Seroprevalence and haemato-biochemical effects ofbovine leucosis inbuffalo, Punjab, Pakistan.

Abstract

Enzootic bovine leucosis iscaused bybovine leukaemia virus (BLV), aDeltaretrovirus belonging tothe family Retroviridae. BLV causes huge economic losses tothe dairy industry inthe form ofdecreased milk production, premature culling, and poor reproductive performance ofthe animals. The aim ofthe present study was todetermine theseroprevalence ofBLV infection inbuffalo intwo districts ofPunjab, Pakistan. Atotal of384samples were collected and analysed using acommercial indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) toinvestigate the seroprevalence ofBLV through the detection ofthe anti-BLV gp51 antibody. Apredesigned data questionnaire proforma was employed tofind out the association ofrisk factors with disease. Overall, 18.2% ofbuffaloes were seropositive for BLV inthe study population. The results revealed asignificant association (P<0.05) ofage with BLV infection. Furthermore, milk yield and pregnancy had asignificant association with the seroprevalence ofBLV infection inbuffalo whereas nosignificant association was found with sex, breeding, and health status. Biochemical and oxidative stress markers revealed asignificant decrease inliver enzymes alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) inseropositive animals ascompared tohealthy animals. Itis concluded that BLV has aconsiderable prevalence inbuffalo inPunjab, Pakistan and there isadire need toinvestigate the disease epidemiology atboth national and international levels and strategies should bedeveloped toimplement aneffective control program.