Author(s)

Richard M. Kabuusu, Ruth Alexander, Annet M. Kabuusu, Sylvia N. Muwanga, Patrick Atimnedi, Calum Macpherson

Department of Wildlife and Animal Resources Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Graduate Studies Program, St. George’s University, St. George’s, Grenada.
Graduate Studies Program, St. George’s University, St. George’s, Grenada；chool of Medicine, St. George’s University, St. George’s, Grenada.
Pathobiology Academic Program St. George’s Grenada, School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, St. George’s, Grenada.
Pathobiology Academic Program St. George’s Grenada, School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, St. George’s, Grenada；Graduate Studies Program, St. George’s University, St. George’s, Grenada.
Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), Kampala, Uganda.

We conducted a cross-sectional study to establish the effect of proximity of livestock to a wildlife-livestock interface on the relative abundance of intra-erythrocytic hemoparasites in cattle. Blood samples were obtained from 131 randomlyselected cattle raised around Queen Elizabeth National Park. Cattle-farm location was determined by using Global Positioning System device from an arbitrarily reference point. Giemsa-stained blood smears were examined microscopically for intra-erythrocytic hemoparasites. Correlational analysis was used to examine the relationship between farm location and prevalence, whereas risk ratios were used to determine the strength of mixed hemoparasitic infections among cattle, using a significant level of α = 0.05. The location of a cattle farm significantly predicted the prevalence of Anaplasma (rs = 0.33, p < 0.05) and Theileria (rs = 0.57, p < 0.01) but, farm’s proximity to QENP did not explain the variation in the prevalence of Babesia (rs = 0.14, p < 0.2). Although mixed infections occurred in 15% of sampled cattle, concurrent infection of cattle with A. marginale and B. bigemina [RR = 36; 95% CI (7.191); p < 0.001] was the only statistically significant mixed infection which was recorded. This study demonstrated that unlike the prevalence of B. bigemina, the prevalence of T. parva and A. marginale in livestock significantly increased with close proximity to a wildlife-livestock interface.

 

Wildlife-Livestock Interface; Geographical Information System; Proximity; Ankole Long-Horned Cattle; Intra-Erythrocytic Hemoparasites

R. Kabuusu, R. Alexander, A. Kabuusu, S. Muwanga, P. Atimnedi and C. Macpherson, "Effect of a Wildlife-Livestock Interface on the Prevalence of Intra-Erythrocytic Hemoparasites in Cattle," Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Vol. 3 No. 8, 2013, pp. 315-318. doi: 10.4236/ojvm.2013.38051.