Abstract
BackgroundDairy production in Bosnia and Herzegovina exhibits limited productivity, which may partly, be explained by extensive reproductive problems of non-infectious and infectious origin. Brucella spp., Chlamydia abortus, Coxiella burnetii and Neospora caninum are common infectious causes of decreased reproductive outcomes in cattle worldwide. Little is, however, known about the disease status of herds with reduced reproductive performances. A cross-sectional study was designed to document the status of these pathogens in dairy cattle in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A total of 1970 serum samples were collected from cattle in farms located in three cantons (regions). Enzyme linked immunosorbent assays were used to screen for seropositivity against four selected pathogens.ResultsThe overall seroprevalence was estimated at both the herd level and at individual level for each pathogen. At the individual animal level, the prevalence for C. abortus, C. burnetii, N. caninum and Brucella spp. was 52.1% (95% CI: 41.2–62.7), 8.8% (95% CI: 5.3–14.2), 9.2% (95% CI: 6.0–12.3 and 0.2% (95% CI: 0.1–0.5), respectively. The corresponding estimates for herd level were 87.9% (95% CI: 82.6–91.8), 19.6% (95% CI: 14.6–25.8), 35.2% (95% CI: 28.8–42.1), and 1.5% (95% CI: 0.5–4.6). A substantial overlap was observed in the presence of N. caninum, C. abortus and C. burnetii at individual and herd level.ConclusionOur study demonstrated a high level of antibodies to Chlamydia abortus. Considering the association of this agent with reproductive disorders in cattle, future studies should be directed to the epidemiological traits of this infection. Additionally, the relatively high levels of exposure to C. burnetii and N. caninum found in this study highlights the need for targeted control of infectious causes of reproductive disorders in dairy cattle of the studied areas. Given the low seroprevalence, Brucella spp. does not seem to represent a problem in the reproductive health of cattle in the studied areas.
Highlights
Dairy production in Bosnia and Herzegovina exhibits limited productivity, which may partly, be explained by extensive reproductive problems of non-infectious and infectious origin
In this study, the most frequently detected seropositivity at the individual animal level was against C. abortus, with an overall seroprevalence of 52.1%, The seroprevalence of N. caninum was 9.2%, for C. burnetii 8.8%
The lowest seroprevalence of 0.2% was observed for Brucella spp
Summary
Dairy production in Bosnia and Herzegovina exhibits limited productivity, which may partly, be explained by extensive reproductive problems of non-infectious and infectious origin. Parasitic or bacterial pathogens are known to be associated with reproductive failure in cattle, including bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) virus, Brucella abortus, occasionally B. melitensis, Neospora caninum, Coxiella burnetii, Campylobacter fetus venerealis or C. fetus fetus, Leptospira spp., Tritrichomonas foetus, Chlamydia abortus [6,7,8,9,10]. Some of these infectious agents are ubiquitous in cattle populations, and their occurrence is associated with biosecurity measures in farms. Vertical transmission occurs frequently with BVDV, Brucella spp., Campylobacter spp. and N. caninum [7,8,9,10]
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