Abstract:
Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies
mycoides small colony is a highly contagious disease of cattle which is one of the great
plagues which continues to devastate the cattle population in Africa. It is one of the most
important threats to cattle-raising and trade in Ethiopia. A cross sectional study was
conducted on 384 randomly selected cattle from 96 cattle herds which were selected from
herds of cattle managed under the traditional extensive production system in three selected
districts (Woliso, Dawo and Ameya) of Southwest Shewa zone of Oromia region with the aim
of determining the seroprevalence of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia and to assess the
risk factors associated with its occurrence. Competitive Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent
Assay test was used to identify 384 cattle sera for Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides
small colony specific antibodies. The sero-prevalence of CBPP was calculated as the number
of sero-positive samples divided by the total number of samples tested. The association
between risk factors and sero-prevalence of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia was
computed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Animal and herd level overall seroprevalence of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia were 9.4 % (95%CI: 6.5-12.3) and 32.3 %(
95%CI: 22.9-41.6) respectively. Among predisposing risk factors assessed (age, sex, body
condition score, origin of animal, contact, herd size and introduction of new animal into herd);
age (OR= 4.3, 95%CI: 1.8-10.1, P=0.001), body condition score (OR=3.4, 95%CI: 1.3-9.0,
P=0.015) and herd size (OR=7.5, 95%CI: 2.7-21.2, p=0.000) were significantly associated
with the sero-prevalence of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia. The present study showed
that the overall seroprevalence of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia was high in the study
area and this indicates a need for intervening and implementing control measures to prevent
further spread of the disease in the study area and beyond through the use of better and
coordinated vaccination program.
