title: Effect of herd management on the contamination of night holding areas (correos) and infections with gastrointestinal nematodes of N'Dama cattle in The Gambia.
abstract: The densities of infective nematode larvae (L3/m2) in the night holding places (locally called "correos") of 2 traditionally kept N'Dama herds were estimated at weekly intervals throughout an entire rainy season. Herd 1 moved correos every 3 weeks whereas herd 2 remained in the same area for most of the rainy season. Removal to a new correo was invariably accompanied by a drastic drop of L3/m2. Conversely, L3/m2 increased rapidly up to values of more than 1,000 when the herds used the same night holding place for more than 3 weeks. Calves kept in herds with frequent changes of the correo showed significantly lower nematode egg counts and higher growth rates during the rainy season, combined with a reduced weight loss during the following dry season. The results of this study indicate that a regular frequent change of the correo is an effective method of reducing nematode infection risk and increasing calf growth and that this might be a sustainable part of an integrated strategic programme to control gastrointestinal nematode infections wherever correos are used.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Berne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kaufmann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Komma
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pfister
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D005714:Gambia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D006799:Housing, Animal; D007814:Larva; D009349:Nematode Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D012621:Seasons; D012987:Soil / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D012987:Soil