Retrospective Study of Disease Incidence and Type of Pneumonia in Nigerian Small Ruminants in Ibadan, Nigeria

Eleven-year retrospective study was carried out on small ruminants submitted for necropsy in the Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Ibadan between 1999 and 2010 to determine the disease pattern, incidence and type of pneumonia in small ruminants from urban and peri-urban area of Ibadan, Nigeria. Approximately 92.4% of the carcasses had their diagnosis made through post-mortem examination, while (7.6%) were inconclusive. The post-mortem diagnosis was obtained from records while the type of pneumonia was by histopathology using standard techniques. Student’s t-test was used for the test of significance for evaluating the effect of age, sex and the type of pneumonia. Pneumonia was the most common 81 out of the 105 cases (77.14%). Of the 81 pneumonic cases diagnosed, peste des petits ruminants (PPR) 69 (85.2%), Mannheimiosis (MH) in 6 (7.4%), PPR and MH in 6 (7.4%). More pneumonic cases were recorded in goats (80%) than sheep (76.7%) and in rainy season (67.2%) than dry season (27.6%). The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) was the second (16.9%) which includes enterotoxemia (9%), helminthoses (4.3%) and ruminal impaction (2.6%). Severe malnutrition (2.6%), and trypanosomosis (1.72%), was the third most reported. Others includes congestive heart failure (0.9%), cyanide poisoning (0.9%), and heartwater (0.9%). Histopathologically, bronchopneumonia predominated with fibrinous (30%) and suppurative (10%) type, others were interstitial pneumonia (15%), broncho-interstitial pneumonia with giant cells (40%) and collapsed lung (5%). This showed that pneumonia still remains an important condition in Nigerian small ruminants and broncho-interstitial pneumonia with giant cells, suggestive of complicated PPR is commonly encountered.