Prevalence of Mycobactrium Bovis Infection in Cattle Based on Intra-Dermal Caudal Fold Tuberculin Test in Adamawa State, Nigeria

A cross sectional survey was carried out using convenient sampling technique to sample 79 herds comprising of 2, 810 cattle in 5 Local Government Areas (L.G.A) of Adamawa State in the North East of Nigeria. This was based on the availability of cattle populations, physical accessibility to the herds, availability of cattle restraint facilities and consent of the cattle owners. Purified Protein Derivative (PPD) purchased from Prionics Lelystad, Prod. Nr. 7600040 in the Netherlands was used in screening the cattle for M. bovis infection using intra-dermal caudal fold tuberculin test. The result after 72 hours indicated an overall prevalence of 8.4% (236/2, 810) with Mayo-Belwa L.G.A having the highest prevalence of 19.2% (117/610) while no cattle reacted to the test in Girei L.G.A. It was concluded that this result may serve as a base line data on the status of M. bovis infection in cattle in Adamawa State, as such there is the need to extend this study in all the L.G.As of Adamawa State. This recommendation may require legislative action in order to compel the herdsmen to present their cattle for testing.