UNDERSTANDING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CATTLE TICK-BORNE DISEASES AND CLIMATE VARIABILITY IN MBARARA DISTRICT, WESTERN UGANDA

Abstract

A study to examine the association between tick - borne diseases and climate variability in cattle keeping communities in Mbarara district in South in Western Uganda was undertaken aiming at inputting into the tactical and strategic control of the diseases in the largely livestock dependant region in the country. In a multi sectoral priority setting exercise, tick borne diseases was top on the list of constraints responsible for cattle mortality and reduced productivity. A clinical tick- borne disease data analyzed basing on standard microscopic procedures, including capillary agglutination test and giemsa stain, was obtained from Mbarara veterinary clinic. The disease data was matched with rainfall data from 27 rain gauge stations obtained from National meteorological stations and recording centers scattered within the district covering a period of 56 years since 1950. The number of wet spells and disease cases showed that disease cases were positively correlated with rainfall at a 95% confidence level (R2= 0.56). Disease cases exhibited peak cyclical patterns related to rainfall during the transmission season during October, November and December with extreme peaks occurring every other year while Significant (r2=0.536) variability was observed for the positive trend in March - April -May seasonal rainfall for one of the three zones. Additionally, the results in this study indicate that rainfall is a substantial determinant of seasonal activity of the transmitting vectors from season to season and from year to year.