The role of asymptomatic cattle for leptospirosis dynamics in a herd with imperfect vaccination

Abstract

Abstract Leptospirosis is an emerging zoonotic disease with high health and economic damage. In this study, we developed a deterministic mathematical model that describes the dynamics of leptospirosis transmission within a cattle herd, incorporating asymptomatic infected and vaccinated compartments. The study examined the transmission role of asymptomatic cattle that contaminate herds without farmers’ knowledge. We proved the well-posedness of the proposed model and found the basic reproduction number using the next-generation matrix. Analytically, we demonstrated that the disease-free equilibrium point is locally and globally asymptotically stable when $${\mathscr {R}}_0$$ R 0 is less than unity and is otherwise unstable. Graphically, we further established the local asymptotic stability of disease-free and endemic equilibria. Sensitivity analysis showed that the contact rate with asymptomatic infected cattle, $$\beta _A$$ β A , is the most sensitive parameter in the stated model, followed by the recovery rate of asymptomatic infected cattle, $$\sigma $$ σ , and the vaccination rate of susceptible cattle, $$\tau $$ τ . Numerical simulations revealed that a reduction in contact rate with asymptomatic infected cattle significantly reduced pathogen Leptospira transmission in the herd. In addition, fostering the recovery rate of asymptomatic infected cattle can significantly reduce new infections in the herd. Furthermore, augmenting the vaccination rate among susceptible cattle resulted in a notable decrease in disease prevalence within the herd. Findings of this study underscore the remarkable importance of targeted interventions, such as reducing contact rates with asymptomatic infected cattle, increasing recovery rates using proper treatments, and enhancing vaccination efforts to manage leptospirosis transmission in cattle herds.