Sero-prevalence and associated risk factors of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection in Kailali and Kanchanpur District of Far Western, Nepal

Respiratory diseases cause severe distress leading to serious effects on production characteristics of pigs. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mh) is one of the primary contributors of porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC). A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the sero-prevalence and associated risk factors of enzootic pneumonia (EP) caused by Mh in Kailali and Kanchanpur Districts of Nepal. The herd level information of the site was gathered using standardized questionnaire survey. A total of 184 porcine serum samples were collected randomly and tested by using competitive ELISA targeting anti-Mh antibodies. Of the total 184, 42 samples were tested positive resulting overall sero-prevalence of 22.83%. The husbandry practices, modern and semi-conventional, continuous and all-in all-out systems were found as the potential risk factors of EP in pigs. Significantly higher risk was observed in continuous production system (32%) as compared to all-in all-out (11.11%). Likewise, pen partitioning was also found to be associated with increased risk of the disease occurrence. Higher prevalence was observed in pigs in semisolid partition (34.95%) compared to solid partition (18.18%), improved breeds (27.46%) compared to local breeds (7.14%), and highest among growing age group (36.36%) than in the rest of the others. Thus, consideration of environmental and management factors for the prevention EP transmission in commercial pig farms is suggested.