Prevalence of bovine trypanosomosis and assessment of knowledge and practices of livestock owners in the control of Trypanosomosis in Assosa District of Benishangul Gumuz Regional State, Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2013 to February 2014 to estimate the prevalence of bovine trypanosomosis and identify species of trypanosomes infecting cattle. Besides, attempt was made to assess the knowledge and practice of the livestock owners in Assosa district of Benishangul Gumuz Regional State, Ethiopia. A total of 310 blood samples were collected from randomly selected cattle. Packed cell volume (PCV) was measured and samples were examined for the presence of trypanosomes using the buffy coat technique. In this study bovine trypanosomes were detected in 22.9% of the blood samples. The most common trypanosome species identified were T. congolense 13.2% (41/310) followed by T. brucei 3.2% (10/310), T. vivax 2.9% (9/310), mixed infections of T. vivax and T. congolense 1.6% (5/310), T. congolense and T. brucei 1.29% (4/310) and T. brucei and T. vivax 0.64 (2/310). There were no statistically significant prevalence differences (p > 0.05) between sexes, ages category and management systems. However, prevalence difference was noted between poor and good body condition categories (p < 0.05). Animals with poor body condition were found 2.11 times more likely of getting trypanosome infection (OR=2.11, 95% CI, p=0.027) than animals in good body condition. The mean PCV values recorded were 23.3% in parasitaemic and 25.1% in aparasitaemic animals with a statistically significant difference (p<0.05). A questionnaire survey was conducted for the assessment of knowledge of farmers on control and prevention of bovine trypanosomosis provided important information on farmer’s knowledge of bovine trypanosomosis and practices in control and prevention measures. In this study few livestock owners know the vector (tsetse) association with the disease. In conclusion, this study confirmed that trypanosomes are still a threat to cattle in the study area. Therefore, it is recommended that an integrated prevention and control program have to be designed and implemented to minimize their impacts on livestock production. Keywords : Assosa; Cattle; Knowledge assessment; Trypanosomosis; Practices, Prevalence