






























 
 
*corresponding author:  
Email: amenefe@gmail.com; +251 -91 130 0314 
 

 

 

 

Seifemichael Ushencho1 & Amene Fekadu2* 

 

1Tocha Woreda Animal and Fisheries Development Office , Dawro Zone, Tocha, Ethiopia 
2Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hawassa University, P.O.Box  05, Hawassa, Ethiopia 
 

 
 

KEYWORDS:  
Trypanosomiasis;  

Kindo Koysha;  

T. congolense;  

Bovine 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ABSTRACT
 

 

 

INTRODUCTION 

In Ethiopia, agricultural development is 
considered a priority by the government for 
stimulating overall economic growth, reducing 
poverty and achieving food security. The 
agricultural sector of Ethiopia accounts for 

about 42% of GDP and between 80–85% of 
employment (MoFED, 2012). 

Within agriculture, the livestock subsector 
provides an opportunity for further 
development. The sheer size of the national 
livestock herd, one of the largest in Africa, 
makes it a resource with potential to contribute 

Journal homepage : https://journals.hu.edu.et/hu-journals/index.php/eajbcs 
  Hawassa University

College of Natural & Computational Sciences

Year 2021

Volume xx No xx

East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 1, Issue. 1 
 

23

 
 

  

Prevalence and community awareness of Bovine Trypanosomiasis in Wolaita 
Zone Kindo Koysha Woreda, Southern Ethiopia 

East African Journal of Biophysical and Computational Sciences 

Research article

A cross-sectional study was carried out from October 2018 to April 2019 in Kindo Koysha
Woreda  of  Wolaita  Zone,  Southern  Nation  Nationalities  and  People  Region  (SNNPR),
Ethiopia.  The  general  objectives  were  to  find  the  prevalence  and  assess  the  community
awareness  on  bovine  trypanosomiasis  and  to  identify  predominant  trypanosome  species.
Blood  from  marginal  ear  vein  was  collected  from  a  total  of  220  cattle  for  Packed  cell
volume  (PCV)  determination  and  trypanosome  detection.  Accordingly,  the  overall
prevalence of bovine Trypanosomiasis in the area was 5.91% on Buffy coat examination.
Of which,  61.57% (n=8), 30.76% (n=4) and 7.69% (n=1) were because of  T. congolense
or  T. vivax  or both species, respectively.  The mean PCV values recorded were 23.77% in
parasitemic  and  28.27%  in  aparasitemic  animals.  The  focus  group  discussion  indicated
that  trypanosomiasis  (Shulula)  is  the  most  important  problem  affecting  the  animals  and
hindering  agricultural  activity  in  the  area.  Generally,  both  focus  group  discussion  and
hematological  findings  revealed  bovine  trypanosomiasis  is  the  major  constraint  for  the
livestock production in the area. So attention should be given to control trypanosomiasis
and its vectors.

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 1, No. 1 
 

significantly to national development, including 
poverty reduction. The Central Statistical 
Agency (CSA) survey of 2016 showed that the 
total cattle population of Ethiopia is about 59.5 
million. Moreover, about 30.7 million sheep and 
30.2 million goats are estimated to be found in 
the country, while the total poultry population is 
estimated to be about 59.5 million chickens 
(CSA, 2016).  

The livestock subsector is also already a major 
contributor to the overall economy. The 
livestock sector contributes 19% of the GDP, 
and 16–19% of the foreign exchange earnings of 
the country (MoA 2012). It contributes some 
35% of agricultural GDP; or 45% if indirect 
contributions are taken into account (Shapiro et 
al., 2017).  

With a rapidly growing population, increasing 
urbanization, and rising incomes, domestic 
demand for meat, milk and egg is expected to 
increase significantly in the foreseeable future. 
Furthermore, the country’s geographic location 
offers substantial opportunities for exportation, 
thus earning foreign exchange from livestock 
products, especially of red meat to the Gulf and 
within Africa, as well as leather, honey and 
other livestock products to Europe(Shapiro et 
al., 2017). 

The livestock sector can also be a major 
contributor to poverty reduction by improving 
the livelihoods of rural people. Approximately 
85% of Ethiopia’s population is rural based, and 
livestock supports the livelihoods of about 80% 
of rural people (Shapiro et al., 2017). However, 
the income of 30% of the rural population is 
below the poverty line (MoFED, 2013). 
Livestock perform multiple functions in the 
rural household economy. Besides employment, 

livestock provides protein rich food, income for 
everyday expenses and social obligations, near 
liquid assets, a store of wealth for savings, 
manure for crop production and soil fertility, 
and transport (Shapiro et al., 2017). 

Livestock development also has the potential to 
positively impact urban consumers through 
lower animal product prices. Despite large 
livestock population, Ethiopia fails to optimally 
utilize this resource due to different constrains 
facing the livestock subsector. Shortage of 
nutrition, reproductive insufficiency, 
management constraints and animal disease are 
the major constraints. One of the diseases 
hampering the livestock subsector is 
trypanosomiasis (Melak and Tewodros, 2018). 
Trypanosomiasis is a widely spread protozoan 
disease complex which affects cattle and other 
wide range of hosts in sub Saharan Africa. The 
major pathogenic tsetse transmitted 
trypanosome species are Trypanosome 
congolense, T.vivax and T. brucei in cattle, 
sheep and goats and T. simiae in pigs. Animal 
trypanosomiasis is also encountered outside the 
tsetse fly belt, where the most important 
pathogenic trypanosome species, T. vivax and T. 
evansi, are transmitted mechanically by biting 
flies, while T. equiperdum is transmitted 
sexually. The principal domestic animals 
affected by T. evansi are camels, pigs, water 
buffaloes and cattle. T.equiperdum causes the 
disease in horses and donkeys (Nantulya et al., 
1986). The course of the disease may run from a 
chronic long lasting to an acute and rapidly fatal 
depending on the vector-parasite-host 
interactions. The disease is mainly characterized 
by intermittent fever, progressive anaemia, and 
loss of condition of susceptible hosts which if 
untreated leads to heavy mortalities (Bourn et 
al., 2001). 

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 1, No. 1 
 

In Ethiopia,  trypanosomiasis is widespread in 
domestic livestock in the Western, South and 
South western lowland regions and the 
associated river systems (Abay/Dedessa, 
Ghibe/Omo and Baro/Akobo and rift valley) 
(Abebe, 2005), limiting livestock productivity 
and agricultural development in the country. 
Currently, about 220,000 Km2 areas of fertile 
land are infested with five species of tsetse flies 
namely Glossina pallidipes, G.morsitans 
morsitans, G. fuscipes, G. tachinoides and G. 
longipennis (NTTICC, 2004). Six species of 
trypanosomes are recorded in Ethiopia and the 
most trypanosomes, in terms of economic loss 
in domestic livestock are the tsetse transmitted 
species: T. congolense, T. vivax and T. brucei 
group (Abebe, 2005). Trypanosomiasis was 
considered to be an important disease of cattle 
in different parts of the country (Mussa, 2002; 
Tesfaye, 2002; Cherenet et al., 2004; Sinshaw, 
2004; Shimelis et al., 2005; Bitew et al., 2011). 
Even though, trypanosomiasis is an 
economically important disease, few studies 
were done in Ethiopia as well as in Wolaita 
Zone Kindo Koysha Woreda. Therefore, this 
study was conducted to determine the 
prevalence of bovine trypanosomiasis, to 
identify predominant trypanosome species 
involved and to recognize indigenous 
knowledge and correlate it with modern science 
in Kindo Koysha Woreda. 

MATERIALS AND METHODS 

Description of the study area: 

The study was conducted in Kindo Koysha 
woreda of Wolaita zone, Southern Region of 
Ethiopia. It is located at about 420 Km of south 
west of Addis Ababa located at 7°58” N and 
37°14” latitude and 37°56” E longitude and it 

has an altitude of 600-1700 meters above sea 
level. and its total area is estimated to be 17,187 
hector of land. The distribution of rain is 
bimodal, with short rainy season extend from 
January to April and long rains from June to 
mid-September. The average annual rainfall is 
904 mm, the maximum and minimum daily 
temperature is 29.20 and 21°C respectively. The 
vegetation is savanna type with scattered bush. 
The livestock populations that are found in 
Kindo Koysha Woreda include cattle, sheep, 
goat, horses, mule, donkey and poultry. Among 
these animals, cattle are the dominant species 
raised in the area and are estimated to be 
174,346 (CSA, 2009). 

Study design, sample size and sampling 
method: 

Cross sectional study was conducted to 
determine the prevalence of bovine 
trypanosomiasis. 95% confidence interval and 
5% precision was considered to calculate the 
sample size and 6.3% expected prevalence was 
taken (Adale and Yasin, 2013). The sample size 
was determined by using the formula given by 
Thrusfield (2005). Even though the sample size 
was calculated to be 91, a total of 220 animals 
were included in the current study to increase 
precision.  

Study population: 

Cattle population of Kindo Koysha Woreda 
which is managed under traditionally reared 
management system was selected to determine 
the prevalence of bovine Trypanosomiasis. Both 
local/indigenous and exotic breeds of cattle in 
the study area (Dada kariya, Fajanamata, 
Moliticho) were considered as study population. 
The study animals were selected by using 

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 1, No. 1 
 

random sampling method by taking breed, age, 
sex and body condition into account. The 
animals examined were categorized into 
different age groups as less than 2 years 
(young), between 2 and 4 years (medium) and 
greater than 4 years (adult) according to their 
teeth dentition (Johnson, 2003). The body 
condition of animals was also grouped based on 
criteria described by Nicholson and Butterworth 
(1986) and they also categorized into poor, 
medium and good. 

Study Methodology 

Parasitological and Hematological Survey of 
Bovine Trypanosomiasis: 

Buffy Coat Technique: 

Blood was collected from an ear vein using 
heparinized micro haematocrit capillary tube 
and the tube was sealed. A heparinized capillary 
tube containing blood was centrifuged for 5 min 
at 12,000 rpm. After centrifugation, 
trypanosomes were usually found in or just 
above the Buffy coat layer. The capillary tube 
was cut using a diamond tipped pen 1 mm 
below the Buffy coat to include the upper most 
layers of the red blood cells and 3 mm above to 
include the plasma. The content of the capillary 
tube was expressed on to slide, homogenized on 
to a clean glass slide and covered with cover 
slip. The slide was examined under ×40 
objective for the movement of parasite (Paris et 
al., 1982). 

Measuring of Packed Cell Volume (PCV):  

Blood samples were obtained by puncturing the 
marginal ear vein with a lancet and collected 
directly into a capillary tube. The capillary tubes 

were placed in micro haematocrit centrifuge 
with sealed end outer most. The tube was loaded 
symmetrically to ensure good balance. After 
screwing the rotary cover and closing the 
centrifuge lid, the specimens were allowed to 
centrifuge at 12,000 rpm for 5 min. Tubes were 
then placed in haematocrit and the readings 
were expressed as a percentage of packed red 
cells to the total volume of whole blood. 
Animals with PCV < 24% were considered to 
be anemic (Murray et al., 1988). 

Focus group discussion: 

Rural communities have a wealth of indigenous 
knowledge and skills related to diseases, 
including good diagnostic skills and an 
awareness of modes of disease transmission. It 
is imperative to make the best use of this 
knowledge and develop appropriate disease 
surveillance systems in rural areas. Such 
systems should be action oriented and result in 
disease control activities that are designed in 
partnership with livestock keepers (Catley, 
2005). This study used focus group discussion 
technique to collect epidemiological information 
and intelligence about diseases of livestock 
especially bovine trypanosomiasis. The focus 
group discussion incorporated eight groups 
having 8-12 participants in each group. 

Data management and analysis tools: 

Raw data on individual animals and 
parasitological examination results were stored 
in MS excel spread sheets to create data base 
and transferred to Stata 11 software programs 
for data analysis. Chi square was used to 
compare the prevalence of trypanosome 
infection in different variables like kebeles / 
village, breed, age, sex and body condition, 

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 1, No. 1 
 

while student-t test was utilized to compare the 
mean PCV of the infected animals and that of 
non-infected animals. Significance difference 
was set at p < 0.05 and 95% confidence level. 

RESULTS  

Results of focus group discussion: 

According to the data from the group 
discussion, Trypanosomiasis is the predominant 
livestock disease in the Kindo Koysha followed 
by Babesiosis (14.75%), Blakleg (13%) and 
others (Table 1).  

 

Table-1: Common cattle diseases with its respective proportional 

Disease Prevalence  % 
Shulula (Trypanosomiasis) 35 
Tilikiya/tintichuwa (Blackleg) 13 
Duluwa (Anthrax) 6.375 
Aheera (Babesiosis) 14.75 
Shattuwa (Skin diseases) 8.125 
Danquwannecuuchcha (Tick and lice infestation) 7.5 
Ullogiddoguxxuniya (GIT Parasite) 7.625 
Duma dummahargiya (others) 7.625 
 

Based on the response of the rural communities, 
the prevalent diseases in the area cause direct 

and indirect negative impacts on the cattle and 
their products (Table 2). 

Table-2: Negative Impacts of diseases on the animals and animal’s product 

Diseases Milk 
(%) 

Meat 
(%) 

Skin 
(%) 

Dowry 
(%) 

Abortion 
(%) 

Decrease 
price (%) 

Treatment 
cost (%) 

Total 
loss (%) 

Trypanosomiasis 23 14.5 1.5 9 10.75 13 24.5 3.75 
Blackleg 6.25 5 1.75 1.75 2 - 34.5 48.75 
Anthrax - - - - - - 1 99 
Babesiosis 27 17.5 3 5 12.5 7 20 8 
Skin diseases 15 12 23 9 - 20 21 - 
Tick & lice infestation 21 16.25 16.75 8 2 18 17 1 
 GIT Parasite 24 22.5 - 7 - 15 31.5 - 
Others diseases 15.5 12.5 5 6 11 8 22 20 
 

According to the Wolaita Culture the year is 
divided into three seasons such as Boniya 
(Bega) which includes the months from October 
to February, Badheessa (Belg) from March to 
May and Silla (summer) which contains months 
from June to September. According to the 

respondents, the prevalent diseases in the area 
have different seasonality however majority of 
these diseases were observed during ‘belg’ and 
summer (Table 3).  

 

27



 
 
*corresponding author:  
Email: amenefe@gmail.com; +251 -91 130 0314 
 

Table-3: Disease occurrence in the different seasons of the year and age group of cattle 

Disease Age group Season 
Calf  
(%) 

Young 
(%) 

Adult 
(%) 

‘Bega’ 
(%) 

‘Belg’ 
(%) 

Summer 
(%) 

Trypanosomiasis 10 29 61 39.6 33.7 26.7 
Blackleg 7.5 36 56.5 9.55 53.75 36.7 
Anthrax 6 33 61 7.5 63 29.5 
Babesiosis 12 31 57 19 49.5 31.5 
Skin diseases 14 40 46 37 30.5 32.5 
Tick and lice infestation 35 34 31 20 50 30 
GIT Parasite 37 28 35 20 50 30 
Others diseases 20 35 45 22 50 27 
 

The major actions taken by the society to 
overcome the impacts of the prevalent diseases 
are detailed in the table 4. 

 

Table- 4. Major disease prevention and control measures applied in the study area. 

Disease Vaccination 
(%) 

Spraying 
(%) 

Drug 
(%) 

Traditional 
medicine (%) 

Trypanosomiasis - 38 62 - 
Blackleg 50 - 37 13 
Anthrax 96 - 4 - 
Babesiosis 4 3 68 25 
Skin diseases 29 25 46 - 
Tick and lice infestation - 72 25 3 
GIT Parasite - - 95 5 
Others diseases 44 8 41 7 
 

Results of parasitological survey: 

Prevalence: In this study a total of 220 cattle 
were examined for the presence of bovine 
trypanosomiasis. Out of these 220 cattle; 13 
were found to be positive for bovine 
trypanosomiasis that results in the overall 
prevalence of 5.9%. Of which 61.57% were due 

to T. congolense and 30.76% were due to T. 
vivax whereas the rest 7.69% were due to mixed 
infection (Table 5). But there was no significant 
difference (p>0.05) between the prevalence of 
the different trypanosome species. 

 

 

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 1, No. 1 
 

 

Table -5. Relative proportion of Trypanosome species in the three kebeles 

Kebeles Number 
positive 

Trypanosome species , n(%) Proportion 
(%) 

χ2 P- value 

T.congolense T.vivax Mixed 
Fajenamata 7 4(30.77) 2(15.38) 1(7.69) 53.8 1.58 0.813 
Moliticho 5 3(23.08) 2(15.38) 0 38.46 
Dadakariya 1 1(7.69) 0 0 7.69 
TOTAL 13 8(61.57) 4(30.76) 1(7.69) 100 
 

The highest prevalence of trypanosome 
infection was found in Fajenamata kebele (7%) 
followed by Moliticho (6.94%) and Dadakariya 
(2.08%). However, there was no significant 
difference (p>0.05) in the prevalence among the 
kebeles (Table 6). The prevalence of 
trypanosomiasis in male and female cattle were 

5.31% and 6.54% respectively (Table 6). 
However, the difference in the prevalence 
between the two sexes was found to be 
statistically insignificant (p>0.05).  

 

Table- 6. Prevalence of Trypanosome infection among the categories of the considered risk factors 
             Variables Number examined Number positive Prevalence (%) 95% CI 
Kebeke Fajenamata 100 7 7.00 1.95 – 12.05 
 Moliticho 72 5 6.94 1.00 – 12.89 
 Dadakariya 48 1 2.08 -2.02 – 6.19 
Age  < 2 years 15 0 0 - 

[2-4] years 95 5 5.26 0.72 – 9.80 
> 4 years 110 8 7.27 2.37 – 12.17 

Sex Female 107 7 6.54 1.81 – 11.27 
 Male 113 6 5.31 1.13 – 9.49 
Body 
condition 

Poor 55 8 14.54 5.09 – 24.00 
Medium 120 5 4.17 0.56 – 7.78 
Good 45 0 0 - 

CI=confidence interval 

Hematological Finding:  
The packed cell volume (PCV) of parasitemic 
animals falls in the range of 21.0 - 25.0% while 
in aparasitemic cattle was in the range of 21.0- 
37.0%. The mean PCV for the Parasitemic 
animals was 23.76%, whereas 28.27% for the 

aparasitemic animals. Moreover, the difference 
in the mean PCV of the parasitemic and 
aparasitemic groups was statistically significant 
(P<0.05) (Table 7). 
 

 

 

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 1, No. 1 
 

 

Table -7. The packed cell volume of parasitemic and aparasitemic cattle in the study area 

Status No. 
Examined 

Mean 
PCV(%) 

Std. Err. Std. 
Dev. 

95% Conf. 
Interval] 

t- test P-value 

Aparasitemic 207 28.271 0.245 3.52 27.78 - 28.75 4.575 0.0000 
Parasitemic 13 23.770 0.395 1.42 22.91 - 24.63 
Total 220 28.005 0.242 3.59 27.53 - 28.48 
 

DISCUSSION  

The results of the focus group discussion 
revealed that trypanosomiasis, locally called as 
‘Shulula’, was reported to be the most important 
livestock constraint limiting the overall 
agricultural activity and livestock productivity 
in the study area. Similar result was also 
reported by Afewerk (1998) and Tewelde 
(2001) in the western and northwestern parts of 
Ethiopia where cyclically (tsetse) transmitted 
trypanosomiasis is the primary problem for 
livestock productivity and agricultural 
development.  

Although trypanosomiasis occur throughout the 
year, major infections are observed in Boniya 
(Bega) (39.6%), Badheessa (Belg) (33.7%) and 
Silla (summar) (26.7%) based on the local 
calendar Afewerk (1998) and Tewelde (2001) 
reported consistent results. According to the 
result of focus group discussion, the occurrence 
of trypanosomiasis is higher in the adult (61%) 
followed by young (29%) and in calves (10%). 
This might be due to the management system in 
the area that the adult and young animals stay 
around Omo River basin for grazing where there 
were tsetse fly population exists, while the 
calves are confined at home and not exposed for 
tsetse.  Also the discussion revealed that, 
trypanosomiasis control and prevention methods 
depends as much as 62% in the use of different 

trypanocidal drugs and the rest 38% relay on 
spraying of insecticides. 

The overall prevalence of bovine 
trypanosomiasis recorded in the current study 
(5.91%) was much lower than the previous 
findings. Different researchers reported different 
prevalence in different parts of Ethiopia. 
Abraham and Tesfaheywot, 2012; Ataro et al., 
2015; Tamirat et al., 2016; Dejen, 2017; 
Shimels and Bosona, 2017; Megersa et al., 2019 
who reported 27.5%, 21.33%, 26.82%, 26.3%, 
21.5% and 12.24% in Wozeka grid on the 
southern part of Arbaminch, Konta Special 
woreda, Southern Ethiopia, Loma woreda, 
Dawuro zone, Southern Ethiopia, Nyangatom 
Woreda of South Omo, SNNPRS, Ethiopia, 
Botor Tolay district, Bombasi Woreda, western 
Ethiopia and Jimma Zone, respectively. This 
might be due to the difference in using control 
methods of trypanosomiasis, climate and 
ecological conditions such as altitude, rainfall, 
and temperature and livestock management 
system. This is comparable with the previous 
studies of 6.3% (Adale and Yasin, 2013) in 
Wolaita Zone KindoKoysha district of Ethiopia 
and 8.3% (Eshetu et al,. 2017) in Mareka district 
of Dawuro Zone, Southern Ethiopia.  

The lower prevalence of bovine trypanosomiasis 
in the current study area might be due to 
periodical measures taken by the government to 

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 1, No. 1 
 

control tsetse population from the area. This 
may be due to increased and frequent use of 
different trypanocidal drug and easy 
accessibility of trypanocidal drugs, even there is 
home to home treatment service. Various 
studies reported the most prevalent trypanosome 
species in tsetse infested areas of Ethiopia were 
T. congolense and T. vivax sometimes T. brucei 
and mixed infection in some extent (Fikru et al., 
2012; Leta et al., 2016). The finding of this 
study revealed that the majority of the infection 
was due to T. congolense (61.57%), T. vivax 
(30.76%) and the least was infection by mixed 
infection (T. congolense and T. vivax) (7.69%).   

The higher infection rate of T. congolense in the 
study area was in agreement with trypanosome 
species prevalence data from other tsetse 
infested region of Ethiopia. Abraham and 
Tesfaheywot, (2012); Adale and Yasin, 2013 
and Megersa et al., 2019 reported T. congolense 
61.4%,  58.8% and 59.6% in Wozeka grid on 
the southern part of Arbaminch, Wolaita Zone 
Kindo Koysha district of Ethiopia and Botor 
Tolay district, Jimma Zone Ethiopia 
respectively. This study revealed the infection 
rate of T. vivaxis 14.2%, 29.4% and 25.5% 
respectively. The species specific 
trypanosomiasis prevalence rate in Bombasi 
Woreda, Western Ethiopia was; Trypanosome 
congolense 51.76%, Trypanosome vivax 
28.23%, Trypanosome brucei 11.76% and 
mixed 8.23% (Shimels and Bosona, 2017).  

In the present study, T. congolense was the 
predominant species in the study area which 
may be due to the development of better 
immune response to T. vivax by the infected 
animal (Leak et al., 1999). However, it was 
statistically insignificant in the study area 
(p>0.05). Vector born trypanosome species are 

disseminated in most parts of Western and 
South Western parts of Ethiopia (Roeder et al. 
1984).  

The infection rate of female is higher than male 
cattle in the present study but there was no 
statistical difference (P=0.698). This result is 
comparable with the findings of Dejen, (2017) 
and Megersa et al., (2019). The present study is 
in agreement with the previous reports of Konta 
special woreda; which was 20.7% in female and 
17.3% in male cattle which  shows no 
significant statistical variation (Migbaru and 
Desta, 2015). Similar findings were also 
reported by Daya and Abebe (2008) and 
Tadesse and Tsegaye (2010). This may be due 
to the physiological difference between sex 
groups. The possible explanation for higher 
prevalence of trypanosomes in female animals 
in the present study area might be the fact that 
female animals were more likely exposed to 
tsetse flies as they were always released to 
common grazing sites of tsetse infestation, in 
contrast to male animals as they were kept in the 
house after ploughing and have little chance to 
be exposed to tsetse flies (Eshetu et al,. 2017).  

The prevalence of trypanosomiasis on different 
age groups was 0%, 5.26% and 7.27% in young 
(<2 years), medium (2≤x≤4) and adult (>4), 
respectively. The difference in prevalence 
among the different age groups was not 
statistically significant (p>0.05). This might be 
due to the less exposure of calves for the tsetse 
flies, since most of them were confined at 
homes whereas as the young and the adults 
move far distance in search of feed and water. 
Such areas are widely known for their high 
tsetse population thereby this may increase their 
probability to contract with the agent (Adale and 
Yasin, 2013). 

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East Afr. J. Biophys. Comput. Sci., Vol. 1, No. 1 
 

The higher prevalence  of trypanosomiasis in 
cattle with poor body conditioned than in 
medium and good body conditioned animals in 
the study area was recorded and it was 
comparable with the results of Abraham and 
Tesfaheywot et al. (2012) in Arbaminch area 
and, Adale and Yasin (2013) in Wolaita Zone 
Kindo Koysha district, Southern Ethiopia. This 
might be due to the fact that poor body 
condition animals are susceptible to the 
infectious disease and reduced performance of 
the animals may be created by lack of essential 
nutrients and poor management by the animal 
owner.  

Regarding the PCV determination, the mean 
PCV of the parasitemic animals (23.76%) was 
lower compared to aparasitemic animals 
(28.27%) and the difference was significant 
(p<0.05). Likewise, Van den Boossche and 
Rowlands (2001) stated that the average PCV of 
parasitologically negative animals was 
significantly higher than that of 
parasitologically positive animals.  

CONCLUSION  & RECOMMENDATIONS 

Based on focus group discussion bovine 
trypanosomiasis is the major constraint for the 
livestock production in the area. The current 
study also revealed an overall prevalence of 
5.91% for bovine trypanosomiasis based ob 
Buffy coat examination. The predominant 
trypanosome species found were T. congolense 
and T. vivax. The mean PCV values indicated 
the trypanosome infection has been found to 
cause anemia in cattle. According to the 
community, bovine trypanosomiasis is the major 
problem than other livestock diseases in the 
area.  

To reduce the prevalence of the disease in the 
area, appropriate tsetse and trypanosomiasis 
control action should be integrated and 
strengthened. Moreover, further studies on the 
tsetse challenge and the economic impact of 
trypanosomiasis on the agricultural productivity 
should be conducted  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

The cooperation of Bale Veterinary Clinic and 
Wolaita Sodo Veterinary Regional Laboratory is 
acknowledged for their contribution to the 
successes of this work. 

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Abraham Z. and Tesfaheywot Z. 2012.Prevalence of 
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Minch, SNNPR, Southern Ethiopia. Global 
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Adale E. and Yasin A 2013. Prevalence of bovine 
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	Cover V1.pdf (p.1)
	Slide Number 1

	blank page.pdf (p.2)
	Table of contents Vol1.pdf (p.3-5)
	Guideline to Authors_ EAJBCs.pdf (p.6-14)
	Back cover.pdf (p.15)
	Editorial Board members
	Table of contents
	Slide Number 4
	Slide Number 5
	Slide Number 6
	Volume 1.pdf
	1_Biodiversity conservation
	Joseph Katswera, Norah M. Mutekanga and Charles K. Twesigye*
	Fig 1: Map showing Kibale and Queen Elizabeth Conservation Areas and location of study sites.
	The study documented the threats to biodiversity in the case study national parks and wildlife reserves. Both primary and secondary threats were identified (Table 2), and their threat reduction percentages and indices calculated (Table 3). The managem...
	Demographic characteristics of the respondents
	Threats to biodiversity conservation
	Threat Reduction Assessment Index and protected areas
	Threat Reduction
	Threat Reduction Assessment Index
	Effectiveness of PA management in managing threats
	Fig. 2: Relationship between staffing and threat reduction assessment index
	Threat Reduction Assessment Index and PAs
	Threat reduction and mammal population in Kibale Conservation Area
	Threat reduction and mammal population in Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area
	Threat reduction and ecological integrity rating
	The data indicators were analysed and various scores were assigned basing on the computed TRA Index in Table 4. Each indicator of ecological integrity was assigned a color score: dark green (TRA index 81-100%) for “acceptable” ecological integrity (ve...
	Table- 5: Ecological Integrity Score Card using Data Indicators


	2_Prevalence of trypanosomiasis
	5_Climate change_Biju
	7_Public health implications
	Public health implications of bovine Cysticercosis from cattle slaughtered at Dilla municipal abattoir, Southern Ethiopia
	Fikadu Tesfaye, Jemere Bekele, Mesele Abera and Nebyou Moje*
	Hawassa University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, P.O. Box- 05, Hawassa, Ethiopia
	Bovine cysticercosis is a cystic stage of Taenia saginata, zoonotic parasite with its significant impact on human health. The cystic stage usually affects the muscle of cattle where humans are susceptible from the contaminated raw meat (Taylor et al.,...
	Generally cysticercosis in animals is expected to have insignificant clinical effect. Nevertheless, it is economically important as it causes carcass condemnation arising from heavy infestation with the cysticerci of T. saginata. Additionally, there i...

	9_Fish Aeromonas bacteria

	cover 1-1.pdf
	Slide Number 1
	Editorial Board members

	back cover 1.pdf
	Slide Number 1

	INTRODUCTION
	EXTENSION OF THE MODIFIED MODEL INTO AN OPTIMAL CONTROL
	Optimal protection and hospitalization using modified model
	Existence of an optimal control
	The Hamiltonian and optimality system

	Numerical simulations of optimal control problem
	Optimal control comparisons and strategies

	CONCLUSION
	INTRODUCTION
	INTRODUCTION
	INTRODUCTION
	EXTENSION OF THE MODIFIED MODEL INTO AN OPTIMAL CONTROL
	Optimal protection and hospitalization using modified model
	Existence of an optimal control
	The Hamiltonian and optimality system

	Numerical simulations of optimal control problem
	Optimal control comparisons and strategies

	CONCLUSION
	INTRODUCTION
	INTRODUCTION
	INTRODUCTION
	EXTENSION OF THE MODIFIED MODEL INTO AN OPTIMAL CONTROL
	Optimal protection and hospitalization using modified model
	Existence of an optimal control
	The Hamiltonian and optimality system

	Numerical simulations of optimal control problem
	Optimal control comparisons and strategies

	CONCLUSION
	INTRODUCTION
	INTRODUCTION

