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Strategies of the control of an outbreak of leptospiral infection in dairy cattle in Northeastern Brazil

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to describe the strategies of the control of an outbreak of leptospiral infection in dairy cattle in Maranhão State, Northeastern Brazil. In the period from January to July 2015, 18 (17%) out of 106 cows presented abortion, six (5.7%) stillbirth, and 12 (11.3%) repeated estrus, totaling 24 animals with reproductive problems. The diagnosis of leptospirosis was based on serology (microscopic agglutination test—MAT), bacteriological culture, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Antibiotic therapy, vaccination protocols, and changes in management practices were suggested as control measures. Of all animals on the farm (n = 280), 136 (48.6%) were seropositive for at least one serovar of Leptospira sp. No pure leptospiral culture was obtained. Eight of the animals with reproductive problems yielded positive PCR results (vaginal fluid of seven animals and urine and vaginal fluid of one animal). Genetic sequencing of a vaginal fluid/urine PCR-positive sample revealed Leptospira borgpetersenii. One year after the adoption of control measures, no reproductive problems were observed. Thus, leptospirosis probably caused the reproductive failures in the herd, and the control and prevention measures implemented were efficient in controlling the disease.

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Funding

This study is funded by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq – Proc. 302222/2016-2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Saúde e Tecnologia Rural (CSTR), Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), Av. Universitária, s/n, Santa Cecília, Patos, PB, 58708-110, Brazil

    Carla Lauise Rodrigues Menezes Pimenta, Diego Figueiredo da Costa, Maria Luana Cristiny Rodrigues Silva, Clebert José Alves & Sérgio Santos de Azevedo

  2. Centro de Ciências Agrárias (CCA), Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB), Rodovia BR 079 - Km 12, Areia, PB, 58397-000, Brazil

    Hélio Domingos Pereira

  3. Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Av. Prof. Mário Rubens Guimarães Montenegro, s/n, Campus de Botucatu, Botucatu, SP, 18618-687, Brazil

    João Pessoa Araújo Júnior, Camila Dantas Malossi & Leila Sabrina Ullmann

Authors
  1. Carla Lauise Rodrigues Menezes Pimenta
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  2. Diego Figueiredo da Costa
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  3. Maria Luana Cristiny Rodrigues Silva
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  4. Hélio Domingos Pereira
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  5. João Pessoa Araújo Júnior
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  6. Camila Dantas Malossi
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  7. Leila Sabrina Ullmann
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  8. Clebert José Alves
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  9. Sérgio Santos de Azevedo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sérgio Santos de Azevedo.

Ethics declarations

All procedures were conducted in accordance with Ethics Committee of the Animal Science Federal University of Campina Grande, Brazil.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Pimenta, C.L.R.M., da Costa, D.F., Silva, M.L.C.R. et al. Strategies of the control of an outbreak of leptospiral infection in dairy cattle in Northeastern Brazil. Trop Anim Health Prod 51, 237–241 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-018-1635-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-018-1635-2

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