Adaptation of the White Fulani cattle to the tropical environment.

This review summarizes the available information on the adaptation and the performance of White Fulani cattle in tropical environments. White Fulani cattle is an indigenous breed of cattle widely distributed in the humid tropical regions of Africa and plays significant roles in meat and milk production, as well as draught purposes. Poor management and the harsh environmental conditions in the tropics encumber the optimal productive and reproductive performance of the breed, having about 4.75 years age at first calving, 57% calving rate, 18 months calving interval and 3 to 4 calves are born in a reproductive lifetime. The cattle breed adapts to these climatic patterns via physiological, morphological, behavioral, genetic, and metabolic responses. Different physiological mechanisms and morphological features such as their white coat color, hair coat thickness, and lengthy rump appear to play an important adaptive role. The distinct genetic traits (including the possession of seven genetic variants of HSP 90 gene) of the breed afford them some levels of thermotolerance and high resistivity to some endemic diseases (such as trypanosomiasis, liver fluke, brucellosis and foot and mouth disease) in the tropics constitute inherent characteristics that should be explored in detail using molecular assisted approaches. The productive performance of the breed under different systems is discussed. A better understanding of the adaptive characteristics of White Fulani cattle could provide crucial information on the best management approach/techniques that should be adopted to improve the performance, productivity, and sustainability of this cattle breed. Therefore, this review aims to compile the various production, reproduction and adaptation traits of the breed and presents vital information underlying their thriving and survivability in tropical environments.

Preliminary studies on the prevalence and distribution of urinary schistosomiasis in Ondo State, Nigeria.

The prevalence of S. haematobium infection in 18 Local Government Area (LGA) in Ondo state was determined by examining pupils from randomly selected schools in the state. A total of 4266 urine samples were examined and 1303 (30.5%) were infected with the parasite. The infection was recorded in both rural and urban communities in each LGA. The overall prevalence was significantly higher in males (33.7%) than in females (26.0%) (P = -0.001). The LGA exhibiting the highest overall prevalence of infection was Akure north (86.2%; Cl, 0.82-0.9). The infection was most common in subjects between the ages of 11 and 15 years. Seven species of aquatic snails were encountered and B. (P). globosus was the most abundant and widespread species. The Owena river/dam in Idanre LGA was richest in molluscan fauna. B. (P). globosus and Biomphalaria pfeifferi shedding cercariae were recovered from Owena river and dam. The study shows that there were spatial heterogeneities in the prevalence of infections in both human population and the snail intermediate hosts. The implications of the clustering nature of the disease, for a successful control program in the state, were discussed.