Options
Seroprevalence of Leptospira Hardjo in the Irish suckler cattle population
Date Issued
2012
Date Available
2014-07-31T12:21:36Z
Abstract
Background: Prior to the present study, the seroprevalence of leptospirosis in Irish suckler herds was unknown. In this study, we describe the herd and animal-level prevalence of Leptospira Hardjo infection in the Irish suckler cattle population. For the purposes of the study, the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland were divided into 6 regions from which a representative number of herds were selected. A herd was considered eligible for sampling if it was not vaccinating against leptospirosis and if it contained ≥ 9 breeding animals of beef breed ≥ 12 months of age. In total, 288 randomly selected herds were eligible for inclusion in the seroprevalence dataset analysis. Serological testing was carried out using a commercially available monoclonal antibody-capture ELISA, (sensitivity 100%; specificity 86.67%). Results: Herds were categorised as either “Free from Infection” or “Infected” using the epidemiological software tool, FreeCalc 2.0. Using this classification, 237 herds were “Infected” (82.29%). The South West and South East regions had the highest herd prevalence. The regional effect on herd prevalence was largely mirrored by breeding herd size. A true animal-level prevalence of 41.75% was calculated using the epidemiological software tool, TruePrev. There was a statistically significant regional trend, with true prevalence being highest in the South East (P < 0.05). The median Breeding Herd Size (BHS), when categorised into quartiles, had a statistically significant influence on individual animal true seroprevalence (P < 0.001); true seroprevalence increased with increasing BHS. Conclusions: Leptospirosis is a widespread endemic disease in the Republic of Ireland. It is possible that economic losses due to leptospirosis in unvaccinated Irish suckler herds may be underestimated.
Type of Material
Journal Article
Publisher
Springer (Biomed Central Ltd.)
Journal
Irish Veterinary Journal
Volume
65
Issue
1
Copyright (Published Version)
2012 the author(s)
Language
English
Status of Item
Peer reviewed
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
File(s)
Owning collection
Scopus© citations
26
Acquisition Date
Mar 28, 2024
Mar 28, 2024
Views
1563
Acquisition Date
Mar 28, 2024
Mar 28, 2024
Downloads
462
Last Month
2
2
Acquisition Date
Mar 28, 2024
Mar 28, 2024