Haematology and Serum Biochemistry of Peste Des Petits Ruminants Infected West African Dwarf Goats Treated with Honey Bee Venom

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the therapeutic effects of different levels of bee venom (BV) administration on the hematological profile and serum biochemical status of Peste des petits ruminants infected West African Dwarf goats. Twenty-five animals were randomly allotted into five treatments: T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 with five animals per treatment, each treatment replicated five times with one animal per replicate. T1 served as the control experiment with the use of antibiotics(L/A), while T2, T3, T4 and T5 were administered with 0.60mg, 0.90mg 1.20mg and 1.5 BV intramuscularly per animal through direct stinging for four (4) alternate days respectively. An apiary was established very close to the study location to ensure accessibility and availability of the therapeutic material (bee venom). High performance liquid chromatography machine was used to determine the level of melittin present in each load of honey bee sting. All the data generated from this study were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS Analytical software. The study revealed that honey bee venom has therapeutic effect on West African Dwarf goats infected with Pestes de petits ruminants’ disease without any negative implication on hematology and serum biochemistry of the experimental animals. It is therefore suggested that honey bee venom at five stings (1.50mg intramuscularly on four alternate days) will be adequate as a curative dose.