title: Seroprevalence studies on animal chlamydiosis amongst ruminants in five states of India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Animal chlamydiosis, caused by different chlamydial species, is characterized by clinical or subclinical disease manifestations in cattle, buffalo, ovine, caprine and wild animal species. Animal chlamydiosis often remains underdiagnosed or undiagnosed, and its status in many parts of India is still unknown. Hence, the present study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of animal chlamydiosis amongst ruminant livestock species of five states of India.
  
  
  METHODS
  Totally, 2127 randomly selected serum samples collected from ruminant livestock species viz. cattle (n=430), buffaloes (n=429), sheep (906) and goats (n=362), were tested by agar gel precipitation test for chlamydiosis between 2002 and 2011. Precipitating antigen was prepared from locally isolated strain of Chlamydia psittaci after treatment with sodium deoxycholate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The chlamydial seroprevalence detected amongst ruminants in five states of India was: Himachal Pradesh: Cattle-10.90%, sheep-10.60% and goats- 22.46%; Punjab: Cattle-1.45%; Andhra Pradesh: Cattle-2.80%, buffaloes-0.93%, sheep-8.90% and goats-9.46%; Maharashtra: goats-8.33%; Jammu and Kashmir: sheep-12.50%. The mean seroprevalence values of each animal species are: Cattle-4.65%, buffaloes-0.93%, sheep-9.82% and goats-19.33%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate the endemic nature of animal chlamydiosis across five states in India. Hence, it requires further extensive studies in other parts of India also using chlamydial species-specific diagnostics to ascertain overall countrywide prevalence of the disease. The zoonotic nature of the chlamydiae of ruminant origin further adds significance to such prevalence studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, DGCN College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chahota
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, DGCN College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, DGCN College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bhardwaj
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, DGCN College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, DGCN College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verma
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, DGCN College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: And M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sharma
keywords: agar gel precipitation test; chlamydiosis; ruminants; seroprevalence