Prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in organized dairy farm

The study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of tuberculosis in three organized herds by using single intra-dermal tuberculin testing during the period of August, 2004 to May, 2006. Farm A and B were located in Gujarat state, whereas farm C was located in the states of Uttar Pradesh. A total of 765 animals in farm A, 1545 animals in farm B and 338 animals at the farm C were included in the study. Overall prevalence of tuberculosis in farm A, B and C was recorded to be 2.39 %, 2.22 % and 0.59%, respectively. A higher prevalence of tuberculosis was found to be 2.58% in Jersey breed and its crosses followed by 2.40% in Holstein Friesian and its crosses as compared to indigenous cattle and buffaloes. Prevalence of tuberculosis in females (2.90%) was higher as compared to male animals (1.49%). Age wise data revealed the prevalence as 80.36% (45/56) in animals older than 2 years of age as compared to younger animals. These results indicated that tuberculosis can be prevented by stringent management policies at farm level but a revision may require in breeding and management policies adopted at farm level to eliminate such diseases.