Anti-leptospirose agglutinins in equine sera, from São Paulo, Goias, and Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, 1996-2001

Abstract

ABSTRACT.Equine leptospirosis can present a non-symptomatic form, an acute clinical form, or even develop chronically, causing reproductive alterations, such as abortion and recurrent uveitis. Since the prevalence of leptospirosis in several countries and regions is widely reported, the objective of this study was to verify the prevailing equine leptospirosis in different regions of Brazil. Sera from 1402 blood samples from horses of different age, sex, breed, and purpose were examined. These samples came from southeastern and central west states of Brazil. The method utilized was the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT), with 12 different Leptospira serovars. From the sera tested, 754 (54%) were positive for one (385) or more (372) serovars. These results were higher when compared to national and international levels. The most commonly found serovars were icterohaemorrhagiae (37.01%), suggesting exposure to rodents, castellonis (16.97%), and djasiman (15.19%). There were significant differences of reagents between sexes, and a tendency toward higher positivity with age. Distribution of sera-reagents related to aptitude showed a markedly higher value for work animals than for sporting ones. Higher rates were found for animals with undefined breed. There were no significant differences related to regional origin. As an indication of multiple exposure, significant associations were observed between the following serovars: castellonis and djasiman; castellonis and grippotyphosa; castellonis and copenhageni; castellonis and icterohaemorrhagiae; castellonis and pomona; canicola and pomona; canicola and djasiman; djasiman and copenhageni; icterohaemorrhagiae and djasiman; icterohaemorrhagiae and pyrogenes; copenhageni and pomona. These results showed the necessity of further studies on the epidemiology of this disease in equines and its relationship to human illness.

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

“…There was higher seropositivity among females (33%) when compared to males (26.5%). These results reinforce the information reported by Langoni et al (2004), Dashliboron et al (2013), and Maleki et al (2015), who verified that 61.4%, 58.3%, and 87.5%, respectively, of positive reactions in their studies were females (P<0.05). The greater frequency in mares can be attributed to the different management of females and males (Langoni et al, 2004).…”

“…These results reinforce the information reported by Langoni et al (2004), Dashliboron et al (2013), and Maleki et al (2015), who verified that 61.4%, 58.3%, and 87.5%, respectively, of positive reactions in their studies were females (P<0.05). The greater frequency in mares can be attributed to the different management of females and males (Langoni et al, 2004). A possible hypothesis is that most male equines, especially those destined for sport, are castrated to make them more docile (Finger et al, 2011), are excluded from reproductive management, and when whole, most of the time are trained intensively, which reduces their contact with other groups and the possibility for contamination (Ellis, 1994).…”

Inquérito sorológico para leptospirose em condutores de carroças e equídeos de tração em Belém, Pará

“…Os sorovares Autumnalis e Castellonis tiveram altas frequências nos equídeos. Entretanto, Gomes et al (2007) verificaram 7% de equinos reagentes aos referidos sorovares; já Langoni et al (2004) registraram 16,97% para o sorovar Castellonis e Bezerra et al (2010), 13,66% de equinos reatores ao sorovar Autumnalis.…”

“…A leptospirose em equinos tem sido relatada em algumas regiões do Brasil, com resultados diferentes em animais examinados: 754/1402 em São Paulo (54%) (Langoni et al, 2004); 82/182 (45,05%) em Goiânia (Linhares et al, 2005); 24 (23%) na Bahia (Gomes et al, 2007), e 82/148 (55,4%) no Rio de Janeiro (Pinna et al, 2008).…”

Occurrence of antibodies against Leptospira spp. in donkeys of São Paulo state

“…Positivity for the serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae and Grippotyphosa suggest direct or indirect contact with excretions of rodents and other wildlife since they are natural hosts of these serovars (LANGONI et al, 2004;HASHIMOTO et al, 2007;CHIARELI et al, 2008;OLIVEIRA FILHO et al, 2014).…”