Semen characteristics and reaction time of Yankasa rams experimentally infected with Trypanosoma evansi infection

Trypanosomosis is a serious, often fatal disease of domestic animals and humans, and a major constraint to livestock productivity and agricultural development in areas of Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. It is caused by hemoflagelate protozoan of the genus Trypanosoma. Several species of Trypanosoma such as Trypanosoma congolense, Trypanosoma vivax, Trypanosoma brucei, and Trypanosoma evansi are known to infect domestic animals. Trypanosoma evansi is one of the most widespread pathogenic trypanosomes in the world causing disease known as “Surra” in animals. The effects of experimental T evansi infection on some aspects of reproduction in Yankasa rams were investigated over a 108-day period. Rams in the infected group A (n = 7) were each inoculated with 1 × 106 trypanosomes in 1 mL of donor blood via the jugular vein, whereas the control group B (n = 5) were administered 1 mL of normal saline. Semen volume, gross motility, live and/or dead sperm ratio, sperm morphologic abnormalities, and concentration as well as reaction time of infected and control rams were evaluated on a weekly basis. The results showed a nonsignificant (P > 0.05) decrease in semen volume and a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in concentration compared to the control rams. Reaction time showed considerable significant (P < 0.05) increase from preinfection values 26.7 ± 4.54 to 94.7 ± 7.54 seconds compared to control 32.9 ± 2.64 to 33.4 ± 4.78 seconds. Furthermore, semen gross motility for infected rams differed significantly (P < 0.05) from those of the control. There was a significant surge (P < 0.05) in the total sperm morphologic abnormalities in the infected rams to 90.75 ± 2.73% by week 20 (14 weeks after infection), compared to preinfection value of 20.9 ± 0.52%. The outcome of this study suggests that infection with T evansi in Yankasa rams has far reaching severe effects on their reproductive performance.