Effect of management and host factors on seroprevalence of bovine anaplasmosis and babesiosis in Costa Rica

Abstract

The relationships between the seroprevalences of Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bigemina, Babesia bovis and some selected factors were assessed. Factors studied were age, breed, herd size, farm size, rotational grazing schedule, grass variety and acaricide usage. These relationships were analyzed in 39 herds belonging to a livestock Information System developed by the School of Veterinary Medicine: 23 dairy farms (1352 animals), eight cow-calf and eight dual purpose farms (2204 animals) from different ecological areas in Costa Rica. Using random-effect logistic regression as analytical method, the following risk factors were found: season (rainy), age (over 1 year) and dipping interval (30 days) for the seroprevalence of A. marginale, B. bigemina and B. bovis in the dairy farms. On the other hand, in beef and dual purpose cattle, breed ( Bos taurus), age (over 1 year) and season (rainy) were detected as risk factors for the seroprevalence of A. marginale and season (dry), age (less than 1 year) and breed ( Bos taurus) for seroprevalence of babesiosis.