Epidemiological Determinants of Calf Morbidity and Mortality in Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia

A longitudinal study was conducted on 40 calves from November 2016 to April 2017 in five purposively selected intensive dairy farms at Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia, to estimate the incidence of dairy calf morbidity and mortality and determine potential determinant factors associated with calf morbidity and mortality. Patterns of calf morbidity and mortality were followed up to the end of their sixth month of age at individual level. In addition a herd level data on calf rearing practices was performed on the farm where experimental animals resided. Diseases condition/syndromes that were diagnosed in calve includes; diarrhoea, pneumonia, septicaemia condition, joint ill (arthritis), navel ill, congenital problems and bovine papilomatosis(warts). The most frequent diseases syndrome was diarrhoea 50% (n=20), followed by pneumonia 7.5% (n=3). The result of this study demonstrated that; the overall morbidity and mortality were 77.5% and 20%, respectively. The main cause of death was also diarrhea resulting in three out of eight deaths. Older calves above three months age were at lower risk of morbidity and mortality than younger calves of below three month. Among 16 potential risk factors assessed; birth condition (X²=5.6, p=0.018), vigour status at birth (X²=6, p=0.013), naval treatment (X²=9, p=0.003), age at first colostrums ingestion (X²=4, p=0.044), amount of milk feed daily (X²=9.5, p=0.002), house cleanness (X²=5.4, p=0.02), and ventilation (X²=7, p=0.008) were significantly associated with calf morbidity. Whereas vigour status at birth (X²=6, p=0.011), age at first colostrums ingestion (X²=5, p=0.024), and experience of calf care taker (X²=4.3, p=0.038) were significantly associated with calf mortality. In general calf morbidity and mortality found to be relatively high in study area and can have short term and long term detrimental effect on Dairy production by suppressing growth rate of the calves and replacement capacity of the herd. Therefore A sound dairy calf management practice, is needed to understand and exploit above mentioned calf health determinant factors. Moreover, further investigation is suggested to identify the specific causative agents incriminated for calf morbidity and mortality in dairy farms of the study area.