Haematological Evaluation of Haemoparasites in Cattle and Goats Slaughtered at Lafia Abattoir, Nigeria

Haematological evaluation is generally used to determine the health conditions of farm animals. Animals with normal blood compositions (without parasites) are believed to likely perform more efficiently. Essentially, evaluation of blood offers the opportunity to inspect the health status of an animal earmarked for human consumption to ascertain the meat quality and safety. Yet, little is known about possible haemoparasitism among the animals slaughtered at Lafia abattoir hence this study was conducted. Blood samples were collected from a total of 114 animals (comprising 80 cattle and 34 goats) at Lafia abattoir and screened for the presence of haemoparasites. It was observed that Anaplasma marginale (6.1%), Babesia bovis (7%), B. motasi (3.5%) and Trypanosoma vivax (3.5) were the haemoparasites species found in cattle. Whereas Theileria mutans (2.6%), Theileria ovis (5.3%), Anaplasma ovis (2.6%) and Trypanosoma ovis (1.8%) were the cases recorded in goats. Breed resistance was not observed as all the breeds were infected with one species or the other. White Fulani had the highest (8.8%) cases among the cattle breeds and the least case (3.5%) was recorded in Sokoto Gudali while in goats, highest case (9.6%) was recorded in Red Sokoto breeds. Packed cell volume of the infected animals was significantly influenced by the presence of haemoparasites, possibly suggesting that haemoparasitism was endemic in cattle and goats reared in the study area. Yet, both the infected and non-infected animals studied were somewhat not anaemic. Therefore, cattle and goats slaughtered at Lafia abattoir were probably safe for human consumption.