Descriptive cross-sectional study on major bovine diseases and associated risk factors in north-eastern Ecuadorian Amazon

Abstract

Cattle raising is a crucial element of production systems in the tropics and subtropics. However, in recent years, global public health security has been threatened by disease emergence. In Orellana Province, livestock is the most important activity to generate economic income. Nevertheless, there is no available data about Animal Health status. With this objective, a study was performed to describe the major Bovine diseases recorded between 2011 to 2019, and the main Risk factors associated. Data on main Bovine diseases were retrieved from the World Animal Health Information System database. Whereas Bovine population data used to calculate the prevalence rates and confidence intervals were obtained from Ecuador's Ministry of Agriculture. By contrast, the Risk factors identified with an epidemiological questionnaire were applied to 300 livestock farmers. As a result, from 2011 to 2019 in Orellana has been confirmed: 90 cases of Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (31.58%), Bovine Rabies by hematophagous bats (Desmodus rotundus), 83 cases (29.12%), Bovine viral diarrhea with 43 cases (15.10%), Brucellosis by Brucella abortus 35 cases, which was (12.28%), and 34 cases related to Enzootic bovine leukosis (11.92%). Overall, the prevalence rates ranged from (0.24 to 15.37%). In addition, farm size, presence of forest, herd, and paddock sizes, cutting frequency of forages, and other animal species were involved as Risk factors (OR = 3.15 to 11.75; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.69). In conclusion, there are animal diseases with reproductive and neurologic symptomology and high-Risk factors implicated in the transmission. Consequently, space-temporal and seroprevalence epidemiological studies should be performed in Orellana.

Bovine rabies cases in Ecuador: a retrospective cross-sectional observational study (2007 to 2020)

“…Rabies is listed as one of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Neglected Tropical Diseases Worldwide (Meske et al, 2021;Lin et al, 2022;Gan et al, 2023). Furthermore, it has been stated that rabies has a significant impact in South America, and it is one of the most prevalent neurological diseases in ruminants causing significant economic losses (Ulloa-Stanojlovic and Dias, 2020;Ortiz-Naveda et al, 2023;Viana et al, 2023). In the Amazon region of Ecuador, in the last 15 years, 23 human deaths were confirmed by rabies, being the transmission alluded to Desmodus rotundus (Ortiz-Prado et al, 2015;Martin-Solano et al, 2016;Orlando et al, 2019;Ortiz-Naveda et al, 2023).…”