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. 2012 Apr 30;65(1):8.
doi: 10.1186/2046-0481-65-8.

Seroprevalence of Leptospira Hardjo in the Irish suckler cattle population

Eoin Gerard Ryan  1 , Nola Leonard, Luke O'Grady, Simon J More, Michael L Doherty
Affiliations

Seroprevalence of Leptospira Hardjo in the Irish suckler cattle population

Eoin Gerard Ryan et al. Ir Vet J. .

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.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Regions in the Republic of Ireland used in the LeptospiraHardjo seroprevalence study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Herd prevalence (%) of Leptospiral infection by region with prevalence divided by quartiles.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Median breeding herd size by region with herd size divided by quartiles.
Figure 4
Figure 4
True seroprevalence (%) of Leptospiral infection in individual animals by region, with seroprevalence divided by quartiles.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Influence of breeding herd size on true seroprevalence (%) of Leptospiral infection in individual animals.
Figure 6
Figure 6
True seroprevalence (%) of Leptospiral infection by breed showing 95% confidence interval ranges.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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