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Livestock production has been continually challenged with trypanosomes of which Trypanosoma vivax is the most pathogenic cause and the least studied in sub-Saharan Africa. Five sheep of each of the three Nigerian breeds, viz: West African Dwarf (WAD), Yankassa and Ouda were intravenously infected with 2.5 × 106 Trypanosoma vivax per milliliter and monitored until the Packed Cell Volume (PCV) declined to 15% when they were treated with diminazene aceturate. Three animals of each breed served as an uninfected control. The parameters monitored were parasitemia, clinical signs, bodyweight, and PCV. Levels of parasitemia were not significantly different across the breeds. Thirteen out of fifteen infected sheep had fever three days pi, followed by signs of pale mucous membranes, enlarged lymph nodes, serous nasal discharge, loss of weight, and dullness at various days pi in all the infected sheep. There were no significant (p>0.05) differences between the weight of all infected animals in the three breeds. The mean PCV of infected sheep was significantly (P<0.05) lower than that of non-infected sheep as from 14 days pi to 21 days pi in all the breeds of sheep. The least decline in PCV occurred in WAD sheep (20.92%) compared to Yankassa (31.65%) and Ouda (30.36%). The field strain of mouse-infective T. vivax used had 99% homology with the diagnostic antigen gene of T. vivax (L25129 T and U43183) from GenBank. All the three Nigerian breeds of sheep are susceptible to T. vivax infection and WAD sheep are more tolerant (resilience) to T. vivax infection than Yankassa and Ouda sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-Human Primates are one of the most displayed exhibits in zoological facilities in Nigeria. They share phylogenetic similarities with humans and a high probability of pathogen transfer exists between humans and these species during zoo visit. The resident microbial flora plays a vital part in animal health. A total of 36 swab (18 oral and 18 rectal) samples were collected from anaesthetised apparently healthy NHPs of the family Cercopithecidae (sub family Cercopithecinae) from two urban wildlife facilities. Standard bacteriological procedures were used in the isolation and identification of the bacteria. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out using disc diffusion method according to Bauer-Kirby technique. All the samples yielded at least one bacterial organism. The oral swabs had 69.7% Gram positive and 30.3% Gram negative organisms while the rectal samples had 38.8% and 61.2% of Gram positive and negative organism respectively. The bacteria included; Bacillus spp., Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Micrococcus luteus, Proteus spp, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella oxytoca, Citrobacter braakii, Serratia odorifera and Aeromonas hydrophila. . Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed high susceptibility of the isolates to ciprofloxacin (73.2%), sparfloxacin (70.7%), ofloxacin and pefloxacin (67.1%) and gentamicin (53.7%) while a high resistance was recorded against augmentin, amoxicillin, streptomycin and septrin. Some of the bacteria showed multidrug resistance to many of the antimicrobials. Isolation of cultivable bacteria with multidrug resistance from the oral and rectal orifices of NHPs strengthens the need for holistic sanitary and management regulations in zoological facilities housing these animals bearing in mind the probable routes of transmission of identified organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coat colour contributes to physiological adaptation in mammals and mediates response to thermal stress. Twenty-four adult West African Dwarf sheep of both sexes and with different coat colour types were used in this study. We measured rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR) and pulse rate (PR) before sunrise and sunset during the late dry season (January-March) and early rainy season (April-June) as well as packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) count, white blood cell (WBC) count, plasma sodium (Na(+)) and potassium (K(+)). Animals with black coat colour had the highest (P < 0.05) mean values of 38.92 ± 0.03 °C, 65.09 ± 1.06 breaths/min, 81.35 ± 0.78 beats/min, 1.70 ± 0.01 for RT, RR, PR and heat stress index (HSI), respectively, followed by brown mouflon and brown with extensive white, while the Badger Face coloured sheep had the least mean values. There were significant (P < 0.05) differences between male and female sheep for RT, RR, PR and HSI. Season had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on RT, RR, PR and HSI. Coat colour and sex also significantly (P < 0.01) affected RBC, WBC, Na(+) and K(+). Seasonal variation (P < 0.05) in all the blood parameters was observed, with the exception of PCV. Interaction effect of coat colour and sex was significant (P < 0.05) on RT and HSI. Correlation coefficients among the measured traits ranged from positive to negative values. These results indicate that selection of white-coloured sheep to attenuate heat stress is desirable in the hot humid tropics.