Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Aug;13(8):1012-1020.
doi: 10.5455/OVJ.2023.v13.i8.7. Epub 2023 Aug 31.

Risk factors associated with enzootic bovine leukosis in Boyacá and Cundinamarca municipalities, Colombia

Deisy J Lancheros-Buitrago  1 , Diana M Bulla-Castañeda  1 , Julio C Giraldo-Forero  2   3 , Martin Orlando Pulido-Medellin  1
Affiliations

Risk factors associated with enzootic bovine leukosis in Boyacá and Cundinamarca municipalities, Colombia

Deisy J Lancheros-Buitrago et al. Open Vet J. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) is a lymphoproliferative disorder caused by the bovine leukemia virus (BLV), a virus of the Retroviridae family. The infection is distributed worldwide, and a high percentage of animals infected by the BLV are asymptomatic and act as carriers of the virus in many cattle populations.

Aim: To identify the risk factors associated with EBL in the municipalities of Boyacá and Cundinamarca (Colombia).

Methods: A simple descriptive cross-sectional study with random sampling was conducted. A total of 1,140 blood samples were taken from cattle (females and males) from the municipalities of Chiquinquirá, Ubaté, and San Miguel de Sema of different breeds and age groups. The samples were processed using the commercial ELISA SERELISA® BLV Ab Mono Blocking kit (sensitivity 97%, specificity 98%). The data were processed with the statistical programs WinEpi and Epi Info® version 7.2.4.0, estimating the prevalence ratio, implementing the chi-square test (p ≤ 0.05) and logistic regression.

Results: A true prevalence (TP) and apparent prevalence (AP) of 23.61% and 22.7% in Ubaté, 19.22% and 18.1% in Chiquinquirá, and 15.61% and 14.3% in San Miguel de Sema, respectively, were established. Bovines 2-4 years old were the most prevalent in Ubaté and Chiquinquirá (37.5% and 21.21%, respectively), while in San Miguel de Sema individuals >4 years had the highest percentage of antibodies (18.3%). The Holstein breed had a higher prevalence in Ubaté and San Miguel de Sema (26.02% and 19.67%), and crossbreeds were more BLV-seroprevalence in Chiquinquirá (20.20%). In Ubaté, re-use of needles was identified as a risk factor, contaminated blood in needles is considered one of the main routes of transmission. On the other hand, manual milking was identified as a risk factor in San Miguel de Sema.

Conclusion: The non-implementation of an individual needle per animal in Ubaté; the Holstein breed and manual milking in San Miguel de Sema were identified as risk factors for the presence of antibodies against the disease. EBL prevention and control plans should be established that focus on the implementation of management and sanitary practices based on herd biosecurity.

Keywords: Cattle diseases; ELISA; Leukosis; Risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Benitez O.J, Norby B, Bartlett P.C, Maeroff J.E, Grooms D.L. Impact of bovine leukemia virus infection on beef cow longevity. Prev. Vet. Med. 2020;181:1–4. - PubMed
    1. Benitez O.J, Roberts J.N, Norby B, Bartlett P.C, Maeroff J.E, Grooms D.L. Lack of Bovine leukemia virus transmission during natural breeding of cattle. Theriogenology. 2019;126:187–190. - PubMed
    1. Bulla-Castañeda D.M, Díaz-Anaya A.M, Garcia-Corredor D.J, Tobon-Torreglosa J.C, Ortiz Ortega D, Pulido-Medellín M.O. Seropositivity and risk factors associated with the presentation of bovine leukosis virus in Sotaquirá, Colombia. Vet. World. 2021;14(8):2212–2218. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bulla-Castañeda D.M, García-Corredor D.J, Pulido-Medellín M.O. Leusosis bovina enzoótica, revisión sistemática de literatura. Pensamiento Acción. 2018;25:1–18.
    1. Cândida Ramalho G, Rodrigues Silva M.L.C, Rodrigues Falcão B.M, Limeira C.H, Batista Nogueira D, Martins dos Santos A, Marinelli Martins C, Alves C.J, Clementino I.J, de Sousa Américo Batista Santos C, Santos de Azevedo S. High herd-level seroprevalence and associated factors for bovine leukemia virus in the semi-arid Paraíba state, Northeast Region of Brazil. Prev. Vet. Med. 2021;190:1–7. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources