Dairy cattle and buffaloes harbouring gastrointestinal parasites in various zones and climatic regions established by scientometrics.

The prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites (GIP) in cattle and buffaloes from different zones and climatic regions in India was determined by scientometrics. The GIP prevalence studies (64) described during 2004-2021 were retrieved from online databases, and offline literature and meta-analyses were conducted by meta package in R-Software. The GIP prevalence in India was 47% (95% level CI 41-54%, PI 12-85%) in cattle, 42% (95% level CI 35-50%, PI 9-84%) in buffaloes and 45% (95% level CI 40-51%, PI 12-84%) in cattle and buffaloes obtained from 40,884, 27,624 and 74,579 samples, respectively. The GIP prevalence was higher in the South zone (60%) for cattle, North zone (52%) for both buffaloes, and cattle and buffaloes. A higher GIP prevalence was observed in Tamil Nadu for cattle, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu for buffaloes, and Karnataka for cattle and buffaloes. Prevalence of Ostertagia spp. in cattle, Buxtonella spp. in buffaloes, and Haemonchus spp. in cattle and buffaloes were higher among parasitic species. The polar and Semi-Arid Steppe climatic region harbours more GIP than other regions. Thus, the higher prevalence zones, states, sample types, parasite classes, parasitic species, and climatic regions identified in the present study may be used by policymakers for making informed decisions and effectively using scarce resources. However, there is a need to prevent GIP infections by implementing scientific managemental practices in dairy farms, rotational use of anthelmintic drugs, appropriate control, and preventive measures, which will result in beneficial dairy farming in India.

Prevalence of Leptospira serogroup-specific antibodies in cattle associated with reproductive problems in endemic states of India.

In this study, the seroprevalence and distribution of Leptospira in dairy cattle in endemic states of India were investigated in association with reproductive problems of the cattle. A total of 373 cattle serum samples from 45 farms in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Sikkim and Uttarakhand states were collected from animals with a history of reproductive disorders like abortion, repeat breeding, anoestrus and endometritis, and also from apparently healthy animals. These samples were screened for Leptospira serogroup-specific antibodies by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) using a panel of 18 live reference serovar antigens. The seropositivity of 70.51% (263/373, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.75) was associated with reproductive problems (χ2 = 55.71, p < 0.01) and sampled states (χ2 = 32.99, p < 0.01) and independent of apparently healthy animals (χ2 = 15.6, p > 0.10) and age groups of cattle (χ2 = 0.91, p > 0.10). Further, the odds (risk-relation) of reproductive disorders was 5.29 compared to apparently healthy animals (0.25 odds). The frequency distribution of predominant serogroup-specific Leptospira antibodies were determined against the serovars: Hardjo (27.76%), Pyrogenes (18.63%), Canicola and Javanica (17.49%), Hebdomadis (17.11%), Shermani and Panama (16.73%), Djasiman (16.35%), Tarassovi, Grippotyphosa and Pomona (15.97%), Icterohaemorrhagiae (15.59%), Copenhageni (14.83%), Australis (13.69%), Kaup and Hurstbridge (10.65%), Bankinang (10.27%) and Bataviae (9.51%). In conclusion, dairy cattle have a role in maintaining important several serovars besides well-known Hardjo serovar in endemic states of India and warrant mitigating measures to reduce the incidence of cattle leptospirosis including need for an intensive surveillance programme, preventive vaccination and control strategies.