An investigation on infectious etiologies of bovine abortions in Northern Western Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh

This study was conducted to ascertain infectious etiologies of bovine abortions in Northern Western Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh. Overall, 16.77% (27/161) serum samples were positive for antibodies to at least one bovine abortion-causing pathogen. The overall prevalence was highest for BHV-1 (8.07%) followed by Chlamydia (3.11%), B. abortus (2.48%), T. gondii (1.86%), Leptospira (0.62%), and C. albicans (0.62%). None of the tested samples was positive for C. burnetii and Aspergillus. The occurrence of bovine abortions was higher (51.85%) in the second trimester of gestation followed by the third (44.44%) and first trimester (3.70%). In comparison to previous studies, we recorded a lower prevalence of infectious etiologies of bovine abortions. Hence, it is important to investigate the role of the noninfectious etiologies of bovine abortions such as hormonal (progesterone insufficiency), nutritional (negative energy balance, feedstuff containing anti-nutritional factors) and miscellaneous causes including poor animal management, toxin infestation, and twin pregnancies.