Seroprevalence of Chlamydia abortus in sheep in Bosnia and Herzegovina

An epidemiological study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of Chlamydia abortus (C. abortus) in sheep in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was the first systematic study of this kind carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Samples were collected during 2012 and 19 sheep flocks, located in the different parts of the country and with a recorded history of reproductive failures (abortion, stillbirths and infertility) were involved. A representative sample from each flock was taken by a simple random sampling allowing the detection of seropositive animals within a flock with 95 % confidence, with expected prevalence rates of 20 %, using the recommendations for determining the required necessary sample size to detect the presence of disease. In total 178 sheep blood sera were tested for the specific antibodies against C. abortus, with the use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CHEKIT* Chlamydophila abortus Antibody Test Kit). The results showed that 77 (43.3 %) out of 178 ovine sera were seropositive for C. abortus infection, as indicated by the manufacturer's interpretation of the results. The flock was considered to be positive if at least one animal was seropositive. The flock prevalence of C. abortus in the examined flocks was 84.2 % (16/19 flocks). The results of the present study indicate that C. abortus infection occurs frequently in sheep in Bosnia and Herzegovina.