Authors : K.S. Bisht, N. Salim , L. Hassan , Z. Zunita , M.I. Kamarudin and A.A. Saharee
Abstract: Data on Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS) mortalities and climatological conditions (rainfall and temperature) were collected from 1993 to 2003 and subjected to a time series seasonal decomposition analysis. The 12-month Centered Moving Averages (CMA), Seasonal Indices (SI), Trends (T) and Cyclic patterns (C) were computed. A total of 1,489 mortalities of HS were recorded in Peninsular Malaysia with 62.9% of mortalities recorded during the last five years of the study period (1999-2003). The higher number of HS mortalities appeared to occur in the 1st and 4th quarters of the year. Seasonal index showed the greatest values during the months of 1st and 4th quarters of the year and the lowest indices were observed in 2nd and 3rd quarter of the year. The existence of 2-3-year cyclical fluctuations was observed with major peaks occurring in December 1998 to May 2000 and minor peaks observed in the year 1994-1996, 1997-1999, 2000-2001 and 2002-2003. Vaccination coverage over the study period was very low. The maximum coverage was 13.6% of the total cattle and buffalo population in year 1995. Difficulty in gaining access to the animals, inadequate facilities and the reluctance of owners to bring their animals for vaccination in the absence of disease might be the explanation for the observed epidemiological patterns of the disease. The rainfall seasonality combined with movement of carrier or susceptible animals appeared to be plausible explanations for the seasonal variations of HS. Furthermore, these findings suggested that since higher number of HS outbreaks appeared to occur during the 1st and followed by 4th quarter of the year, an appropriate control strategy may be to vaccinate animals before the 4th quarter of the year.
Bisht, K.S. , N. Salim , L. Hassan , Z. Zunita , M.I. Kamarudin and A.A. Saharee , 2006. Temporal Patterns of Haemorrhagic Septicaemia Mortalities Ion Cattle and Buffaloes in Peninsular Malaysia, 1993-2003. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 5: 651-658.