Assessment of Ruminal Disorders and Their Therapeutic Management at Three Veterinary Clinics in Gondar Town, North Western Ethiopia: A Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND: Ruminal disorders are a major threat to the health and welfare of animals worldwide especially in developing countries like Ethiopia. However, there is no recent published report on ruminal disorders and the possible management methods at veterinary clinics in Gondar town. The aim of this study was to identify the common ruminal disorders and treatments given to manage these disorders. METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out to identify the common ruminal disorders and their therapeutic management of ruminants (cattle, sheep and goat). Data on 127 cases of animals treated for ruminal disorders in three veterinary clinics were collected from case registration books. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 statistical software and descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Ruminal disorders including simple indigestion, ruminal acidosis, free gas bloat and frothy bloat were identified. From these, 44.1% ruminal acidosis, 26% frothy bloat, 15.7% free gas bloat and 14.2% simple indigestion were identified. Of the total ruminal disorders, 67.7%, 8.6% and 23.6% occurred in bovine, caprine and ovine, respectively. Eighty-six point six percent and thirteen point four percent of ruminal disorders were in young and adult, respectively. The highest rate of ruminal disorders was seen at University of Gondar veterinary clinic. With regard to season, the highest prevalence of these disorders were reported in winter (31.1%) and spring (31.1%). The highest cases were treated using a combination of indigestion powder and antimicrobial (24.4%), followed by a combination of liquid paraffin and indigestion powder (23.6%). All cases were diagnosed empirically, without getting definitive diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The findings had shown that ruminal disorders are the major challenges for livestock production in the study areas. Drug prescription without correct diagnosis was also observed. Therefore, accurate veterinary diagnosis and proper management of ruminal disorders as well as proper animal husbandry and feeding management are important to reduce the impact of ruminal disorders.