Journal of Animal Health and Behavioural Science

Canine vector-borne diseases have emerged as one of the most prevalent global infestations globally in recent years. However, the absences of these parasites in any area may be due to diagnostic incapability. There are insufficiencies of systematic studies into vector-borne zoonotic infections in India due to lack of diagnostic zeal in clinicians as well as laboratory associated staff. Diagnosis is mainly dependent on traditional methods using microscopic observation of organisms in stained smears. Serological approaches have their own limitations because sometimes species-specific diagnosis is mandatory. Moreover, serological tests have all the possibility of false positive and false negative results that confound interpretation. Molecular tools based diagnostic tests are costly and requires skilled personnel to carry out. Therefore, a holistic approach is necessary for comprehensive diagnosis to chalk out strategies of treatment and prevention of further spread. Above and beyond, even if the hurdle of diagnosis are met, there is a lack of availability of effective treatment as well as robust surveillance strategies that make it difficult to maintain, making it hard for containment.

Since human beings are on earth, they have become intimate with animals. As in humans, animals can respond to various events, either with their inherited forms of reaction or with responses to their experiences which they attained via their learning capabilities. Knowing the animal behaviours is of importance for animal welfare and farm economy. The farm animals, which are raised for meat, milk, fleece and egg production, respond to stress factors with instinctive reactions. The number of behaviours which animals had by learning is low. In this review, it was tried to emphasize the importance of the reactions that animals give against various events they are exposed to. A review of recent literature on livestock animals behavior will help to understand how production systems and behavior are interreacted.

A study to determine the occurrence and distribution of parasitic helminthes of veterinary importance in faecal samples from cattle was carried out at the abattoirs in Delta North, Delta State. Samples were collected from slaughter slabs at Agbor and Asaba. A total of 325 samples were examined for helminth parasites. Differential parasite count, faecal floatation and direct faecal smear technique were used to analyse the faecal samples. The identified species revealed the presence of helminths of three classes which include the Nematodes, Trematodes and Cestodes with a total of 10 species respectively. The occurrence of parasitic helminths in the samples at various locations showed significant (P<0.05) differences between the different helminths species and location respectively. The level of prevalence of parasitic helminths encountered include Ascaris sp. 25 (10.5%), Bonustomum sp. 19 (8.0%), Coopera sp. 11 (4.6%), Ostertagia sp. 15 (6.3%), Strongyloides sp. 23 (9.7%), Trichuris 35 (14.8%), Trichostrongyle sp. 13 (5.5%), Paraphostimum sp. 18 (7.6%), Fasciola sp. 60 (25.3%) and Taenia sp. 18 (7.6%). The results obtained showed high prevalence of helminth parasites which could be due to the free ranging and grazing system and poor animal husbandry practices. However, cattle should be well inspected and at necessary point treated for parasitic diseases. Proper management practices and sanitary measures at slaughter slabs should strictly be employed as this will help check environmental contamination.