A Delphi survey on expert opinion on key signs for clinical diagnosis of bovine trypanosomosis, tick-borne diseases and helminthoses

Quantitative information was collected through a Delphi survey on the most important clinical signs and risk factors for diagnosis of bovine anaplasmosis, babesiosis, cowdriosis, fasciolosis, parasitic gastroenteritis (PGE), schistosomosis, theileriosis and trypanosomosis, with the aim of compiling a comprehensive dataset for development of decision support systems. Forty-six animal health experts participated in the survey and were asked to score clinical signs and risk factors from a list of 34. The top five signs / risk factors for diagnosis of anaplasmosis included, constipation, anaemia, pallor, pyrexia, depression and anorexia. For babesiosis, they included, haemoglobinuria, pyrexia, icterus, anaemia and depression. For cowdriosis, they included, ataxia, pyrexia, anorexia, abnormal behaviour and depression. For fasciolosis, they included, weightloss, pallor, weakness, submandibular oedema and rough coat. For PGE, they included, potbelly, diarrhoea, anaemia, stunted growth and age. For schistosomosis, they included weightloss, pallor, weakness, anaemia and stunted growth. For theileriosis, they included lymph node enlargement, pyrexia, age, breed and reduced milk yield. For trypanosomosis, they included, anaemia, weightloss, staring coat, lymph node enlargement and pallor. Consensus on most signs was attained within two rounds of the Delphi exercise.