| dc.description.abstract | Abstract The study reported data from 507 post-mortem
records in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and
Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of
Nairobi, Kenya. The records were from carcasses obtained
from the peri-urban area of Nairobi during a 20-year period
between 1990 and 2009. Approximately 80% (393/507) of
the calf carcasses had their diagnosis made through postmortem
examination, while the rest (114/507) were inconclusive.
Just less than half (48.3%) of the calf carcasses
presented had their age specified by the owners compared
to 51.7% whose age was not specified. For calf carcasses
whose age was specified by the owners, those indicated as
more than 3 months were one-and-a-half times as many as
those below 3 months old. The proportion of female
carcasses (53.8%, 273/507) presented for post-mortem
were slightly higher than the male carcasses (46.2%,
234/507). Diseases or conditions of the respiratory system
were the most common 17.7% (97/507) while gastrointestinal
tract (GIT) was second and affected 16.1% (88/507) of
the cases. Another small number, 3.3% (18/507), died from
bloat giving the total cases associated with GIT as 19.4%
(106/507). Severe calf malnutrition and septicaemia were
the third most reported causes of calf mortality in similar
proportions at 14.3% (78/507) and 14.4% (79/507),
respectively. Other minor causes of calf mortality were tick-borne diseases 8.6% (47/507), helminthiasis and
poisoning, 2.9% (16/507) and 1.8% (10/507), respectively. | en |
