• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.911-921
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• 2015

At least 150 indigenous African cattle breeds have been named, but the majority of African cattle populations remain largely uncharacterized. As cattle breeds and populations in Africa adapted to various local environmental conditions, they acquired unique features. We know now that the history of African cattle was particularly complex and while several of its episodes remain debated, there is no doubt that African cattle population evolved dramatically over time. Today, we find a mosaic of genetically diverse population from the purest Bos taurus to the nearly pure Bos indicus. African cattle are now found all across the continent, with the exception of the Sahara and the river Congo basin. They are found on the rift valley highlands as well as below sea level in the Afar depression. These unique livestock genetic resources are in danger to disappear rapidly following uncontrolled crossbreeding and breed replacements with exotic breeds. Breeding improvement programs of African indigenous livestock remain too few while paradoxically the demand of livestock products is continually increasing. Many African indigenous breeds are endangered now, and their unique adaptive traits may be lost forever. This paper reviews the unique known characteristics of indigenous African cattle populations while describing the opportunities, the necessity and urgency to understand and utilize these resources to respond to the needs of the people of the continent and to the benefit of African farmers.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.91-94
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• 2011

We report 2 cases of Thelazia rhodesii infection in the African buffaloes, Syncerus caffer, in Zambia. African buffalo calves were captured from the livestock and wildlife interface area of the Kafue basin in the dry season of August 2005 for the purpose to translocate to game ranches. At capture, calves (n = 48) were examined for the presence of eye infections by gently manipulating the orbital membranes to check for eye-worms in the conjunctival sacs and corneal surfaces. Two (4.3%) were infected and the mean infection burden per infected eye was 5.3 worms (n=3). The mean length of the worms was 16.4 mm (95% CI; 14.7-18.2 mm) and the diameter 0.41 mm (95% CI; 0.38-0.45 mm). The surface cuticle was made of transverse striations which gave the worms a characteristic serrated appearance. Although the calves showed signs of kerato-conjunctivitis, the major pathological change observed was corneal opacity. The calves were kept in quarantine and were examined thrice at 30 days interval. At each interval, they were treated with 200 ${\mu}g/kg$ ivermectin, and then translocated to game ranches. Given that the disease has been reported in cattle and Kafue lechwe (Kobus lechwe kafuensis) in the area, there is a need for a comprehensive study which aims at determining the disease dynamics and transmission patterns of thelaziasis between wildlife and livestock in the Kafue basin.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2020.06a
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• pp.117-117
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• 2020

The main objective of this study was to setup model and evaluate the model performance for streamflow simulation in Burundi using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The total area of Burundi is 27,834 ㎢. The elevation of Burundi ranges from 780 m to 2,700m. The West and East are low lands, while the Central part is high land. The topographic data (30 meters Digital Elevation Model) and land use and land cover data of Burundi were obtained respectively from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD). The soil data used was obtained from Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The local weather data and discharge data were provided by Burundi Hydro meteorological Service (IGEBU). Mean Areal Precipitation (MAP) and Mean Areal Temperature (MAT) were estimated. The streamflow simulation was done for the period 1980-2017. The calibration and validation of river discharge was performed at a daily time step from 2005 through 2011 as the calibration period and 2012 up to 2017 as the validation period. The findings show that streamflow decreases during Jun to September and increases during March to May and October to December.