Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2021
Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of Brucella Infection in Dairy Animals in Urban and Rural Areas of Bihar and Assam, India
Deka, Ram Pratim; Shome, Rajeswari; Dohoo, Ian; Magnusson, Ulf; Randolph, Delia Grace; Lindahl, Johanna E.Abstract
This study assessed seropositivity of Brucella infection in dairy animals and risk factors associated with it. The cross-sectional study used multi-stage, random sampling in the states of Bihar and Assam in India. In total, 740 dairy animals belonging to 534 households of 52 villages were covered under this study. Serological testing was conducted by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA). Animal-level Brucella seropositivity was found to be 15.9% in Assam and 0.3% in Bihar. Seropositivity in urban areas (18.7%) of Assam was found to be higher than in rural areas (12.4%). Bihar was excluded from the risk factor analysis, as only one Brucella seropositive sample was detected in the state. A total of 30 variables were studied for assessing risk factors, of which 15 were selected for multivariable regression analyses following a systematic process. Finally, only three risk factors were identified as statistically significant. It was found that animals belonging to districts having smaller-sized herds were less likely (p < 0.001) to be Brucella seropositive than animals belonging to districts having larger-sized herds. Furthermore, the chance of being Brucella seropositive increased (p = 0.007) with the increase in age of dairy animals, but decreased (p = 0.072) with the adoption of artificial insemination (AI) for breeding. We speculated that the identified risk factors in Assam likely explained the reason behind lower Brucella seropositivity in Bihar, and therefore any future brucellosis control program should focus on addressing these risk factors.Keywords
brucellosis; epidemiology; dairy production; reproductive disease; risk factorsPublished in
Microorganisms2021, volume: 9, number: 4, article number: 783
Publisher: MDPI
Authors' information
Pratim Deka, Ram
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Clinical Sciences
Pratim Deka, Ram
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Shome, Rajeswari
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
Dohoo, Ian
University of Prince Edward Island
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Clinical Sciences
Randolph, Delia Grace
University of Greenwich
Lindahl, Johanna
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Clinical Sciences
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Uppsala University
UKÄ Subject classification
Animal and Dairy Science
Clinical Science
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9040783
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/111975