Seroprevalence of Brucellosis and Leptospirosis in Aborted Dairy Cows

Authors: OKTAY GENÇ, SALİH OTLU, MİTHAT ŞAHİN, FUAT AYDIN, HALİL İBRAHİM GÖKCE

Abstract: This study was designed to determine the seroprevalence of brucellosis and leptospirosis in aborted dairy cattle. For this purpose, serum samples were collected from 163 aborted dairy cattle that had no history of vaccination against either brucellosis or leptospirosis. The antibodies against B. abortus were detected in these serum samples as 68.1%, 65.6%, 58.9% and 55.2%, respectively by the Competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (C-ELISA), Complement Fixation Test (CFT), Rosebengal Plate Test (RBPT) and Serum Agglutination Test (SAT). In the study, the serum samples were also collected from 15 healthy dairy cattle which had been vaccinated with reduced dose of B. abortus S-19 vaccine six months before the collection of the serum samples. These serum samples were used to compare the differences in the antibody titers between the vaccinated and naturally infected dairy cows by using C-ELISA and CFT. It was found that the animals vaccinated with this vaccine should be revaccinated before six months. Serum samples of aborted cows were then used to detect dominant Leptospira serovars by ELISA and Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT). MAT was used as a standard test to establish the sensitivity and specificity of ELISA for leptospirosis. The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA were 92.6% and 92%, respectively, when L. hardjo antigen was used for both tests. It is found that the total of 66 (40.5%) of sera were positive for both L. grippotyphosa and L. hardjo antigens and 46 (28.2%) sera were positive for antibodies against L. hardjo and 39 (23.9%) of these sera were positive for antibodies against L. grippotyphosa by MAT. None of the sera was positive for other Leptospira serovars tested.

Keywords: Brucellosis, leptospirosis, serology, abortion, cattle

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