Seroprevalence of major infectious causes of dairy cattle reproductive problems in central Ethiopia

Background Reproductive problem is one of the main constraints of livestock genetic improvement efforts in tropical countries. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of major infectious causes of reproductive problems of dairy cattle in selected dairy farms in central Ethiopia. Overall 86 serum samples were collected from October 2018 to February 2019 from animals with history of reproductive problems. The collected serum was tested for antibody titer against Brucella species, Neospora caninum, Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD), Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR) and Q-fever using rose-bengal and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests. Result Among the animals with the history of reproductive disordered; abortion, still birth and repeat breeding cases were found in 61.6%, 19.8% and 18.6%, respectively. The prevalence of IBR, BVD, Neospora caninum and Coxiella brunetti was found to be 79.1%, 38.4%, 3.5% and 1.2%, respectively. The combined infection of both BVD and IBR were detected in 21% of animals. Out of the total animals examined in this study, 95.9% of Jersey breeds were found seropositive to IBR than Boran-Friesian crosses (57.7%). The incidence of BVD was significantly higher in Boran-Friesian crossbred cattle than in Jersey which was found to be 69.3% and 14.3, respectively. The prevalence of IBR and BVD was directly proportional with age of the animal and parity. Conclusion Vaccination against IBR and BVD is not practiced in Ethiopia, the rising level of those diseases in dairy sector needs regular surveillance and control program.