Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Genital Abnormalities in Bulls Slaughtered at the SODEPA Industrial Abattoir, Douala, Cameroon

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the presence of genital tract abnormalities in slaughtered bulls at the SODEPA Industrial Abattoir, Littoral Region. A total of 503 healthy bulls were randomly selected and examined from July 2020 to January 2021. Before slaughter, the animals were characterized by their species, breed, age, weight, and Body Condition Score (BCS) during ante mortem inspection. Following slaughter, visual inspection, palpation, and dissection of the entire genital tract of each male were inspected for gross pathological abnormalities via post mortem examination. Out of 503 bulls, 380 (75.5%) were affected by one or more gross genital abnormalities of unidentified causes. Means age (years), weight (kg) and BCS were 6.7± 1.93; 186.83 ± 17.08 and 2.77 ± 0.42 respectively. Balanoposthitis was the most frequent disorder with an overall prevalence rate of 30% (n=151/503) followed by postithis (21.5%; n=108/503), hematoma (14.9%; n=75/503), unilateral testicular hypoplasia (8.9%; n=45/503), hydrocele (2.4%; n=12/503), white buttons (2.2%; n=11/503) and epididymitis (2%; n=10/503). The study shows that a high rate of gross reproductive disorders was on adult bulls (244/380). Age and body condition did not affect the prevalence of any abnormality (P>0.05) except in balanoposthitis which was significantly varied among age group (P=0.003). There was a strong correlation between scrotal cellulitis and seminoma (r=0.706) and a moderate correlation between hydrocele and epididymitis (r=0.44). The high prevalence obtained in this study indicates that attention should be given to the reproductive management of bulls in Cameroon.