Abstract
Aim:In this study, the prevalence and the distribution status of Leptospira serogroup-specific antibodies among cattle and buffaloes in enzootic districts of Andhra Pradesh, a South Indian state was carried out.Materials and Methods:A total of 426 serum samples were randomly sampled from various villages from Prakasam, Kurnool, Guntur, Chittoor, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, and Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh between 2016 and 2017. Serum samples from cattle (n=106) and buffaloes (n=320) having a history of pyrexia, and reproductive problems such as agalactia, infertility, abortions, and stillbirth. The serum samples were screened for Leptospira-specific antibodies by microscopic agglutination test using a reference panel of 18 live cultures of pathogenic Leptospira serovars.Results:The overall seropositivity of 68.08% (290/426) was observed with 70.8% (75/106) in cattle and 67.18% (215/320) in buffaloes. The frequency distribution of predominant serogroup-specific Leptospira antibodies in the sampled areas was determined against the employed serovars as follows: Icterohaemorrhagiae – 21.38%, Hebdomadis – 18.97%, Australis – 18.62%, Pomona – 17.24%, Sejroe – 15.86%, Tarassovi – 15.86%, Autumnalis – 15.52%, Panama – 14.83%, Shermani – 12.07%, Javanica – 11.38%, Hurstbridge – 11.03%, and Pyrogenes – 10.69%.Conclusion:It was evident that bovines had a role in maintaining several predominant Leptospira serovars with the change in the trend over a period. The results from this study would also help in strategizing and mitigating the disease burden in cattle and buffaloes of the enzootic area.
Highlights
Leptospirosis is a global zoonosis caused by pathogenic strains of Leptospires [1]
There are no ample reports on the magnitude of Leptospira exposure in the bovine population, especially some of the enzootic coastal states of India; this study was undertaken to determine the seroprevalence of leptospirosis among the bovine population in rural areas of different districts of Andhra Pradesh with the distribution of serogroup-specific antibodies
In the past decade, there have been a few studies on the prevalence of leptospirosis in Andhra Pradesh by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) using a limited panel of serovars (Bankinang, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Canicola, Hardjo, Hebdomadis, Grippotyphosa, Javanica, and Pomona) [16] and Linnodee ELISA Hardjo kit [8]
Summary
The disease is neglected in most of the enzootic countries in the world due to lack of information and awareness of the extent of the public health problem [2]. The disease severity in humans and variety of mammalian hosts, such as rodents, cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, deer, pigs, dogs, camels, horses, raccoons, etc., impacts both public health and livestock economy [3]. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated
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