Epidemiology: Open Access

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General Overview of Escherichia coli Infections in Animals in Nigeria

Raji MA

Colibaccillosis is an important disease of animal in Nigeria. In poultry E. coli causes colisepticaemia, dead-in-shell embryos, salphingitis, omphalitis, air sacculitis, which have been documented and significant economic losses have been attributed to Escherichia coli infections. The losses occur in form of weight loss, reduction in egg production and mortality. The important samples for the isolation of E. coli were heart blood, spleen, liver, gall bladder, faecal, yolk sac, and pericardium of the infected birds. The major clinical signs found in colibacillosis are enlarged and congested spleen, kidneys, lungs and intestinal mucosa. The most important serogroups of E. coli found in poultry in Nigeria are O2, O6, O75, O8, O9, O15, O20, O21, O23, O73, O78, and O55. There were few reports of E. coli infection on small ruminants in Nigeria. In sheep and goat, E. coli causes diarrhoea and mortality in kids and lambs. In cattle infection with E. coli presents with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, including asymptomatic carriage, diarrhea, and mastitis. It is also one of the leading causes of bacterial diarrhoea in animals. In conclusion economic importance of colibacillosis is due to severe losses it produces in different sectors of animal production. Therefore, there is need to study the organism, so as to gain a better understanding of the organism in Nigeria.