Assessment of risk factors associated with prevalence of coccidiosis in dairy animals of Punjab.

A total of 2089 faecal samples (956 buffaloes and 1133 cattle) were collected from 21 districts of five major agro-climatic zones of Punjab during April, 2013-May, 2014. An overall prevalence rate of 32.17 % (672/2089) was recorded for coccidiosis in dairy animals with a significantly higher (P < 0.01) infection rate in buffaloes (35.46 %) in comparison to cattle (29.39 %). Quantitative analysis revealed oocyst per gram of faeces ranging from 200 to 10,000 (1083.72 ± 227.20) and 100 to 2400 (748.72 ± 81.38), in cattle and buffalo populations, respectively. The results of multivariate analysis showed that prevalence of coccidiosis in cattle population was associated with various risk factors viz. districts (P = 0.000; OR 2.749; 95 % CI 1.238-6.107), agro-climatic zones (P = 0.004; OR 2.707; 95 % CI 1.707-4.293) and seasons (P = 0.000; OR 1.106; 95 % CI 0.811-1.509). Similarly, in buffalo population an association with districts (P = 0.000; OR 2.163; 95 % CI 0.702-6.668), agro-climatic zones (P = 0.000; OR 1.237; 95 % CI 0.673-2.277) and seasons (P = 0.100; OR 1.382; 95 % CI 1.003-1.903) was recorded. The findings of the current study would provide a basis for evolving effective control strategy for the management of coccidiosis in dairy animals of the region.