CARA'S TIPSAnimal diseases, parasites and their prevention and control
JAMBWAECNECO
What the syllabus asks
JAMB: C7 animal health (diseases, parasites, prevention and control)
WAEC: H Animal health: meaning of health and disease; causes (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, parasites, nutritional, physiological); general symptoms; transmission; prevention and control; major diseases of cattle, sheep and goats, pigs, poultry and rabbits; endoparasites and ectoparasites (life cycles, damage, control); Practical D5–D6 (parasites and veterinary equipment)
NECO: H Animal health: meaning of health and disease; causes (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, parasites, nutritional, physiological); general symptoms; transmission; prevention and control; major diseases of cattle, sheep and goats, pigs, poultry and rabbits; endoparasites and ectoparasites (life cycles, damage, control); Practical D5–D6 (parasites and veterinary equipment)
What you will learn
- Define health and disease and list the causes of disease.
- State general signs of ill health and normal health.
- Explain modes of disease transmission.
- Describe prevention and control measures, including vaccination.
- Describe causes, signs, transmission and control of major viral, bacterial, protozoan and fungal diseases of Nigerian livestock.
- Describe the life cycles, effects and control of major endo- and ectoparasites.
- Explain zoonoses and safe handling of veterinary drugs.
- Calculate drug dosages and dilutions.
Key points
- Disease causes: viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, parasites, nutrition, poisons, injury.
- Signs of illness: dullness, poor appetite, fever, rough coat, discharges, diarrhoea, lameness, production drop.
- Transmission: contact, feed/water, air, vectors, equipment, carriers, congenital.
- Prevention: vaccination, biosecurity, quarantine, isolation, nutrition, vector control, deworming, legislation.
- Poultry viral: Newcastle, Gumboro, fowl pox, Marek’s, avian influenza.
- Ruminant/pig viral: PPR, FMD, ASF, rabies; rinderpest eradicated 2011.
- Bacterial: anthrax (do not open carcass), blackleg, CBPP, brucellosis, TB, mastitis, fowl typhoid.
- Protozoan: trypanosomiasis (tsetse), coccidiosis (wet litter), redwater (ticks).
- Endoparasites: roundworms, tapeworms, liver fluke (snail host).
- Ectoparasites: ticks, lice, mites, fleas, tsetse; dipping and spraying.
- Bloat, milk fever, acidosis, cannibalism are management/metabolic conditions.
- Observe drug withdrawal periods; avoid antibiotic misuse; know zoonoses.
Start here: Health, disease and signs of ill health
Causes of disease
- Pathogens: viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa.
- Parasites: worms (endoparasites), ticks, lice, mites, flies (ectoparasites).
- Nutritional: deficiencies or imbalances (see ag9).
- Poisons: toxic plants, pesticides, aflatoxin in feed, contaminated water.
- Physical injury: wounds, fractures, bites.
- Physiological and metabolic disorders: bloat, milk fever, heat stress.
- Genetic defects.
Signs of good health vs ill health
| Healthy animal | Sick animal |
|---|---|
| Alert, active, moves with the group | Dull, isolated, lying down, reluctant to move |
| Good appetite; ruminants chew the cud | Loss of appetite; stops ruminating |
| Normal temperature, pulse and breathing | Fever or subnormal temperature; rapid or laboured breathing |
| Smooth shiny coat or tight feathers | Rough, dull coat; ruffled feathers; hair loss |
| Clear eyes, moist muzzle (cattle) | Discharges from eyes, nose or mouth; dry muzzle |
| Normal droppings and urine | Diarrhoea (sometimes bloody), constipation, abnormal urine colour |
| Normal production | Drop in milk, eggs or growth |
| Normal gait | Lameness, staggering, paralysis |
Economic effects of disease
Deaths; reduced growth, milk and eggs; poor fertility and abortions; cost of drugs and vets; condemned carcasses; trade bans; human illness from zoonoses; loss of draught power.
A farmer notices that a cow has stopped chewing the cud, has a dry muzzle and is standing apart from the herd. What should he do?
These are signs of ill health. He should isolate the cow, take her rectal temperature, note other signs (diarrhoea, discharges, breathing), provide water and shade, and call a veterinarian promptly. He should keep the herd under observation in case the disease is infectious.
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Practice questions
- loss of appetite and dullness
- chewing the cud
- bright eyes
- shiny coat
Show answer
A: loss of appetite and dullness
Healthy animals are alert and eat well.
- mosquitoes
- ticks
- snails
- tsetse flies
Show answer
D: tsetse flies
It causes anaemia and weight loss.
- fowl pox
- aspergillosis
- Newcastle disease
- coccidiosis
Show answer
C: Newcastle disease
It is a viral disease controlled by vaccination.
- fowl pox
- coccidiosis
- Newcastle disease
- Gumboro
Show answer
B: coccidiosis
It is caused by a protozoan (Eimeria).
- 2011
- 1980
- 1999
- 2020
Show answer
A: 2011
It was the second disease eradicated after smallpox.
Key words
- Health
- A state of normal physical and physiological functioning of the body.
- Disease
- Any deviation from normal health that impairs body functions.
- Pathogen
- A disease-causing organism.
- Symptom/sign
- An observable indication of disease, e.g. fever, diarrhoea.
- Incubation period
- Time between infection and the appearance of signs.
- Vaccine
- A preparation of weakened, killed or parts of pathogens that stimulates immunity.
- Vector
- A living carrier that transmits a pathogen, e.g. a tick or tsetse fly.
- Zoonosis
- A disease transmissible between animals and humans.
- Endoparasite
- A parasite living inside the host, e.g. roundworm, liver fluke.
- Ectoparasite
- A parasite living on the outside of the host, e.g. tick, louse.
- Intermediate host
- A host in which a parasite develops but does not become adult, e.g. snail for liver fluke.
- Anthelmintic
- A drug that kills worms (dewormer).
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