Prevalence of bovine tuberculosis lesions in cattle slaughtered in the Federal Capital Territory Abattoirs, Nigeria - A short communication

Abstract

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a devastating disease that affects animals and humans alike globally. It is one of the most important illnesses of cattle with a worldwide distribution. The objective of this study was to provide baseline information on the prevalence of bTB using gross pathological lesions in the government abattoirs in the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. This retrospective study was conducted in three Abattoirs (Karu, Kubwa, and Gwagwalada) in the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) of Nigeria from 2015 to 2019. Records were obtained from the veterinary record book domiciled in various offices in the abattoir. A total of 227,395 slaughtered heads of cattle were examined at postmortem during the study period and 1704 (0.75%) had tuberculous lesions. A total of 341 cases of bTB was recorded per year in this study with the highest cases recorded in 2018 (383).The highest number of cases (190) and consequently the highest prevalence (1.03%) was recorded in June, while the least number of cases was recorded in January (87) also with a corresponding low prevalence of 0.45%.The total occurrence of bTB cases in Abuja during the rainy (wet) season was higher (1177) than during the dry season (527) (P< 0.0001). Bovine tuberculosis in the Federal Capital Territory is endemic which a prevalence of 0.75%. There was a significant increase in of bTB cases during the wet season than in the dry season between 2015 and 2019.