Leptospirosis in beef herds from western Canada: serum antibody titers and vaccination practices

One study described the frequency of pre-breeding vaccination for leptospirosis in 205 cow-calf herds from across western Canada and the prevalence of positive Leptospira antibody titers in unvaccinated, weaned calves from 61 of these herds. The percentages of herds vaccinated for leptospirosis were 13.7% in 2001 and 8.4% in 2002. Of 1539 calves examined, 13 (0.8%) had a positive antibody titer for a Leptospira serovar; the most common serovar detected was hardjo. A second study examined the prevalence of positive Leptospira antibody titers during the summer grazing season in 313 vaccinated and 478 unvaccinated cows from 40 cow-calf herds in southern Saskatchewan. Antibody titers for 7 Leptospira serovars were measured during the grazing season. Of the non-vaccinated cows, 9.6% were positive in the spring for serovar pomona, 6.7% for serovar grippotyphosa, and 6.1% for serovar icterohaemorrhagiae; the corresponding percentages for the fall were 5.5%, 3.0%, and 1.3%, respectively. Of 781 vaccinated and unvaccinated cows that were sampled twice, 11.3% of vaccinated cows and 2.3% of unvaccinated cows had increases in Leptospira antibody titers during the grazing season.