Dominant viral pathologies in the extensive and semi-intensive animal breeding and their treatment mode in ethno veterinary medicine in Benin.

AIM: This study aims to identify the dominant viral animal pathologies and to list the traditional recipes used by the breeders for their treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The method of data collection was based on a retrospective survey. Thus, 787 breeders and agro-breeders scattered in the eight agro-ecological areas of Benin were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. RESULTS: In total, 5 pathologies were reported by breeders. Among those pathologies, foot and mouth disease was reported by all of the breeders of the southern part of Borgou compared with the other areas (p<0.05) and treated by 25 species of medicinal plants. African swine fever was the main pathology reported (22.92%) (p<0.05) in the fishery areas which is controlled by 7 medicinal plants. Pseudorinderpest was more reported (33.78%) (p<0.05) in the cotton area of central Benin and treated by 8 medicinal plants. There is also Newcastle disease that was mostly reported in the Western Atacora and treated by 32 medicinal plants as well as fowl pox which was a more reported in the lands of the bar area and the low-pressure area about 34.48% and 36.17% proportions, respectively, and treated by eight medicinal plants. CONCLUSION: The breeders in Benin possess rich ethno veterinary knowledge on medicinal plants and their uses in the treatment of livestock. A total of 57 medicinal plants have been inventoried to fight against five major viral diseases as African swine fever, pseudorinderpest and foot and mouth disease. The common plants used to treat viral disease in general were Euphorbia unispina, Euphorbia poissonii, Lannea acida, and Mangifera indica. The most harvested organs on the plants reported in this survey were the barks, the leaves, and the whole plants. To better develop our indigenous resources, it would be important to expand this ethno-pharmacological investigation to other diseases category.

Comparative study of antifungal activities of six selected essential oils against fungal isolates from cheese wagashi in Benin.

The study has compared the antifungal efficacy of six essential oils, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cymbopogon citratus, Ocimum gratissimum, Pimenta racemosa, Syzygium aromaticum and Zingiber officinale, tested in culture medium and in traditional cheese wagashi system against moulds belonging to Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium and Scopulariopsis genera in perspective to select the most actives as substitutes of chemical preservatives for wagashi preservation. Results obtained from this work indicated that Syzygium aromaticum, Pimenta racemosa, Ocimum gratissimum and Cymbopogon citratus essentials oils were the most actives extracts at in vitro assay in decreasing order with strong fungistatic activity against the isolates tested; the pronounced activity was provided by S. aromaticum essential oil. The effectiveness of these actives oils on the less sensitive moulds common to these oils showed that, among these extracts that of Syzygium aromaticum in particular exerted high sporale reduction against all the strains tested. In sum, Syzygium aromaticum essential oil possessed the highest antifungal activity both in culture medium and in wagashi system. Essential oils of C. citratus, O. gratissimum, P. racemosa and above all that of S. aromaticum, among the six extracts investigated, were the most promising oils as wagashi additives in substitution of synthetic chemicals ones to extend shelf life time of this by-product of milk for its valorization. Further studies are needed to be performed on the safety of oils for human, the shelf life time of this cheese and its acceptability when treated with essential oils to reduce and control pathogen contamination or native microflora.

Vaccination of rabbits against coccidiosis using precocious lines of Eimeria magna and Eimeria media in Benin.

Three groups of twelve 35-day-old rabbits were used for the experiment. Two groups were vaccinated with a mixture of precocious lines of Eimeria magna and Eimeria media originating from corresponding wild strains isolated in Benin. One group benefited of a booster whereas the second one was kept without booster. A third non-vaccinated group was used as control. All groups were challenged per os with an equal mixture of the wild strains of E. magna and E. media at a dose of 104 oocysts per animal. Three weeks after the challenge inoculation, no case of diarrhoea was recorded in the two groups of vaccinated rabbits, as compared to the non-vaccinated rabbits that developed diarrhoea. No mortality was recorded in the three groups. During the patent period, oocyst output of vaccinated rabbits was significantly lower than that of control animals (P<0.01), confirming a good immunogenic characteristic of the precocious lines. No booster effect was noticed for the boost vaccinated group. The daily weigh gain of the two groups of vaccinated rabbits was significantly higher than that of the non-vaccinated rabbits (P<0.05). Consequently the precocious lines of Benin origin turned out to be immunogenic and therefore constitute good potential candidates for vaccine production for this country.

Prevalence of common gastrointestinal nematode parasites in scavenging pigs of different ages and sexes in eastern centre province, Burkina Faso.

The range and infestation intensities of gastrointestinal parasitic nematode species depend on the type of swine production system. The present study focused mainly on nematodes of veterinary importance in scavenging pigs in Burkina Faso, and aimed at determining the prevalence of gastro-intestinal nematode parasites by means of faecal egg per gram (EPG) counts. Between November 2001 and October 2002, faecal samples from 383 pigs of different sexes and ages (< 5 months, 5-12 months and > 12 months) were collected from the rectum and examined for gastrointestinal nematodes parasites using the Mc Master method. Of the 383 pigs examined, 91% were infected by one or more parasites. Ascaris suum (40%; 100-1 400 EPG) was the most prevalent parasite followed by Strongyloides ransomi (21%; 100-4200 EPG), Oesophagostomum spp. (18%; 100-1000 EPG), Hyostrongylus rubidus (11%; 100-1 800 EPG), Globocephalus spp. (10%; 100-400 EPG) and Trichuris suis (1 %; 100-200 EPG). The prevalence was significantly higher in female pigs (n = 239) than in males. In addition, females excreted significantly (P < 0.05) more eggs in their faeces than males, except in the case of Globocephalus spp. The age of the animal had no effect on the prevalence of A. suum whereas there were significant differences in age categories concerning S. ransomi, H. rubidus, Oesophagostumum spp. and Globocephalus spp. Unexpectedly, the high prevalence of these common parasites was not accompanied by elevated EPG values, which suggests the existence of moderate infestations. The present work indicates that the common nematode infestations in pigs do not necessarily need a systematic herd anthelmintic treatment, as only a small number of worms is required to induce immunity. A further study is needed to formulate appropriate and cost-effective strategies for the control of gastro-intestinal nematode parasites in pigs in Burkina Faso.

Serum osteocalcin in donkeys as evaluated with an equine-specific radioimmunoassay.

The purpose of this study was to validate an equine-specific osteocalcin (OC) radioimmunoassay (RIA) for use in donkeys and to establish age-related changes in serum OC concentrations in healthy donkeys. Serial dilutions of donkey serum showed parallelism with standard curves obtained with the equine-specific OC RIA. There was a tight linear regression between donkey serum OC values obtained with the equine specific OC RIA and a commercially available bovine-specific OC RIA. Serum OC levels of 27 healthy donkeys, analysed with the equine-specific OC RIA, showed a tight negative logarithmic regression with age. Least square means and standard error of serum OC values were 67 +/- 10 microg/l in 0.6-4-year-old donkeys (group 1), 32 +/- 9 microg/l in 5-9-year-old donkeys (group 2) and 15 +/- 11 microg/l in > 9-year-old donkeys (group 3). Serum OC values were significantly (p < 0.01) higher in group 1 than in groups 2 and 3. The equine-specific OC RIA may be a useful and practical tool to assess bone metabolism and skeletal diseases in donkeys.

Survey of gastric lesions and blood pepsinogen levels in pigs in Burkina Faso.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the prevalence of gastric lesions and to provide diagnostic values for serum pepsinogen in non-infected pigs and in pigs with gastric disease. In an abattoir survey, the pepsinogen concentrations were measured in the serum from 62 non-infected pigs, 33 pigs with gastric lesions and 17 pigs infected with Hyostrongylus rubidus, using a specific radioimmunoassay (RIA). The mean (+/- SE) pepsinogen concentrations in the serum of non-infected pigs, in pigs with gastric ulcers, and in pigs with a heavy H. rubidus infection were 630.8 +/- 39.2 ng/ml, 1084.5 +/- 166.2 ng/ml and 1095.2 +/- 102.3 ng/ml, respectively (p<0.05). Because of the higher concentrations of pepsinogen in the blood of pigs with gastric ulcers or parasitic infections, it is suggested that the measurement of serum pepsinogen by RIA may be an effective biochemical approach to the diagnosis of chronic gastric disorders in pigs.

An improved radioimmunoassay for measurement of pepsinogen in porcine blood samples.

The study was conducted to develop a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay (RIA) for the measurement of pepsinogen in porcine serum, and to use this test for the determination of pepsinogen concentrations in serum samples from fetuses and pigs of different ages. Compared to a previously described RIA, major improvements were made concerning the use of specific polyclonal antibodies and the use of an appropriate buffer. The assay was able to detect pepsinogen concentrations of >/=0.2 ng/mL. The recovery of pepsinogen was close to 95%. The intra-assay coefficients of variations ranged between 3.9 and 7.5% whereas the interassay ranged between 8.8 and 11.9%. These percentages correspond to a satisfactory accuracy and reproducibility of the assay. No cross-reactions were observed with the main commercially available products of the aspartic proteases family except porcine pepsin cross-reacted over 62.5 microg/mL. Pepsinogen concentrations increased steadily with increasing age of the fetuses and the pigs (P<0.05). Pepsinogen concentrations (+/-SE) in fetuses of 90-100 (n=24) and 100-110 days of pregnancy (n=36) were 0.5+/-0.1 and 5.3+/-1.3 ng/mL, respectively. In pigs of 21, 98, and 213 days of age, the pepsinogen concentrations were 290.6+/-10.8, 343.1+/-17.9 and 383.5+/-15.3 ng/mL, respectively. The results demonstrate that RIA is accurate and can be used easily to assess pepsinogen concentrations in pig sera. The test may constitute a valuable tool in epidemiological surveys and in studies related to gastric diseases in pigs.