Lungworm Infections in German Dairy Cattle Herds — Seroprevalence and GIS-Supported Risk Factor Analysis

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Abstract

In November 2008, a total of 19,910 bulk tank milk (BTM) samples were obtained from dairy farms from all over Germany, corresponding to about 20% of all German dairy herds, and analysed for antibodies against the bovine lungworm Dictyocaulus viviparus by use of the recombinant MSP-ELISA. A total number of 3,397 (17.1%; n = 19,910) BTM samples tested seropositive. The prevalences in individual German federal states varied between 0.0% and 31.2% positive herds. A geospatial map was drawn to show the distribution of seropositive and seronegative herds per postal code area. ELISA results were further analysed for associations with land-use and climate data. Bivariate statistical analysis was used to identify potential spatial risk factors for dictyocaulosis. Statistically significant positive associations were found between lungworm seropositive herds and the proportion of water bodies and grassed area per postal code area. Variables that showed a statistically significant association with a positive BTM test were included in a logistic regression model, which was further refined by controlled stepwise selection of variables. The low Pseudo R ² values (0.08 for the full model and 0.06 for the final model) and further evaluation of the model by ROC analysis indicate that additional, unrecorded factors (e.g. management factors) or random effects may substantially contribute to lungworm infections in dairy cows. Veterinarians should include lungworms in the differential diagnosis of respiratory disease in dairy cattle, particularly those at pasture. Monitoring of herds through BTM screening for antibodies can help farmers and veterinarians plan and implement appropriate control measures.

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Most cited references 22

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Relative importance of management, meteorological and environmental factors in the spatial distribution of Fasciola hepatica in dairy cattle in a temperate climate zone.

G. Hendrickx, S Bennema, J. Vercruysse … (2011)

Fasciola hepatica, a trematode parasite with a worldwide distribution, is the cause of important production losses in the dairy industry. Diagnosis is hampered by the fact that the infection is mostly subclinical. To increase awareness and develop regionally adapted control methods, knowledge on the spatial distribution of economically important infection levels is needed. Previous studies modelling the spatial distribution of F. hepatica are mostly based on single cross-sectional samplings and have focussed on climatic and environmental factors, often ignoring management factors. This study investigated the associations between management, climatic and environmental factors affecting the spatial distribution of infection with F. hepatica in dairy herds in a temperate climate zone (Flanders, Belgium) over three consecutive years. A bulk-tank milk antibody ELISA was used to measure F. hepatica infection levels in a random sample of 1762 dairy herds in the autumns of 2006, 2007 and 2008. The infection levels were included in a Geographic Information System together with meteorological, environmental and management parameters. Logistic regression models were used to determine associations between possible risk factors and infection levels. The prevalence and spatial distribution of F. hepatica was relatively stable, with small interannual differences in prevalence and location of clusters. The logistic regression model based on both management and climatic/environmental factors included the factors: annual rainfall, mowing of pastures, proportion of grazed grass in the diet and length of grazing season as significant predictors and described the spatial distribution of F. hepatica better than the model based on climatic/environmental factors only (annual rainfall, elevation and slope, soil type), with an Area Under the Curve of the Receiver Operating Characteristic of 0.68 compared with 0.62. The results indicate that in temperate climate zones without large climatic and environmental variation, management factors affect the spatial distribution of F. hepatica, and should be included in future spatial distribution models. Copyright © 2010 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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The development of linear regression models using environmental variables to explain the spatial distribution of Fasciola hepatica infection in dairy herds in England and Wales.

Matthew Baylis, Diana J L Williams, M. McCann (2010)

Fasciolosis caused by Fasciola hepatica is a major cause of economic loss to the agricultural community worldwide as a result of morbidity and mortality in livestock. Spatial models developed with the aid of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to develop risk maps for fasciolosis for use in the formulation of disease control programmes. Here we investigate the spatial epidemiology of F. hepatica in dairy herds in England and Wales and develop linear regression models to explain observed patterns of exposure at a small spatial unit, the postcode area. Exposure data used for the analysis were taken from an earlier study of F. hepatica infection, performed in the winter of 2006/7. Climatic, environmental, soil, livestock and pasture variables were considered as potential predictors. The performance of models that used climate variables for 5 years average data, contemporary data and a combination of both for England and Wales, and for England only, was compared. All models explained over 70% of the variation in the prevalence of exposure. The best performing models were those built using 5 year average and contemporary weather data. However, the fit of these models was only slightly better than the fit of models using weather data from one time period only. Rainfall was a consistent predictor in all models. Other model covariates included temperature, the negative predictors of soil pH and slope and the positive predictors of poor quality land, as determined by the Agricultural Land Classification, and very fine sand content of soil. Choroplethic risk maps showed a good match between the observed F. hepatica exposure values and exposure values fitted by the models. The development of these detailed spatial models is the first step towards the development of a spatially specific, temporal forecasting system for liver fluke in the United Kingdom. Copyright 2010 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Seroprevalence and spatial distribution of Fasciola hepatica-infected dairy herds in England and Wales.

C McCann, M. BAYLIS, D J L Williams (2010)

The seroprevalence of Fasciola hepatica infection in a population of commercial dairy herds in England and Wales was estimated using an ELISA that detected antibodies to F hepatica in bulk tank milk. A total of 3130 milk samples, obtained as convenience samples from two commercial milk-testing laboratories, were tested during the winter of 2006/07. Herds considered to be seropositive were categorised as low positive, medium positive or high positive. A geospatial map was drawn to show the distribution of infected herds and the seroprevalence of exposure at regional level, using the Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics boundaries, and at a finer spatial level defined by postcode area. Overall, 76 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval [CI] 74 to 77 per cent) of herds carried antibodies to F hepatica; the seroprevalence in England was 72 per cent (95 per cent CI 70 to 74 per cent) and in Wales it was 84 per cent (95 per cent CI 82 to 86 per cent). The highest prevalences of exposure were found in north-west England, where more than 47 per cent of herds were in the high positive exposure category.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Bernhard Kaltenboeck: Role: Editor

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): PLoS One

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): PLoS ONE

Journal ID (publisher-id): plos

Journal ID (pmc): plosone

Title: PLoS ONE

Publisher: Public Library of Science (San Francisco, USA )

ISSN (Electronic): 1932-6203

Publication date Collection: 2013

Publication date (Electronic): 5 September 2013

Volume: 8

Issue: 9

Electronic Location Identifier: e74429

Affiliations

[1 ]Institute for Parasitology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany

[2 ]Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Wusterhausen, Germany

[3 ]Merial, Lyon, France

Auburn University, United States of America

Author notes

* E-mail: christina.strube@ 123456tiho-hannover.de

Competing Interests: Andrew Forbes is employed by Merial. This company discovers, manufactures and sells veterinary pharmaceuticals and vaccines; it also supports complementary research in the private and public sectors on subjects of mutual interest. Ruminant parasitology is one such discipline, and Merial endorses and supports a number of projects in Europe and the world, particularly in the areas of helminth epidemiology and diagnostics in order that both academics and clinicians can learn from new developments and advise on and practice evidence-based medicine. Study data interpretation is completely independent from the company’s opinion and there is no conflict with commercial interests. The affiliation of Andrew Forbes to Merial does not alter the authors’ adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Conceived and designed the experiments: C. Strube TS. Performed the experiments: AMS FJC C. Staubach A. Fröhlich. Analyzed the data: AMS FJC C. Staubach A. Fröhlich A. Forbes C. Strube TS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: FJC C. Staubach A. Fröhlich C. Strube TS. Wrote the paper: AMS FJC C. Staubach A. Fröhlich C. Strube.

Article

Publisher ID: PONE-D-13-17146

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074429

PMC ID: 3764042

PubMed ID: 24040243

SO-VID: 6e4ee323-12e9-4572-932b-06adf98a193a

License:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

History

Date received : 24 April 2013

Date accepted : 31 July 2013

Page count

Pages: 10

Funding

The presented study has been partially supported financially by Merial. The company had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. No additional external funding was received for this study.

Lungworm Infections in German Dairy Cattle Herds — Seroprevalence and GIS-Supported Risk Factor Analysis

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Most cited references 22

Relative importance of management, meteorological and environmental factors in the spatial distribution of Fasciola hepatica in dairy cattle in a temperate climate zone.

The development of linear regression models using environmental variables to explain the spatial distribution of Fasciola hepatica infection in dairy herds in England and Wales.

Seroprevalence and spatial distribution of Fasciola hepatica-infected dairy herds in England and Wales.

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