Tropical Animal Health and Production, 33 (2001) 321^329

# 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands

Eect of Season on the Productivity of Camels (Camelus

dromedarius and the Prevalence of Their Major Parasites in
Eastern Ethiopia
M. Zeleke* and T. Bekele
Alemaya University of Agriculture, Department of Animal Sciences, PO Box 138, DireDawa, Ethiopia
*Correspondence: Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, The University
of Orange Free State, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, Republic of South Africa
Zeleke, M. and T. Bekele, 2001. Eect of season on the productivity of camels (Camelus dromedarius) and
the prevalence of their major parasites in Eastern Ethiopia. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 33(4),
321^329
ABSTRACT
The productivity and the prevalence rates of the major parasites of camels (Camelus dromedarius) kept
under traditional management conditions at Errer valley, Ethiopia were assessed for a year (October
1997^September 1998). The daily milk otake was signicantly higher (p50.05) during the wet season
(3.12+0.03 L) than during the dry season (1.49+0.04 L). Likewise, signicantly higher (p50.05) daily
weight gains (50.68+0.54 g) were observed during the wet season than during dry season in immature
camels aged 1^4 years. Trypanosoma evansi, Sarcoptes scabiei and strongyle parasites were present
throughout the year, but their prevalence rates were higher during the rainy months than during the dry
months. The minimum and maximum point prevalence rates for T. evansi were 5.4% and 20.6%,
respectively. Similarly, the point prevalence rates for S. scabiei also varied from 4.7% during the dry
season to 21.7% during the rainy months. The highest strongyle egg counts per gram of faeces and
highest point prevalence rate (85.7%) were observed in October, a rainy month, whereas the lowest
number of eggs per gram of faeces and the lowest point prevalence rate (61.5%) were recorded in April,
a dry month.
Keywords: camel, live weight, mange, milk, rain, trypanosome, strongyle
Abbreviations: epg, eggs per gram; PPR, point prevalence rate

INTRODUCTION
Almost half the total area of Ethiopia has an arid or semi-arid climate (Coppock,
1993). Owing to its unique anatomical, physiological and behavioural features, the
camel (Camelus dromedarius) is well adapted and known for providing almost all the
basic necessities of pastoralists living in these regions. It is almost everything to
pastoralists in terms of food and power, cash and prestige, and a means of storing
wealth.
However, despite its signicant contribution to the livelihood of the pastoral society,
the camel is relatively neglected in Ethiopia. Scientic information on its productivity
and the prevalence rates of its major parasites (Trypanosoma evansi, Sarcoptes scabiei
321

322

and strongyle parasites) is not well documented. Therefore, an attempt was made in the
present study to generate this information.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study area
The study was conducted at Errer valley (Errer Guda), Eastern Harrarghe region. The
valley is at an altitude of 1300 to 1600 m above sea level. It lies in a transitional zone
between the intensively cropped areas of the northern highlands and the Jijiga plain.
The rainfall data for the area for the monitoring year are shown in Figure 1. The
predominant vegetation types in the valley are acacia and cacti.
Selection of experimental herd
It is dicult to undertake monitoring studies in the semi-nomadic or nomadic
traditional camel production system of Ethiopia for long periods of time owing to the
continual or seasonal movement of pastoralists. It is also almost impossible to apply
random sampling procedures for herd selection under prevailing farming conditions.
Hence, the experimental herd to be monitored was selected on the following criteria:
(1) willingness of the pastoralists, the camel owners, to provide information and their
animals for the study; (2) availability of educated personnel in the tribe who could
work as enumerators; and (3) accessibility of the site, since samples collected can then
be immediately conveyed to diagnostic laboratories. Accordingly, the method used to
select the experimental herd was purposive sampling.
One hundred and six camels, which belong to six households but were herded
together, were registered prior to the commencement of actual monitoring activities
(Table I). The animals were classied according to their sex and age. The age of the
camels was estimated based on information provided by owners and/or dentition
(eruption of the incisor teeth and teeth wear). Based on their estimated age, the camels
were categorized into calves (0^1 years), immatures (1^4 years) and adults (44 years).
TABLE I
Herd structure of the monitored camels at the beginning of the study period
Age groups
Calves (51 y)
Immatures (1^4 y)
Adults (4 y)
Total

Male

Female

Total

5
4
13
22

14
25
45
84

19
29
58
106

323

Management of animals
The camels were managed traditionally by their pastoralist owners. They were allowed
to graze during daytime and kept in a simple fenced enclosure at night. They were
provided with water and mineral salt twice weekly and weekly, respectively. Apart from
the recording of productivity and reproductivity data and collection of blood, faecal
and skin scraping samples and day-to-day recording of events by the enumerator, all
management decisions were made by the owners, without external interference.
Data collection
Productivity: The milk obtained (evening and morning) from 19 lactating camels was
measured weekly for a year using a graduated cylinder.
Twenty-nine immature camels (4 males and 25 females) were subjected to linear
body measurements. The measurements were taken early in the morning before the
animals were given feed and water. As the conventional weighing scale developed for
cattle was not applicable under eld conditions for camels, the body weight was
estimated from the linear body measurements (Yagil, 1994):
Live weight (kg) = abc650
where a = shoulder height in metres, using a height pole, in a straight line from the
ground to the top of the scapula; b = thoracic girth in metres, using a measuring tape
around the body just behind the sternal pad; and c = hump girth in metres, using a
measuring tape along the curve over the midpoint of the hump and the abdomen.
All camels slaughtered, dying, sold and/or given to others were recorded every day
throughout the year. Similarly, camels that entered the herd, either by birth or by
purchase/gift, were recorded. All matings, conceptions and abortions were regularly
recorded.
Health: Blood samples were taken from the ear vein of camels at 2-month intervals for
a year for the preparation of thick and thin blood smears. The thin smears were xed
with 70% methanol for about 1 min. The xed thin and thick smears were stained with
Giemsa (1.5 ml of Giemsa stain in 15 ml of distilled water buered to pH 7.2) for 30
min. The stained smears were examined under a microscope using an oil-immersion
lens. The trypanosome species present were identied based on their body structure
and morphological characteristics (Itard, 1989).
To identify mange mite species and to study their prevalence, all the camels in the
herd were closely visually assessed for the presence of typical mange lesions. Those
camels exhibiting skin lesions typical of mange mite infection were suspected to
harbour the mite. Skin scrapings were collected from these camels to conrm the
infection and to identify the species of mite. The scraped material (keratinous and
epidermal) was examined using standard diagnostic methods (Kaufmann, 1996).

324

Faecal samples were collected every 2 months from the rectum of 41 randomly
selected camels using disposable plastic gloves. A new random sample of camels was
drawn each time, keeping the number of animals to be sampled constant. As the
numbers of male camels and calves were relatively small, it was not possible to balance
the samples for sex or age. The strongyle-type egg count per gram of faeces (epg) was
determined by the McMaster technique (Kaufmann, 1996). The point prevalence rate
(PPR%) was calculated as the percentage of positive animals (animals with at least one
strongyle-type egg per 100 g of faeces) in the total number of animals tested at a
specic time.
Data analysis
Data sets were analysed using Minitab for Microsoft Windows (Minitab Corporation
Softwares Ltd, USA).
RESULTS
Productivity
The milk otake was signicantly higher (p50.05) during the wet season than during
the dry season (Table II). Likewise, a signicantly higher (p50.05) daily live weight
gain was observed during the wet season than during the dry season.
TABLE II
Some productivity parameters of the monitored camel herd during two seasons

Parameter

Season

Wet
Dry

Average daily milk otake (L)

Average estimated daily weight gain (g)
Animal otake (%)
Matings (%)
Calvings (%)

19
29
12
33
33

3.12+0.03a
50.68+0.54a
41.67
84.85
86.36

1.49+0.04b
41.96+0.54b
58.33
15.15
13.64

n, the number of camels lactating, the number of camels monitored for weight gain, total number of camels
sold and total number of camels conceived and giving birth, respectively
a,b

Means in the same row with dierent superscripts dier signicantly (p50.05)

325

Most camels (58.3%) were sold during the dry season. More than 67% of the camels
sold were males or old females. Most of the mating and calving of the camels occurred
during the rainy months of the year. The annual calving percentage, number of services
per conception, open days and abortion rates for the monitored camel herd were
42.7%, 1.4+0.1, 162.8+7.9 days and 12.1%, respectively.
Health
T. evansi, S. scabiei and the eggs of strongyle-type parasites were prevalent throughout
the year, but their prevalence rates were higher during rainy months than during the
dry months (Table III). The point prevalence rate of S. scabiei, the only mange species
identied from the skin scrapings, was lowest during the dry months. Likewise, the
highest point prevalence rate of strongyle eggs was recorded in October, a rainy month,
whereas the lowest was in April, a dry month. Strongyle egg counts tended to increase
when the monthly rainfall increased (Figure 1).
DISCUSSION
Productivity
The camel production system in Ethiopia is entirely traditional, that is, nomadic or
semi-nomadic. The owners move with their animals seasonally, and it was very
fortunate to be able to monitor these animals for a year. The experimental site and the
herd to be monitored were selected based on the relative accessibility of the area and
the willingness of the camel owners. Therefore, the results of the current nding are
limited to generating baseline information that may be used as a springboard for
further detailed studies.
The higher milk otake observed during the wet season than during the dry season
in the current study conrms the previous nding by Ayele (1989). Both this higher
milk volume and the greater gain in body weight during the wet season may be due to
the availability of feed and water, which are relatively scarce during the dry months of
the year. In addition to these, direct solar radiation and the high ambient temperature
may create discomfort during the dry season.
Camels were found to be an important source of income for pastoralists in the study
area, especially during the dry season. The higher proportion of sales during the dry
season suggests that pastoralists have to sell their camels to generate money for
purchase of food grains, since the milk otake during this period was not sucient
for home consumption, let alone for sale. The selective otake of camels by pastoralists
was also clear. Most of the camels sold were males and old females, which reveals that
pastoralists are reluctant to sell females and valuable younger camels. This suggested
that camels are mainly used for milk production.
There is no previous literature on the number of services per conception for
Ethiopian camels, but the numbers of services per conception for Saudi-Arabian

^
^
20.59
^
5.41
^
7.69
^
13.89
^
18.18
^

Numbers in parentheses are number of camels sampled

Dash indicates that samples were not taken

Months in bold type are the relatively rainy months of the year

^
^
7 (34)
^
2 (37)
^
3 (39)
^
5 (36)
^
6 (33)
^

23 (106)
21 (109)
19 (108)
6 (107)
5 (107)
7 (106)
9 (106)
14 (106)
10 (106)
11 (107)
15 (106)
20 (110)

21.70
19.27
17.59
5.61
4.67
6.60
8.49
13.21
9.43
10.28
14.15
18.18

S. scabiei

No. of
positive casesa
PPR%

Numbers in parentheses are number of camels in the herd at the specic sampling time

Octoberc
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September

Sampling
month

T. evansi

No. of
positive casesb
PPR%
35 (41)
^
33 (41)
^
31 (41)
^
25 (41)
^
34 (41)
^
34 (41)
^

85.37
^
80.49
^
75.61
^
61.00
^
82.93
^
82.93
^

Strongyle eggs

No. of
positive casesb
PPR%

TABLE III
Point prevalence rates of Trypanosoma evansi, Sarcoptes scabiei and strongyle egg counts during the study period

326

327

Figure 1. Mean faecal strongyle egg counts (eggs per gram of faeces) of camels during 1997^98
in relation to rainfall

camels reported by Abdel-Rahim and colleagues (1994) and Aboul-Ela (1994) were
2.0+0.2 and 1.63+0.16, respectively, similar to the present nding. In the monitored
herd, most mating and calving occurred during the wet season. This is in conformity
with the previous report by Schwartz and Dioli (1992) that the breeding season of
camels (both males and females) is very short and coincides with the rainy season. The
main reason for the seasonality of breeding in camels may be the availability of better
forage during the rainy season.
Health
T. evansi, S. scabiei and strongyle parasites were prevalent in the monitored herd
throughout the monitoring period (Table III). The highest prevalence rate of T. evansi
during and immediately after the rainy months may be due to favourable weather
conditions (moisture and temperature) for breeding by the biting ies that serve as
mechanical vectors of this parasite.
Similarly, the high point prevalence rates of S. scabiei during the wet months may be
due to the favourable weather conditions for the transmission of the parasite from
infected to healthy camels. The parasite may be more easily transmitted from wet skin
during the rainy months than from dry skin in the dry months. In addition to this, the
crowding together of animals around the encampment while being fed salt and milked
in the wet months may have facilitated transmission of the disease through contact,
since mange is highly contagious (Dioli and Stimmelmayr, 1992).
Likewise, the higher faecal egg counts and PPR observed during the rainy months of
the year are consistent with the previous reports by Birhanu (1986) and Abebe (1991).

328

The higher faecal egg counts and PPR of strongyle-type infections in the camels will
have resulted from the favourable weather conditions (moisture and temperature),
which are essential for the survival and development of the infective larvae on the
pasture (Troncy, 1989) and which only occur during the rainy season.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors greatly appreciate the nancial support provided by the National Camel
Research Project of Alemaya University of Agriculture. We are also grateful to
Professor B.P. Hegde for his invaluable help.
REFERENCES
Abdel-Rahim, S.E.A., Abdel-Rahim, K. and Nazier, A.E., 1994. Production and reproduction of one
humped camels in the Al-Quasim region, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Arid Environments, 26, 53^59
Abebe, W., 1991. Traditional husbandry practices and major health problems of camels in the Ogaden. In:
H.O. Anders (ed.), Nomadic Peoples, No. 29, (Uppsala, Sweden), 21^30
Aboul-Ela, M.B., 1994. Reproductive performance of the one-humped camel under traditional management in the United Arab Emirates. Journal of Arid Environments, 26, 7^51
Ayele, G., 1989. The future of camel rearing for food production in Ethiopia. In: T. Tegegne (ed.), Camel
Pastoralism as Food System in Ethiopia, (The Institute of Development Research (IDR), Addis Ababa
University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in cooperation with the Scandinavian Institute of African Studies
(SIAS), Uppsala, Sweden), 1^8
Birhanu, A., 1986. Survey of camel helminthiasis in Harraghe Region, (Thesis, Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine, Addis Ababa University
Coppock, D.L., 1993. The Boran Plateau of the Southern Ethiopia: Synthesis of Pastoral Research
Development and Change, 1980^91, (International Livestock Center for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)
Dioli, M. and Stimmelmayr, R., 1992. Important camel diseases. In: M. Schwartz and M. Dioli (eds), The
One Humped Camel (Camelus dromedarius) in Eastern Africa: A Pictorial Guide to Health Care and
Management, (Josef Magraf, Germany), 155^224
Itard, J., 1989. African animal trypanosomiasis. In: S. Fischer and R.R. Say (eds), Manual of Tropical
Veterinary Parasitology, (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Wallingford,
UK), 177^290
Kaufmann, J., 1996. Parasitic Infections of Domestic Animals. A Diagnostic Manual, (Birkhauser, Berlin),
5^15
Schwartz, H.J. and Dioli, M., 1992. The One Humped Camel (Camelus dromedarius) in Eastern Africa. A
Pictorial Guide to Disease, Health Care and Management, (Josef Margraf, Germany)
Troncy, P.M., 1989. Helminths of livestock and poultry in tropical Africa. In: S. Fisher and R.R. Say (eds),
Manual of Tropical Parasitology, (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA),
Wallingford, UK), 33^54
Yagil, R., 1994. The Camel in Today's World. A Hand Book on Camel Management, (Research Report 1,
Deutsche Welthungerhilfe, German Agro Action, Bonn, Germany)
(Accepted: 22 April 2000)
Inuence de la saison et des prevalences des maladies parasitaires chez le chameau (Camelus dromedarius) en
Ethiopie de l'est
Resume ^ La productivite et les taux de prevalences des parasites de chameau (Camelus dromedarius) eleves
de facon traditionnelle furent etudiees pendant un an entre Octobre 1997 et Septembre 1998 dans la Vallee

329
de l'Errer en Ethiopie. La productivite laitiere fut signicativement elevee (p50,05) pendant la saison des
pluies (3,12+0,03 litre) que pendant la saison seche (1,49+0,04 litre). De la meme facon le gain en poids
journalier fut signicativement plus eleve (p50,05) pendant la saison des pluies que pendant la saison
se che pour les jeunes chameaux de 1 a 4 ans. Trypanosoma evansi, Sarcoptes scabiei and les Strongylus
furent presents toute l'annee mais de facon plus abondante pendant la saison des pluies que pendant la
saison seche. La prevalence minimale et maximale pour Trypanosoma evansi furent respectivement de 5,4%
et 20,6%. De facon similaire, la prevalence de Sarcoptes scabiei varia de 4,7% pendant les mois secs a 21,7%
lors des pluies. Le nombre le plus eleve d'oeufs de strongylus par gramme de feces et la prevalence la plus
elevee (85,7%) furent observes en octobre, un mois pluvieux, alors que le nombre d'oeufs le plus faible et la
prevalence la moins elevee (61,5%) furent observees en avril, un mois sec.

Efecto de la estacion en la productividad y la prevalencia de las principales enfermedades parasitarias de los

camellos (Camelus dromedarius) en Etiop| a del Este
Resumen ^ Durante un ano se evaluo la productividad y la prevalencia de los principales parasitos de
camello (Camelus dromedarius) mantenidos bajo condiciones tradicionales de manejo en el valle Errer,
Etiop| a, (Octubre 1997^Septiembre 1998). La produccion diaria de leche fue signicativamente mayor
(p50,05) durante la estacion humeda (3,12+0,03 litros) que durante la estacion seca (1,49+0,04 litros).
Asimismo se observo durante la estacion humeda una ganancia de peso diaria signicativamente mayor
(p50,05) que durante la estacion seca en camellos prepuberes de 1 a 4 anos de edad. Trypanosoma evansi,
Sarcoptes Scabiei y parasitos del genero Strongylus estuvieron presentes durante todo el ano, aunque su
prevalencia fue mas altos durante los meses lluviosos que durante los secos. Las prevalencias m| nimas y
maximas para T. evansi fueron 5,4% y 20,6% respectivamente. Asimismo, la prevalencia para S. scabiei
tambien oscilo entre 4,7% durante los meses secos y 21,7% durante los lluviosos. El mayor numero de
huevos de Strongylus por gramo de heces y la mayor prevalencia (85,7%) se observo en Octubre, un mes
lluvioso, mientras que la menor prevalencia (61,5%) se registro en Abril, un mes seco.