PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

Bovine anaplasmosis is a significant cattle disease with economic implications caused by intra-erythrocytic bacteria, Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma centrale. In Malaysia, where the dairy industry is growing to meet increasing demands, understanding disease epidemiology is crucial. This cross-sectional study investigated the seroprevalence of bovine anaplasmosis in 242 Mafriwal cattle population in a government commercial dairy farm using commercial cELISA kit and its associations with various risk factors using Chi-square test. The study revealed a high seroprevalence of 79.75%, with lactating cattle having the highest seropositivity (95.08%) among the other management groups. However, no significant association (p < 0.05) was found between packed cell volume (PCV) and seropositivity, although a higher proportion of seropositive cattle (82.73%) have a low PCV. Cattle that were kept in semi-intensive housing had a higher seropositivity (81.87%) than those managed under intensive system (73.33%) but the housing type did not significantly affect the seropositivity. There is no significant correlation between the molecular findings of bovine anaplasmosis and seropositivity, yet polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmed 82.14% of seropositive cases and 76.47% of PCR negative samples is seropositive. Seropositivity increase from 68.85% in 2021 to 90.83% in 2022, indicating a potential rise in the prevalence of bovine anaplasmosis over time. This study revealed that bovine anaplasmosis is prevalent among Mafriwal cattle population in studied farm, and it is significantly associated with management groups and the year of sampling. Increased monitoring and control measures are needed to curb the spread of bovine anaplasmosis. Further research is warranted to explore additional risk factors and epidemiological aspects, benefiting cattle health and production in Malaysia.