A Serological Survey of Leptospira spp., Antibodies in Wild Raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Osaka, Japan

Canine leptospirosis is a zoonosis caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Leptospira. Dogs are one of the animal species involved in the cycle of preservation and transmission of leptospirosis in urban areas. Serological testing for the presence of specific antibodies against Leptospira spp. in dogs was continuously performed between 2010 and 2020 in the city of Belgrade. At the request of the owners themselves, other veterinary laboratories or laboratory clinics, 179 blood sera from 179 dogs were examined in the Laboratory for Immunology, Scientific Institute of Veterinary Medicine of Serbia. Blood sera samples from dogs were examined using the standard microscopic agglutination test (MAT) for the presence of specific antibodies against seven different serovars of Leptospira: Pomona, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Grippotyphosa, Sejroe, Canicola, Bataviae, and Australis. The number of seropositive dogs was 17/179 (9.5%). Among all examined sera, the highest titre of seropositive samples was to serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae (10/17, 58.8%), followed by Pomona (4/17, 23.5%), and serovar Canicola (3/17, 17.6%). Specific antibodies for serovars Grippotyphosa, Sejroe, Bataviae and Australis were not detected in any of the dog sera. Cross-reaction (the presence of two or three titres with different values where one of them was higher than others) between different serovars was diagnosed in a low number of sera (n=4), with the following serovars: Icterohaemorrhagiae and Pomona (n=3) and Pomona and Canicola (n=1). The confirmed specific antibody titres for Leptospira spp. were between 1:100 to 1:3000 (5 sera had titres of 1:100, 7 had titres of 1:300, 4 had titres of 1:1000, and 1 serum had a titre 1:3000). Monitoring canine leptospirosis is a useful tool in preventing leptospirosis in Belgrade.

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Raccoons (Procyon lotor) and Striped Skunks (Mephitis mephitis) as Potential Reservoirs of Leptospira spp. in California

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases ◽

10.1089/vbz.2019.2528 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (6) ◽

pp. 418-426 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mary H. Straub ◽

Molly Church ◽

Elle Glueckert ◽

Janet E. Foley

Keyword(s):

Procyon Lotor ◽

Mephitis Mephitis ◽

Leptospira Spp ◽

Striped Skunks

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Serological survey of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies in Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) at the Curitiba Zoo, southern Brazil

Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira ◽

10.1590/1678-5150-pvb-4327 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 143-146

Author(s):

Vivien M. Morikawa ◽

Cristina K. Zimpel ◽

Igor A.D. Paploski ◽

Mariana Kikuti ◽

Vanessa Castro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Exposure ◽

Preventive Measures ◽

Agglutination Test ◽

Microscopic Agglutination Test ◽

Wild Animals ◽

Serological Survey ◽

Southern Brazil ◽

Ammotragus Lervia ◽

Barbary Sheep ◽

Leptospira Spp

ABSTRACT: Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis, affecting humans, domestic and wild animals. The present study aimed to evaluate prevalence of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies in Barbary sheep at the Curitiba zoo. Microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was performed using 17 serogroups. Antibodies against Leptospira spp. were observed in 23.5% samples and Icterohaemorrhagiae was the only prevalent serogroup. The presence of anti-Leptospira antibodies in Barbary sheep indicates exposure to leptospires; thus monitoring and preventive measures are necessary in zoo’s captive animals, since they can act as sentinels of environmental exposure in an area with high movement of people.

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Leptospira infection among human-close-contact animals in different geographical areas in Vietnam

Science Progress ◽

10.1177/00368504211031747 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 104 (3) ◽

pp. 003685042110317

Author(s):

Le Thi Phuong Mai ◽

Luu Phuong Dung ◽

Phan Dang Than ◽

Tran Van Dinh ◽

Nguyen Tu Quyet ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Disease Prevention ◽

Animal Species ◽

Close Contact ◽

Agglutination Test ◽

Wild Animals ◽

Serological Survey ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Leptospira Spp ◽

The Status ◽

Species Variability

Leptospirosis is a neglected disease in Vietnam. Only a few studies have evaluated the status of Leptospira infection in both humans and animals. To our knowledge, this is the first serological survey of Leptospira in both domestic and wild animals, which may act as reservoirs of this agent. This study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of Leptospira in animals that are in close contact with humans in different geographical areas in Vietnam. Sera were collected from 1205 individual animals of six species, including buffaloes, cattle, cats, dogs, swine, and rats. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) against 25 serovars of Leptospira spp. has been employed to detect serovars of Leptospira among the studied population. Overall, 44.2% of buffaloes, 24.9% of cattle, 10.2% of swine, 32.9% of dogs, 12.2% of cats, and 16% of rats were seropositive. A total of 17 different serovars were detected, of which serovars Hebdomadis and Canicola circulated in all the studied animal species. Variability of the predominant serovars circulating in animal species and in different geographical areas of Vietnam has been noted. We conclude that this study showed a high prevalence of Leptospira circulating in animals that are in close contact with humans, raising an alert of the important sources of pathogenic leptospires transmission to humans in Vietnam. These findings prove an imperative need for effective measures for disease prevention.

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Spatial distribution of equine seroreagent to Leptospira spp. in Northeastern Brazil

Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Research and Animal Science ◽

10.11606/issn.1678-4456.bjvras.2019.162784 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 56 (4) ◽

pp. e162784

Author(s):

Davidianne De Andrade Morais ◽

Camila De Sousa Bezerra ◽

Denize Monteiro dos Anjos ◽

Bruno Cesar Nunes ◽

Denise Batista Nogueira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rio Grande ◽

Agglutination Test ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Infection Prophylaxis ◽

Age Group ◽

Serological Survey ◽

Rodent Control ◽

Leptospira Spp ◽

Border Areas ◽

High Degree

Considering the importance of leptospirosis in both equine husbandry and public health, as well as the relevance of knowledge of current serogroup and the small number of studies addressing this disease in equines in Northeastern Brazil, the present study performed a serological survey of Leptospira spp. in a serum bank of 1,267 equines originating from 177 municipalities, located in four states in Northeastern Brazil: Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba and Pernambuco. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was used for diagnosis of leptospirosis using 24 serovars as antigens. The frequency of reagent equines was 29.7% (376/1,267), and 68.9% (122/177) of municipalities had at least one positive reaction. The serogroups reagent were Australis (37.2%), Icterohaemorrhagiae (29.3%), Tarassovi (9.6%), Sejroe (5.8%), Pomona (5.3%), Grippotyphosa (4.5%), Pyrogenes (2.4%), Bataviae (1.9%), Ballum and Hebdomadis (1.3%), Mini (0.5%), Celledoni, Shermani, and Javanica (0.3% each). There were significant statistical differences regarding sex and age, with a higher frequency in females (P= 0.014), and in animals ≥ 6 years (P=0.001). We concluded that seropositivity to Leptospira spp. is high in equines in Northeastern Brazil, with a predominance of serologic reactions to the Australis serogroup in the border areas between the states, and the Icterohaemorrhagiae serogroup in coastal areas or their vicinity. The high degree of seropositivity found points to the need to implement prophylactic strategies, both intraspecies infection prophylaxis and rodent control. We also recommended avoiding animal crowding and separating animals according to sex and age group during handling.

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