Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a re-emerging viral transboundary disease affecting cattle and buffaloes, resulting in a significant socio-economic impact on the affected regions. LSD is primarily transmitted among susceptible livestock through hematophagous vectors, including ticks and flies. Ticks also function as reservoirs for various haemoprotozoan parasites, increasing the likelihood of coinfections in affected animals. This study investigates the comorbidity of LSD and associated risk factors using diverse datasets. A total of 414 samples from LSD-suspected animals were screened for LSD, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), malignant catarrhal fever (MCF), babesiosis, and theileriosis (Theileria annulata and Theileria orientalis), as well as anaplasmosis. Among these, 214 (51.6%) tested positive for LSD. A strong correlation was identified between LSD and oriental theileriosis caused by Theileria orientalis (50.9%). Other significant associations were observed with IBR (34.1%), anaplasmosis (24.7%), tropical theileriosis (15.4%), babesiosis (12.6%), and MCF (12.1%). The transmission dynamics of LSD revealed that hematophagous vectors, particularly Stomoxys, Haematobia, and Rhipicephalus, play a crucial role in its spread, especially in unorganised farming systems. Additionally, Haematobia and Stomoxys flies were implicated in the high transmission rate of oriental theileriosis (39%) in conjunction with LSD. Notably, ticks (Rhipicephalus) facilitated the concurrent transmission of one, two, or three infections alongside LSD. While Musca, a non-hematophagous fly, was found to carry LSD virus (LSDV), it did not test positive for other pathogens. This study highlights the potential for cattle to harbour multiple diseases simultaneously with LSD, emphasising the necessity for integrated transmission studies and comprehensive disease screening in affected livestock. These findings underscore the importance of implementing targeted prevention and control strategies to mitigate disease impact in livestock populations.

Hemorrhagic septicemia (HS) is a highly contagious and fatal disease of cattle and buffaloes caused by P. multocida. Both conventional and molecular methods are applied in parallel for rapid diagnosis of HS outbreaks and the periodical surveillance strategy to identify risk areas for HS is ignored. The current cross-sectional study aimed to estimate sero-prevalence and associated risk factors for HS in cattle and buffaloes in non-vaccinated regions of two Indian states. HS surveillance was carried out through the multi-stage random sampling technique at different strata. The study employed a questionnaire incorporating host factors (species, breed, sex, age, and lactation) and demographic parameters (state, district, block/cluster and village/epiunits, and household). First, two Indian states known for high milk production were selected followed by two districts within each state, subsequently four clusters within each district, finally 5–10 epiunits within clusters and 5–8 households within clusters were randomly selected to collect cattle and buffalo samples. The chi-square/p values and maps were prepared to represent disease prevalence and to correlate disease risk factors at different strata. A total of 692 cattle and buffalo serum samples were sourced from two states of the country (Karnataka-285 and Gujarat-407). In the first strata, antibodies to P. multocida were high in Gujarat (14.49%, CI: 11.22–18.30) compared to Karnataka (3.85%, CI: 1.94–6.80) with significant (p < 0.0001) association between the states. In the second strata, one of the four districts investigated revealed the highest sero-prevalence (18.61%, CI: 13.81–24.24) with statistical significance (p = 0.01) between the districts. Among clusters, one out of eight clusters showed the highest sero-prevalence (23.02%, CI: 16.59–30.54) with statistical significance (p = 0.03) between the clusters in the third strata. At epiunit level (fourth strata), 9 out of 27 epiunits (33.33%) visited in Karnataka and 24 out of 29 epiunits sampled in Gujarat were sero-positive (82.75%) in iELISA. At the household level, out of 306 HH visited, 40 HH had at least one positive animal (13.07%) and the p value between HH in the two states was highly significant (p = 0.0002). Chi-square analysis did not find any association of HS sero-prevalence to species, age, and lactation. However, significantly higher (p < 0.05) sero-prevalence was recorded in indigenous cattle breeds (16.56%) compared to crossbreeds (6.59%). Various immunoprophylactics and antibiotic therapies are effective against HS, but inappropriate disease reporting and failure to implement adequate vaccination control measures are the gaps identified. The present study highlights the current scenario of HS sero-prevalence in two of the high milk-producing states of India, which will be useful for stakeholders for undertaking the implementation of surveillance and control strategies for the regions.

Background: Brucella abortus S19 vaccination forms the cornerstone of the national brucellosis control program. Monitoring post-vaccination immune responses is crucial to assess vaccine performance across diverse regions and species. Methods: Two-phase nationwide seromonitoring study was conducted during 2021–2022 (Phase I) and 2022–2023 (Phase II) across seven geographical regions. A total of 51,759 serum samples were collected from S19-vaccinated cattle and buffalo calves of 4–8 months at four-days post-vaccination (DPV) intervals. Samples were analyzed using an in-house developed protein G-based indirect ELISA, and seroconversion rates were calculated. Statistical comparisons were performed, and spatial heterogeneity was mapped. Results: The overall seroconversion rate was 70.96%, with Phase I showing a higher seropositivity (76.05%) than Phase II (65.66%). Regionally, the Western (81.8%) and Southern (80.77%) regions showed the highest efficacy, while the Central region had the lowest (65.89%). Antibody kinetics peaked at 21–45 DPV (73.14%) and declined gradually to 43.27% by 91–120 DPV. A clear species effect was observed, with cattle calves showing higher seroconversion rates (77.12%) than buffalo calves (67.34%). Conclusions: This large-scale systematic evaluation highlights that S19 vaccine induces substantial seroconversion with regional, temporal, and species-specific differences. These insights provide crucial evidence for refining and strengthening India’s national brucellosis control program.

A comparative cross-sectional study was undertaken in organized and unorganized dairy sectors to evaluate the prevalence of bovine mastitis and the antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus spp. of dairy animals and their associated personnel. A total of 391 households (HH) consisting of 211 and 180 HHs from organized and unorganized sectors, respectively, were selected based on 30-cluster sampling methodology in southern and northeastern regions of India. From 391 HHs, a total of 1920 milking cows (organized dairy—533; unorganized dairy—1387) were screened for subclinical and clinical mastitis by the California Mastitis Test (CMT). Out of 1920 milk samples, 1002 milk samples, 362 associated personnel hand and nasal swabs, and 27 milking machine swabs were sourced. The samples were subjected to Staphylococcus spp. by isolation and identification by multiplex polymerase chain reactions (mPCRs) and antibiotic sensitivity testing (ABST) to determine antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles. CMT results showed high mastitis prevalence (54.65%) in unorganized farms compared to organized ones (45.78%), with a significant association of mastitis to dairy sectors (p = 0.0004). On speciation, S. aureus isolates were comparatively less than those of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) (3.5% and 7.7%, respectively) in the organized dairy sector, and the same was recorded for the unorganized dairy sector (0.85% and 13.19%, respectively). In both the dairy sectors, the highest antibiotic resistance for Staphylococcus spp. was observed against the β-lactams (penicillins and cephalosporins) group (71.36% and 76.59%) and the lowest for nitrofurans (3.5% and 3%), oxazolidines (0.7% and 5.1%), and rifamycin (0.7% and 5.1%), respectively. In both the sectors, human isolates had comparatively high mecA positives (15.70% and 15.96%) compared to the animal isolates (8.36% and 12.94%). Based on mPCR, a smaller number of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates (3.95%) than methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococci (MRCoNS) was detected in milk samples (6.05%), and the same was observed for associated personnel samples (MRCoNS (14.63%) compared to MRSA (1.05%)). In four HHs, mecA positives were detected in both animal and human samples, and this highlights the transmission dynamics of mecA between animals and humans in households. The resistance of Staphylococcus spp. to β-lactams highlights the need for cautious antibiotic use to prevent AMR.

Background: Human brucellosis is a major occupational hazard in India, especially among veterinary healthcare workers due to frequent contact with livestock. This study evaluated in-house standardized IgM and IgG-based lateral flow assays (LFAs) against a Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and a Serum Agglutination Test (SAT). Methods: A total of 1356 serum samples (392 veterinary doctors and 964 paraveterinary staff) were sourced for evaluation of the tests across Karnataka, India. The results were analyzed for performance metrics {DSe (Diagnostic Sensitivity), DSp (Diagnostic Specificity), PPV (Positive Predictive Value), NPV (Negative Predictive Value), accuracy, and kappa with 95% CI} through chi-square and regression analyses. Results: Overall seropositivity was 7.67% (104/1356; 95% CI: 6.31–9.22) by RBPT, 3.47% (47/1356; 95% CI: 2.56–4.58) by SAT, 2.95% (40/1356; 95% CI: 2.12–4.00) by IgM_LFA, and 6.34% (86/1356; 95% CI: 5.10–7.77) by IgG_LFA. The RBPT vs. IgM and IgG_LFA showed a DSe of 85.3% (74.6–92.7) and 82.69% (74.03–89.41), respectively. Compared with SAT, IgM_LFA and IgG_LFA demonstrated high DSe values of 95.35% (84.2–99.4) and 96.55% (88.1–99.6), respectively. Seroprevalence was higher among paraveterinary staff (8.71%, CI 95%: 7.20–10.90) than veterinary doctors (5.10%, CI 95%: 3.14–7.77), higher in males (8.30%, CI 95%: 6.77–10.04) than females (4.02%, CI 95%: 2.44–9.05) and higher in individuals aged >55 years (9.09%, CI 95%: 5.64–13.69) compared to other age groups. Regression analysis yielded coefficients of 62.90% (p = 0.0107) for veterinarians and 87.89% (p = 0.0001) for paraveterinarians. Conclusions: This integrated field evaluation confirms improvement in brucellosis detection and emphasizes the need for field-applicable diagnostic tools.