallinarum}
Symptoms
� Depression/appearing very sick.
� Respiratory distress.
� Dullness.
� Drooping wings.
� Sleepy eyes.
� Anaemia resulting in pale and shrunken
� combs and wattles.
� Greenish yellow diarrhoea.
Control
� Killing all affected birds and proper disposal of the carcasses.
� Maintaining hygiene in the poultry house.
� Ensuring that the house is dry and well ventilated.
� Obtaining chicks from reliable sources.
� Treatment using sulphur drugs which are mixed in drinking water or mash.
� For example: application of Furazolidone (Furazol) at the rate of 0.04% in mash for 10 continuous days treats the disease effectively.
Foot Rot
� It is also referred to as foul-in-the foot.
� Animals attacked: cattle, sheep and goats.
� However, it is most serious in sheep.
� Cause: Bacteria (Fusiformis necrophorus and Fusiformis nodosus).
Symptoms
� Animal's foot becomes swollen.
� Lameness is observed.
� Pus and rotten smell come out of the hoof.
� Sheep are found kneeling while grazing when the front feet are affected.
� Animals spend most of their time lying down when the hind feet are affected.
� Emaciation due to lack of feeding.
Control
� Hygiene in the living places.
� Regular foot examination and hoof trimming.
� Use of a foot bath of copper sulphate solution at 5-10% solution or formalin at 2-5% solution.
� Treating wounds on the feet with antiseptics.
� Affected animals should be given antibiotic injections.
� Isolation of sick animals from healthy ones.
� Avoid dampness and muddy conditions.
Contagious Abortion (Brucellosis/ Bang's Disease)
� Animals attacked: cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.
- It also affects man.
� Cause: Bacteria
- Brucella abortus in cattle,
- Brucella suis in pigs
- Brucella malitensis in goats and sheep.
Symptoms
� Spontaneous abortion or premature birth.
� Retained placenta if abortion occurs during the later stages of pregnancy.
� Infertility in cows while bulls have low libido and inflamed testis also known as orchitis.
� A yellowish brown, slimy, odourless discharge from the vulva may occur after the abortion.
Control
� Use of artificial insemination.
� Slaughtering affected animals followed by proper disposal of their carcasses.
� The attendant to the animals should avoid contact with the aborted foetus.
� A blood test should be carried out for all breeding animals to detect the infected ones.
� Hygiene in the animals' houses.
Scours (white Scours)
� Animals atacked: calves, piglets, lambs and kids.
� Cause: A bacterium which attacks young animals in the first week of life.
Symptoms
� White or yellowish diarrhoea.
� Pungent smelling faeces.
� Fever.
� Anorexia/loss of appetite.
� Listlessness.
� Sunken eyes.
� Undigested milk and mucus with blood spots observed in the faeces.
� Faecal matter sticks to the hind quarters.
� Sudden death if no treatment is given.
Control
� Maintaining hygiene in the young animal housing units.
� Avoiding dampness on the floor of the house.
� Fingers of the attendant training calves to drink milk from a bucket must be disinfected.
� Calving should be carried out in a clean area.
� Have separate attendants for the infected calves to prevent disease spread.
� Replacing milk with warm water mixture.
� Treating affected animals with antibiotics.
Black Quarter
� It is also known as black leg.
� Animals attacked: All ruminants aged between 8 - 18 months.
� Cause: Bacteria (Clostridium chauvei and Chauvei septicum)
Symptoms
� Lameness.
� Fever.
� Fast and heavy breathing.
� Cracking on the swollen parts if touched.
� Swelling of the affected parts usually the hindquarters, shoulders and chest or back.
� Dullness.
� Anorexia.
� Grunting and grinding of teeth.
� Animal stops chewing cud.
Control
� Treating with recommended antibiotics.
� Vaccinating using black quarter vaccine known as blanthax.
� Burying the carcass deep or burning it completely.
Mastitis
� Is an inflammation of the udder.
� Animals attacked: Goats, cows, pigs and human beings.
� Cause: Bacteria (Streptococcus spp. or Staphylococcus spp.)
Pre-disposing Factors:
� Incomplete milking.
� Injuries on the udder and teats.
� Weak sphincter muscles of the teats allowing free flow of milk.
Symptoms
� Milk is watery, blood stained or clotted.
� Swollen udder
Control
� Proper milking techniques.
� Treatment by use of antibiotics.
� Culling of animals which are often attacked.
Anthrax
� Attacks all domestic animals.
� Cause: Bacteria (Bacillus anthracis)
Symptoms
� Sudden death.
� High fever.
� Grinding of the teeth.
Pneumonia
� It is an inflammation of the lungs.
� Animals attacked: Calves, kids, lambs, piglets and poultry.
Cause:
� Bacteria (Mycoplasma mycoides)
� dust
� worms in the lungs.
Symptoms
� Dullness.
� Anorexia/loss of appetite.
� Staring coat.
� Emaciation.
� Breathing rapidly.
� Abnormal lung sounds when breathing.
� Coughing if the chest is pressed.
� Fluctuating body temperature.
� Nasal discharge.
Control
� Keeping young animals in warm pens.
� Proper sanitation.
� Isolation of the affected animals.
� Treating using antibiotics.
Viral Diseases
� Rinderpest.
� Foot and mouth disease (FMD).
� New Castle
� Fowl pox
� Gumboro
� African swine fever
Rinderpest
� Animal attacked: Cattle and wild game.
� Cause: virus.
Symptoms
� Harsh staring coat.
� Rise in temperature.
� Eye discharge (Lachrimation)
� Diarrhoea and dysentery.
� Ulcers in the mouth.
Foot and Mouth Disease
� Animals attacked: Cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.
� Cause: Virus .
Symptoms
� Sharp rise in temperature.
� Blisters in the mouth, hooves, udder and teats.
� Loss of appetite.
Control
� Vaccination.
� Quarantine
� nursing wounds with disinfectant.
New Castle
� Animals attacked: Poultry.
� Cause: Virus.
Symptoms
� Difficulties in breathing.
� Beaks remain wide open and necks are strained.
� Birds become dull.
� The birds stand with eyes closed all the time.
� Anorexia/loss of appetite.
� Nasal discharges which force the birds to shake their heads to clear it.
� Birds walk with a staggering motion.
� Paralysis of wings and legs may occur.
� Birds have their beaks and wings down.
� Birds produce watery greenish diarrhoea.
� Birds lay soft shelled eggs.
Control
� Killing all birds and burning them followed by cleaning and disinfecting the houses before bringing in new stock.
� Vaccination should be done during the first 6 weeks and then 2-3 months later.
� Quarantine.
FowlPox
� Animals affected: Poultry.
� Cause: A virus known as avian fox.
Symptoms
Two types of fowl pox with different symptoms.
� Cutaneous type
� Diptheritic type
The cutaneous type affects the skin and has the following signs:
� Injuries on the combs and wattles, legs, vent and under the wings.
� Loss appetite.
The diptheritic type affects internal membranes and has the following symptoms:
� Injuries in the inside of the throat and mouth membranes resulting in difficult breathing and swallowing.
� Eyes and nose produces a watery liquid.
� Loss of appetite.
� Dullness.
� Emaciation.
Control
� Killing all affected birds followed by proper disposal of their carcasses.
� Vaccinating remaining healthy birds.
Gumboro
� It is also referred to as poultry AIDS.
� Animals attacked: Poultry.
� Cause: A virus known as Birma virus.
Symptoms
� The glands above the vent (bursa) become swollen.
� Drop in egg production.
� Birds develop respiratory distress.
� Loss of appetite.
� Low water intake by birds.
� Loss of immunity making the birds more susceptible to opportunistic diseases.
Control
� Vaccination.
� Administering vitamins and especially B12.
African Swine Fever
� Animals attacked: All domesticated pigs.
� Cause: A virus known as Irido virus.
Symptoms
� Fever.
� Loss of appetite.
� Depression/dullness.
� Emaciation.
� Coughing.
� Nasal discharge.
� Diarrhoea in serious conditions.
Control
� Vaccination.
� Quarantine.
� Killing all affected animals and proper disposal of their carcasses.
� Double fencing to keep wild animals away.
Nutritional Diseases/Disorders
Milk Fever
� It is a non-infectious disease brought about by calcium deficiency in animals which have recently given birth.
� Animals attacked: Cows, goats and pigs that have recently given birth.
Causes:
� Due to low calcium levels in the blood.
� Which leads to an increase in the magnesium and sugar level in the blood.
� Mostly occurs in high producing cows in the first few months of lactation.
� This is because these animals loose more calcium through milk secretion than they are getting from the diet.
Symptoms
� Dullness.
� Muscular twitching causing the animal to tremble.
� Staggering as the animals move.
� Animal falls down ands becomes unconscious.
� The animal lies down on its side and the whole body stiffens.
� Body functions such as urination, defecation and milk secretion stops.
� Stomach contents are drawn into the mouth which later cause lung fever when breathing in.
� Loss of appetite.
Treatment
� Intravenous injection of soluble calcium salt in form of calcium boro-gluconate ,60gms dissolved in 500cc of water.
� Keeping the animal in a comfortable position on its sternum.
� Giving fresh water.
Note: The animals suffering from milk fever should not be given medicine orally for the following reasons:
� It will not be able to swallow medicine.
� The medicine may get into the lungs thereby promoting lung fever.
Control
� Partial milking for the first 10 days.
� High yielding cows should be given rations containing phosphorus and calcium.
� Giving high doses of Vitamin D.
Bloat
� Animals attacked: Cattle and sheep.
� Cause: Accumulation of gases as a result of fermentation in the rumen.
Symptoms
� The left side is blown up.
� Sudden death.
Control
� Relieve by use of trocar and cannula.
� Chasing the animal around if noticed early.
� Drenching by use of stop bloat.
� Feeding ruminants with dry roughages during the wet season before grazing on lush pastures.