Vol. 8, Special Issue 5 (2023)

Leptospirosis is a serious spirochete zoonotic disease of increasing worldwide prevalence and distribution. More than 300 distinct Leptospiral serovars recognized and these are arranged in 25 serogroups. Leptospires belonging to Leptospira serovar Hardjo are the most common cause of leptospirosis in cattle.

Objective: To detect the sero-prevalance and associated risk factor of Leptospira hardjo in dairy cattle of western dairy pocket area in Chitwan district of Nepal

Methods: Methodology was two stage sampling survey. 5 Village development committee of western Chitwan were taken. Total of 382 serum sample were collected and identified individually. Samples were tested with Priocheck L. hardjo antibody detection kit, ELISA. Data entry, analysis was done in Microsoft Excel, Open Epi and SPSS.

Results: Out of 382 serum sample collected and tested, 19 serum samples (4.97%) were found to be positive. Statistical analysis of the risk factors shows significant difference (p<0.05) in case of animal with history of abortion, mastitis, nervous signs, presence of rodents and dry ground surfaces whereas no significant difference (p>0.05) is found among location, age, breed, parity, body condition score, housing system, mating system, history of hemoglobinuria, and history of reproductive problems. Since, none of the sampled farms had reportedly used Leptospiral vaccine; the presence of circulating antibodies in the cattle suggested a natural exposure to Leptospira hardjo.