A Case-control Study of Haemorrhagic Septicaemia in Buffaloes and Cattle in Karachi, Pakistan, in 2012

Abstract

Summary A retrospective epidemiological case–control study was performed in Karachi, Pakistan, from January to April 2013. The owners of 217 dairy cattle and buffalo farms from six different locations in Karachi were interviewed. The aim of the study was to identify risk factors associated with the presence of haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS). Farms with a history of at least one instance of sudden death in a dairy animal during 2012 and a positive clinical HS diagnosis (made by local veterinarians) were defined as cases. Farms having no history of sudden deaths in 2012 were defined as controls. Univariable analyses were initially conducted, and factors with P ≤ 0.25 were offered to a multivariable logistic regression model to identify putative risk factors. The final multivariable logistic model contained five factors. Vaccination was found to be a protective factor (OR = 0.22) along with the length of time cattle were kept on farm (months). For every extra month cattle were kept, the odds of HS disease were reduced by a factor of 0.9. In contrast, for every extra animal in a herd, the risk of infection increased by a factor of 1.01. Supplying underground water and the presence of foot and mouth disease on the farm increased the risk by 2.90 and 2.37, respectively. To understand the epidemiology of HS in Karachi dairy herds, more in‐depth research is required to study the risk and protective factors identified in this survey and to evaluate risk mitigation strategies, where possible.

In Vitro Attachment and Distribution of Pasteurella multocida B:2 in the Lung and Urinary Bladder of Buffaloes

“…The disease is associated with a specific serotype of Pasteurella multocida (Kuranasree, 2016) and is particularly important in Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia (Jesse et al, 2013;Chung et al, 2015). Buffaloes are more susceptible than cattle and the disease is usually observed more frequently following poor husbandry conditions in countries with disease surveillance that is not well developed (Annas et al, 2014;Moustafa et al, 2017). Similarly, in Malaysia, the mortality rate was higher among buffaloes compared to cattle despite the fact that the buffalo population in Malaysia was half that of cattle (Rafidah et al, 2012).…”

Validation of a Novel ELISA for the Diagnosis of Hemorrhagic Septicemia in Dairy Cattle from Thailand Using a Bayesian Approach

“…However, the authors did not have an individual history of the animals, such as previous diseased experience or previous medication, but most of the herds had experiences of sudden death in cows with undifferentiated respiratory diseases. Most of the farms in this study were supplied by underground water, while a study in Pakistan has demonstrated that supplying underground water on farms increased the risk of outbreaks by 2.9 [28]. It has been discussed that rice paddy crop cultivation may favor the disease outbreaks, whereas the dairy farms in our study were surrounded by rice paddy fields, and buffaloes were pastured in the fields after harvest [29].…”

“…This might be spreading the pathogen across the farms. Moreover, Thailand is an endemic area for foot and mouth disease, and a previous study has suggested that the disease increases the risk of HS outbreaks by 2.37 [28]. Although HS is a highly fatal disease, the severity of clinical signs, morbidity, and mortality in dairy cows is lesser than in buffaloes.…”

Institutional role in coping livestock diseases on farm level in rural areas of Punjab, Pakistan

“…One out of four buffalo or cows were found suffering from misstates (Ferrari et al, 2014). Moustafa et al (2017) reported 58.7% of the animals' deaths due to five endemic diseases like HS, FMD, rinderpest, anthrax and blackleg. Previously due to five economical endemic diseases, 58.7% of deaths were reported.…”