Animal Husbandry WAEC

Economic Importance Of Parasites

Aperçu

A goat that is never once diagnosed with a disease can still quietly cost its owner more than a sick one. A worm burden that never kills anything slows growth, thins milk yield, and scars a hide that would otherwise fetch a premium price, week after week, without a single dramatic symptom to give it away. Parasites are the patient thief of animal production, and the only way to see how much they steal is to put a naira figure on the theft.

In this lesson you will learn to price out what a parasite burden actually costs: the weight gain it takes off an animal, the milk or eggs it removes from output, the dewormers and acaricides a farmer must keep buying to hold it back, and the hide or carcass value it strips away at sale. You will then scale that farm-level arithmetic up to see why parasites are treated as a threat to Nigeria's food security and export earnings, not just to one herd.

Objectifs

  1. Explain the economic importance of parasites to animal production
  2. State the losses caused by parasites to farm animals
  3. Explain the effect of parasites on the quality of animal products
  4. Explain the effect of parasites on national food security
  5. Suggest ways of minimising the economic impact of parasites

Note de cours

A sheep farmer near Gusau checks his flock every morning, and every animal is alive and walking. He assumes all is well. What he cannot see, because it produces no dead body and no obvious wound, is that a worm burden has been quietly cutting his lambs' weekly weight gain for two months. Parasites rarely announce their economic cost. A farmer who cannot put a naira figure on that cost will always under-invest in stopping it.

Évaluation de la leçon

Félicitations, vous avez terminé la leçon sur Economic Importance Of Parasites. Maintenant que vous avez exploré le concepts et idées clés, il est temps de mettre vos connaissances à lépreuve. Cette section propose une variété de pratiques des questions conçues pour renforcer votre compréhension et vous aider à évaluer votre compréhension de la matière.

Vous rencontrerez un mélange de types de questions, y compris des questions à choix multiple, des questions à réponse courte et des questions de rédaction. Chaque question est soigneusement conçue pour évaluer différents aspects de vos connaissances et de vos compétences en pensée critique.

Utilisez cette section d'évaluation comme une occasion de renforcer votre compréhension du sujet et d'identifier les domaines où vous pourriez avoir besoin d'étudier davantage. Ne soyez pas découragé par les défis que vous rencontrez ; considérez-les plutôt comme des opportunités de croissance et d'amélioration.

  1. A dewormed group of animals converts feed to weight gain more efficiently than a worm-infested group on the same ration. This is best described as a loss in: A. Product downgrading B. Feed conversion efficiency C. Carcass condemnation D. Fertility Answer: B
  2. A hide scarred by tick and mange damage grades lower and sells for less than an undamaged hide of the same size. This economic effect of parasites is best described as: A. Reduced weight gain B. Product downgrading C. Reduced milk yield D. Treatment cost Answer: B
  3. A flock of 25 sheep gains 3.0 kg per week when healthy but only 1.8 kg per week under a heavy worm burden. If live weight sells at 1,500 naira per kg, what is the naira value of ONE week's weight-gain loss for the whole flock? A. 18,000 naira B. 30,000 naira C. 45,000 naira D. 75,000 naira Answer: C
  4. Which of the following is a recurring economic cost of parasite control, rather than a loss caused directly by the parasite itself? A. Reduced egg output B. Carcass condemnation C. Money spent on dewormers and acaricides D. Hide downgrading Answer: C
  5. In Nigeria, a blood parasite spread by the tsetse fly has made large areas of grazing land in the Middle Belt unsuitable for many cattle breeds. This parasite disease is: A. Coccidiosis B. Trypanosomiasis C. Fascioliasis D. Newcastle disease Answer: B

Questions précédentes

Vous vous demandez à quoi ressemblent les questions passées sur ce sujet ? Voici plusieurs questions sur Economic Importance Of Parasites des années précédentes.

Question 1 Rapport

(a) Stat three ways in which specimen A (Tapeworm) is of economic importance.

(b) State four ways of controlling specimen A

(c) List three nutrients contained in specimen B (Fish meal)

(d) Name two ectoparasites that could infest the farm animal from which specimen C (Hide of cattle) was obtained.

(e) Mention three uses of specimen C