Twenty sows were examined as part of an investigation into the relative importance of the genital and urinary tracts as sites of leptospiral persistence in pigs. The sows had previously either aborted leptospire-infected fetuses or aborted on farms where leptospire infection had been demonstrated in other litters. Leptospires belonging to the Australis serogroup were recovered from the upper genital tract of all the sows. In contrast, leptospires were only recovered from 75 per cent of their kidneys. Isolates from 10 of the sows were identified to serovar level: six were serovar muenchen and four were bratislava. Persistence was observed in renal and genital tissues for up to 147 days after abortion.
During an investigation of pig abortions and stillbirths in Northern Ireland, leptospires were isolated from 55 of the 78 litters examined. Strains belonging to four serogroups (Australis, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Hebdomadis and Autumnalis) were recovered but leptospires of the Australis serogroup accounted for 91 per cent of the isolates. Two serovars of the Australis group bratislava and muenchen, were identified.
Using culture, immunofluorescence and fetal serology, leptospiral infection was demonstrated in aborted, stillborn and weak lambs from nine out of 42 flocks investigated during the 1980 and 1981 lambing seasons. Three serogroups of leptospira, namely the Hebdomadis, Australis and Pomona serogroups, were implicated.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.