Prevalence of Bovine Rotavirus and Coronavirus in Neonatal Calves in Dairy Farms of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Preliminary Study

Background. Bovine rotavirus (BRV) and bovine coronavirus (BCoV) are the most common viral agents in neonatal calf diarrhea and result in serious economic consequences. The aim of the study was to determine the epidemiology of those viruses in randomly selected dairy farms of Addis Ababa. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2018 to April 2019 using a probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling technique. A total of 110 calves, less than 30 days of age, from 57 dairy herds were involved in the study. Associated factors of herds and calves were collected using semistructured interviews from farm owners and through physical observation of selected calves. Fecal samples were collected and analyzed using the sandwich ELISA method. Data generated from both semistructured interviews and laboratory investigation were analyzed using STATA_MP version 15. Results. From the total 110 calves, 42 (38.18%) had diarrhea during the survey. The prevalence of bovine rotavirus and coronavirus was 3.64% (4/110) and 0.91% (1/110), respectively. Diarrhea, feeding colostrum timing, and sex of the neonatal calves had statistically significant association with bovine rotavirus infection (p