Survey on the prevalence of bovine abortions and practices of declaration and management by practicing veterinarians in Algeria

Whether the cause is infection or not, abortions result in major economic losses on Algerian cattle farms. However, little is known about their prevalence and the factors influencing their notification by Algerian veterinarians. In order to bridge this knowledge gap, an epidemiological survey was conducted between September 2014 and February 2016, in the form of direct interviews with 331 veterinarians randomly distributed in ten wilayas (regions) in northern and central Algeria. Influencing factors were analysed using a univariate, then multivariate, logistic regression model and a classification tree analysis. The statistical significance was set to 5% (p value of 0.05). According to 48.7% of the veterinarians interviewed, the average prevalence of abortions on the dairy farms monitored by each veterinarian during the past 12 months was greater than 5%. The results of the multivariate logistic regression model confirmed that abortion notification is far more systematic if accompanied by sampling for laboratory diagnosis (odds ratio [OR] = 467; confidence interval [CI] 95%: 56-3,897; p < 0.001). Conversely, notification is less frequent if the abortion occurred during the summer (OR = 0.14; CI 95%: 0.03-0.58; p = 0.007). The classification tree generated from the survey data indicates that the three variables most predictive of abortion notification are (in decreasing order of importance): sampling for laboratory analysis to identify the cause of abortions; the wilaya of origin; and the season during which the abortions occurred. Finally, an overall weighted score (on a scale of 0 to 100) was assigned to allow evaluation of the notification and management of bovine abortions by veterinarians. Evidently there is plenty of scope for improvement because two-thirds of veterinarians achieved scores between 0 and 25. Recommendations were made to improve notification and the management of bovine abortions in Algeria, including publishing an agreed standard procedure for abortions, conducting information and awareness-raising campaigns aimed at farmers and veterinarians and allocating additional resources to laboratory analysis of the causes of abortion and incentives to encourage notification of abortions. Another proposal was the creation of an agricultural fund to compensate cattle farmers for losses resulting from bovine abortions caused by notifiable diseases.