KARI Gastro Intestinal Nemade Nov 1991

Abstract

At the National Animal Husbandry Centre (NAHRC) in Naivasha a research program on calf rearing is going on. The emphasis of this program is on nutrition but health control is also a part of the program. Gastro-intestinal nematode infections in calves are common in Kenya as reported by the extension service and the National Dairy Development Project (NDDP). They recommend that the calves should be dewormed after every three months. It seems that also a large number of the dairy farmers are aware of the problem. Straat (1970 - 1975) reported already in the seventies that curative and prophylactic use of Anthelmintics was rather common in Kenya. Van der Valk (1990) reported that the in the NDDP project included farmers, at least 50% used anthelmintics for their calves. For the milking cows, this percentage was even higher with 86%. It is not clear which data the recommended deworming scheme is based on.