Management and health care related problems facing the water buffaloes of Egypt

Because of the water buffalo's great importance to the lives of small farmers and to the economy of Egypt, problems with the management or medical care for these animals can be disastrous for the small farmer as well as for the animals.  Providing better management and health care not only is important from an ethical point of view, but is also crucial for the conservation of the water buffalo genetic resources, given their small population worldwide (a world population of approximately 122 million head compared to approximately 1.3 billion head of cattle worldwide).  Egyptian farmers, in the Nile delta and other parts, are known for their dedication to their animals, but at the same time they require as high a production level from them as possible.  These two factors often oppose one another due to a lack of economic stability.

In addition to management practices, the caliber of medical attention available for the water buffalo plays an important role in the quality of services these animals can provide the small scale farmer. Veterinary services in most developing countries, including Egypt, are often provided by the government at a subsidized rate or at no cost.  The question then arises of whether this system provides adequate attention to the needs of the water buffalo.

Main management related problems:
    - poor ventilation
    - insufficient removal of feces
    - feeding a poor quality of concentrate (i.e. a finely ground corn)
    - external parasites (veterinarians will spray the animals every 2 weeks free of charge)

Most commonly seen health problems:
    - tympany
    - impaction
    - hypophosophotemia (due to a high baseem, low concentrate diet)
    - milk fever
    - mastitis (due to poor management practices while milking)
    - edematous skin disease (due to corina bacteria)
    - mange
    - gastrointestinal parasites
    - blood parasites
    - grass tetany (especially in calves)
    - endometritis
    - inactive ovary

Common medical conditions:

Seasonal afflictions:

Summer:
    - hypophosphatemia - results from an increased intake of baseem which is high in calcium
                                      but low in phosphorus.  This results in the hemolysis of red blood
                                      cells and a red tinged urine.
    - decreased milk production
    - muscle weakness
    - babesia (sporadic cases)
    - filaria
    - endometritis - often due to contamination during parturition
    - small/inactive ovary - often related to a low phosphorous (high baseem, low
                                       concentrate) diet

Winter:
    - FMD
    - respiratory infections - primarily due to poor management
    - diarrhea - found mainly in calves (due to cold weather?)
    - parasitic infections: liver flukes (mainly in cattle and sheep)
                                    ascariosis (nematode)
    - skin diseases - edematous (caused by corina bacteria bovis, may see small abscesses
                              in the lymph nodes)

Systemic afflictions:

Skin:
    - mange (primarily demodectic)
    - ringworm (not very common)
    - warts
    - alopecia (due to the above mentioned conditions)
    - ulceration (often due to a filaria infestation or corina bacteria)
    - pox (rare) - buffaloes can be carriers

Eye:
    - keratitis (possibly due to BVD or malignant catthar fever)
    - conjunctivitis

Ear:
    - ottis media
    - mange
    - edema around the base of the ear due to tying (management related
       problem)

Tail:
    - tail necrosis - may be caused by bacillus bacteria (seroferous necroferous)
    - mange around the base of the tail (especially in the caudal fold region)

Hooves:
    - sloughing of the hoof due to complications of FMD
    - fissures in the hoof due to mechanical wear or mineral deficiency

Vaccinations:

Required:
    - Rift Valley Fever
    - FMD
    - Hemorrhagic septicemia
    - Rinderpest (not required at the moment)

Emergency:
    - Brucellosis
    - TB

Protocols:
    - inactivated every 6 months, activated every 9 months
    - veterinarians go to the villages every 6 months and call out for the farmers
       to bring their animals to be vaccinated

 

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