Trypanosomiasis challenge estimation using the diminazene aceturate (Berenil) index in Zebu in Gabon

A longitudinal study was conducted within a cattle ranch in Gabon to determine the diminazene aceturate (Berenil) index (DAI) in a group of Zebu, raised under low tsetse density; this measure providing an assessment of trypanosomiasis risk. The objective was to evaluate the trypanosomiasis pressure thus informing trypanosomiasis control methods and cattle management. Twenty female adult Zebu were monitored for 24 weeks during the dry season. Blood samples were collected on a weekly basis and subjected to parasitological and haematological analysis (n = 480), using the buffy-coat method and the packed cell volume value (PCV), respectively, infected animals were treated with a single intramuscular injection of diminazene aceturate (8 mg/kg). Twenty-nine single infectious events were recorded and a DAI of 1.45 was calculated. Two trypanosome species were identified: Trypanosoma congolense (96.2%) and Trypanosoma vivax (3.8%). The mean PCV value of the infected animals was lower (26.6) compared to non-infected animals (32.0). This study shows that DAI may be a useful tool to assess trypanosomiasis. However, this is a time-consuming method that may be improved by using randomly selected sentinel animals to adapt the chemoprophylactic schemes, hence decreasing the costs and the drug resistance risk.