The research, led by Professor Sarah Cleaveland of the UofG, was supported by the Supporting Evidence Based Interventions project, University of Edinburgh (grant number R83537). The team is now working in close partnership with local communities to develop effective control measures to prevent infection in sheep and goats and reduce the impact of this important and devastating disease. Understanding the cause of ‘ ormilo’ is therefore vital in order to develop control strategies and protect livelihoods and food security in vulnerable communities. Sheep and goat production is increasingly important to pastoral communities in East Africa, reflecting a complex array of environmental, economic and social challenges, as well as the greater resilience of sheep and goats in the face of droughts and pasture shortages as a result of climate change. This disease raises serious concerns about the sustainability of small ruminant production in pastoralist communities in Tanzania and across the wider East African region, where we suspect the condition is also occurring.” In Tanzania, ‘ ormilo’ was reported to affect more than 10,000 animals (11-34% of the all sheep and goats owned) in the four communities over the last year, and more than 90% of households reported at least one case of the disease.ĭr Tito Kibona, a veterinarian at NM-AIST, said: “Ormilo is a major concern in pastoral communities in Tanzania and the scale of the reported losses is alarming. Following infection, larval stages of the parasite forms large cysts in the brain leading to severe untreatable disease that is known as ‘gid’ in the UK. Sheep and goats become infected after consuming food or water that is contaminated with tapeworm eggs. The study, which was carried out in four villages in Arusha region, identified Taenia multiceps, a tapeworm parasite carried by domestic dogs, as a major cause of ‘ ormilo’ with the parasite detected in >80% of cases reported by farmers. Their findings are published in the Veterinary Record and are freely available through from the UoG (pdf). Little has been known about the cause of ‘ ormilo’ or how it can be controlled, so a research team lead by Dr Tito Kibona of NM-AIST and Dr Ellen Hughes and Dr Kathryn Allan of UofG, set out to investigate the causes and extent of this important animal disease problem. The condition is ultimately fatal, leading to substantial losses for pastoralist households who are highly dependent on livestock for household income and food security. All rights reserved.Over the last two years research carried out by researchers at the University of Glasgow (UofG) and the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) has identified a neurological disease of sheep and goats known locally as ‘ormilo’ as the leading animal disease concern amongst Maasai pastoralist livestock-keepers in northern Tanzania. Despite that, many farmers may choose to slaughter those sheep fit for marketing for economic reasons and euthanise those in poor condition.Ĭopyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. Treatment is based on surgical removal of the coenurus cyst after general anaesthesia of the animal the approach has a very good success rate, especially after accurate localisation of the lesion. In all cases, it is essential to carefully examine the animal and not simply rely on results of ancillary tests (mainly of cerebrospinal fluid examination), as disorders other than coenurosis can be responsible for changes in the results of these tests. Listeriosis, louping-ill, sarcocystosis and polioencephalomalacia and brain abscessation should be considered when formulating a diagnosis of acute coenurosis.
In 80-90% of cases, the cyst is located in one cerebral hemisphere, whilst in 5-10% of cases, it is localised in the cerebellum rarely it involves two sites in the brain of the affected animal.
Coenurosis is a disease of the central nervous system in sheep, caused by Coenurus cerebralis, the larval stage of Taenia multiceps, a tapeworm, which infests the small intestine of carnivores.
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