Abstract

Chronic emaciation reflects the severity and duration of the aetiologies associated with a disease condition. The primary aim of this investigation was to determine the trend and most significant causes of chronic emaciation and cachexia in off-take cattle in Ibadan metropolis and to evaluate the clinico-pathologic findings. The study was a prospective one. In this particular study, causative factors of chronic emaciation were examined. The purposive sampling technique was used for this study which was carried out at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, between September, 2019 and December, 2019. Samples were collected from 100 chronically emaciated off-take cattle of different breeds, sexes and ages, not less than two years old. The diagnostic protocol of complete physical examination and comprehensive laboratory investigations such as parasitology, haematology, serum chemistry and urinalysis amongst others, were followed as well. The study revealed six major groups of aetiologies of chronic emaciation and cachexia. The haematologic parameters of packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), neutrophil and platelet count were statistically significant (p<0.05) with differences between the mean values of emaciated cases compared to control subjects. The serum chemistry parameters of albumin, globulin, bilirubin, aspartate amino transferase (AST) and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) were statistically significant (p<0.05) with differences between the mean values of emaciated cases and control subjects. The increasing prevalence of dicrocoeliasis and paramphistomiasis as revealed in the study should be of epidemiological and clinical relevance to livestock health institutions and large scale animal practitioners in Nigeria.

Key words: Aetiologies, chronic emaciation, investigation, endoparasitic infection, organ disorders, cattle, Ibadan metropolis.