Abstract

BackgroundNo comprehensive studies have been carried out on the infectious causes of abortion in Kenyan dairy cattle herds. A survey was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of antibodies against Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus (BVDV), Brucella abortus (BA) and Neospora caninum (NC) among dairy cattle herds in Nakuru County, a major dairying area in Kenya. A prospective sero-epidemiological study was also undertaken to investigate the effects of BVDV, BA and NC on the occurrence of bovine abortion in dairy cattle herds, where monthly rectal palpations for pregnancy were performed, and monthly serum samples were tested for antibodies to the 3 pathogens.ResultsIn the 398 randomly selected cattle on 64 dairy herds, the seroprevalences of antibodies to BVDV, NC and BA were 79.1, 25.6 and 16.8%, respectively. Of the cattle seropositive to NC, 83.3% were also seropositive to BVDV and 13.7% to BA. Of the cattle seropositive to BVDV, 17.1% were also seropositive to BA. Among 260 monitored pregnant dairy cattle on the same 64 dairy farms, an incidence risk for abortion of 10.8% (28/260) was identified, while the incidence of other foetal losses was 1.1% (3/260). The incidence rates of sero-conversion for NC, BVD and BA were 1.1, 0.06 and 0.5 new infections/100 cow-months at risk, respectively. The foetal losses were mainly observed in animals less than 96 months old and occurred in mid-gestation. Neospora caninum was associated with most cases (29.0%) of foetal losses, followed by mixed infections of NC and BVDV (12.9%), BVDV (9.9%) and co-infections of BA and NC (6.5%).ConclusionsThis is the first study to document the substantial incidence risk of BVDV and NC abortions in dairy cattle in Kenya, and demonstrates the relative importance of BA, BVDV and NC infections in dairy cattle in Kenya. Kenya laboratories should offer diagnostic tests for BVDV and NC to help farmers determine their roles in abortions on their farms. A comprehensive policy on the control of these important diseases should also be put in place by government with the involvement of all stakeholders in the dairy cattle industry.

Highlights

  • No comprehensive studies have been carried out on the infectious causes of abortion in Kenyan dairy cattle herds

  • Kenyan veterinary laboratories should offer diagnostic tests for Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus (BVDV) and Neospora caninum (NC) to help farmers determine their roles in abortions on their farms

  • We found a substantial incidence risk of BVDV and NC abortions in dairy cattle in Kenya

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Summary

Introduction

No comprehensive studies have been carried out on the infectious causes of abortion in Kenyan dairy cattle herds. A survey was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of antibodies against Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus (BVDV), Brucella abortus (BA) and Neospora caninum (NC) among dairy cattle herds in Nakuru County, a major dairying area in Kenya. Some of the important infectious agents that have been reported to cause prenatal losses in cattle are Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus (BVDV), Brucella abortus, Neospora caninum, Campylobacter foetus, Chlamydophila abortus, Escherichia coli, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus, Leptospira spp., Salmonella spp., Rift Valley fever virus, and Toxoplasma gondii, as well as several fungal species, such as Absidia spp. and Aspergillus spp. The high cost of laboratory work for each pathogen compounds the problem of under-diagnosis of abortions, with positive diagnostic rates of 17 and 43% having been reported in British and American dairy cattle herds, respectively [4, 5]

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