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.