Authors : S. Attindehou, S. Salifou, A.B. Gbangboche and F.A. Abiola
Abstract: The prevalence of Oestrus ovis infection in Benin small ruminants was investigated from March to August 2011. A total of 480 heads of randomly selected sheep (256) and goats (224) were examined and Larvae of any instars (L1-L3) were recovered from the nasal-sinus cavities. Results indicated an overall prevalence of 27.7% and a mean larval burden of 3.8±0.2 larvae with the predominance of the two first Larval instars (L1 and L2). The infection has been diagnosed each month with almost constant rate. Three major factors (host’s species, age and health) were identified to have been associated with the prevalence. The prevalence of infections was significantly (p<0.001) higher in sheep (35.2%) than in goats (19.2%) in adult animals (33.8%) than in young (9.8%). Both the prevalence and larval burden have been higher with animals kept in the Northern area (31.7%). On the other hand no significant difference was noted between infection rates in Southern animals comparatively to central animals. The report also showed that oestrosis and it intensity were strongly correlated with the presence of respiratory pathologies. The infection prevalence was significantly (p<0.001) higher in animals suffering from sneeze, catarrh and dyspnoea (59.7%) than in others (15.32%).
S. Attindehou, S. Salifou, A.B. Gbangboche and F.A. Abiola, 2012. Prevalence of the Small Ruminant’s Oestrosis in Benin. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 11: 1647-1650.