High herd-level seroprevalence and associated factors for bovine leukemia virus in the semi-arid Paraíba state, Northeast Region of Brazil

Epidemiological surveys that investigate infectious diseases such as enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) are important. Furthermore, estimating the prevalence of such infectious diseases and associated factors is key to assess the disease impact and design control programs. In this study, we identified a high herd-level seroprevalence of EBL in cattle from the semi-arid Paraíba state, Northeast Region of Brazil, using a planned cross-sectional survey. Herd-level and animal-level prevalence were estimated using a two-stage random sampling survey. In total, 2067 cows aged ≥24 months from 400 herds were sampled. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect specific antibodies directed to the bovine leukosis virus gp51 antigen in both individual and pooled sera. The herd-level and animal-level prevalence was 23.4 % (95 % CI = 19.2-28.1 %) and 10.8 % (95 % CI = 7.5 %-15.3 %), respectively. There were no significant clusters of positive herds (within a radius of 2 km). The factors associated with herd-level prevalence were the exclusive use of hand milking (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.88), herd size (PR = 1.005), artificial insemination (PR = 2.03), purchase of animals in the previous year (PR = 1.87), and peri-urban farms (PR = 2.09). Prevention measures should be applied at the herd-level, particularly for farms located in peri-urban areas, focusing on good hygiene in hand milking, robust practices and standards for artificial insemination, and serological testing of animals prior to purchase.