High frequency of seropositive and carriers of Leptospira spp. in pigs in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil

Fernandes, Juciê Jales; Júnior, João Pessoa Araújo; Malossi, Camila Dantas; Ullmann, Leila Sabrina; Costa, Diego Figueiredo da; Silva, Maria Luana Cristiny Rodrigues; Alves, Clebert José; Azevêdo, Sérgio Santos de; Higino, Severino Silvano dos Santos

doi:10.1007/s11250-020-02203-y

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…2020) and swine (Fernandes et al . 2020), sexual transmission should not be neglected. Additionally, transmission also can occur through reproduction biotechnologies, like embryo transfer and artificial insemination (Bielanski and Surujballi 1998; Givens 2018), if antibiotics are not used in the process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An overview on the molecular diagnosis of animal leptospirosis

Azevedo

Lilenbaum

2021

Lett Appl Microbiol

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The most common presentation of animal leptospirosis is the subclinical and silent chronic form, that can lead to important reproductive disorders. The diagnosis of this chronic form remains a challenge. The aim of the present study is to gather and critically analyse the current information about molecular tools applied to animal leptospirosis diagnosis, particularly the silent chronic presentation of the infection. Regarding clinical specimens, samples from urinary tract were the most used (69/102, 67·7%), while few studies (12/102, 11·8%) investigated samples from reproductive tract. Concerning the molecular methods applied, the most used is still the conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (46/102, 45%), followed by real‐time PCR (38/102, 37·2%). The lipL32 gene is currently the most common target used for Leptospira detection, with 48% of studies applying this genetic marker. From all the studies, only few (21/102, 20·5%) performed gene sequencing. According to the majority of authors, current evidence suggests that lipL32‐PCR is useful for an initial screening for Leptospira DNA detection in animal clinical samples. Posteriorly, if DNA sequencing could be performed on positive lipL32‐PCR samples, we encourage the use of secY gene as a genetic marker. The molecular methods appear as the most important tools for the diagnosis of the chronic silent leptospirosis on domestic animals, reinforcing its evident impact not only on animal reproduction but also on a One Health context.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An overview on the molecular diagnosis of animal leptospirosis

Azevedo

Lilenbaum

2021

Lett Appl Microbiol

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“…The serogroup Australis, the most frequent serogroup observed in the state of Paraíba, was found in 87.5% of the investigated municipalities. It is worth noting that 13.2% was the lowest prevalence among the investigated municipalities in this state, and 28.4% of seroreactive animals had elevated titers (400 to 800), all located in areas of dry climate, reinforcing that the agent was present in hostile environments, and with possible contact with swine, equids, and rodents, since this serogroup is usually associated with these animals [1,14,22]. On geospatial analysis, the municipality of Monteiro stands out for its high animal-level prevalence and its border with the state of Pernambuco, which may be a risk due to interstate transit of animals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Spatial Distribution of Serologically Reactive Sheep to Leptospira spp. in the Northeast Region of Brazil

Silva

Viana

Calado

et al. 2021

Acta Scientiae. Vet.

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Background: Considering the importance of leptospirosis in sheep farming and public health and the significance of identifying which serogroups circulate in sheep within each region, the objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence and spatial distribution of the most frequent serogroups causing infection by Leptospira sp. in ovine herds in the Northeast region of Brazil.Materials, Methods & Results: Blood samples were collected from 4197 sheep from 229 herds in 7 Northeastern States. Sera were analyzed via microscopic agglutination test (MAT). The frequency of seroreactive sheep for Leptospira sp. was 14.06%. The states of Alagoas, Ceará, Paraíba, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe, located in the Caatinga biome, had the highest frequencies of serologically reactive sheep, and Maranhão, in the Cerrado biome, had the lowest frequency. The most frequent serogroups were Autumnalis (19.49%), Australis (15.76%) and Serjoe (14.41%). In the states of Ceará, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe, 100% of their municipalities had at least one seroreactive animal. The highest frequencies of seropositive animals were found in the municipalities of União (50%), Passagem (49.06%), Canindé (48.89%), Igaci (28.95%), Gararu (31.2%), Pirapemas (17.5%), and Angicos (16%) located in the states of Piauí, Paraíba, Ceará, Alagoas, Sergipe, Maranhão and Rio Grande do Norte, respectively.Discussion: The animal-level prevalence (14.06%) obtained in the present study is significant, especially considering the rustic nature of the species and the adverse conditions of the region for the infectious agent. In semi-arid conditions, it has been suggested that perhaps sheep do not seroconvert detectable titers on MAT with a cut-off point of 1:100. It is important to highlight that theovine population in the Northeast region of Brazil is composed of mixed animals, which have been considered more resistant to infection by Leptospira spp. Also, environmental factors hostile to the survival of the infectious agent in the studied region should be taken into consideration, since they may have influenced the seropositive animal-level prevalence. A noteworthy variation was observed in agglutinin titers, which ranged from 100 to 1,600, where 80.2% of the positive samples had titers ≤ 200. It is important to highlight that more elevated titers (≥ 400) were obtained in all seven states, which may suggest an acute infection caused by a non-adapted serovar, indicating that preventive and control measures focused on possible infection sources for sheep should be adopted. Although some states showed the same serogroups as the most frequent, a variety of serogroups was observed in municipalities, which may indicate different sources of infection, whether interspecies, intraspecies, or via alternative routes of transmission in semi-arid conditions, such as venereal. This indicates that even though sheep are more resistant to infection, they become exposed due to the environment or management conditions. As such, identification, isolation, and treatment of the affected animals are alternative measures recommended for prevention and control of leptospirosis in sheep in the semi-arid region. It is evident that despite the lack of rain observed in the last decade in the Northeast region of Brazil, which prevented the formation of favorable environments for the presence of Leptospira, the infectious agent remains among the sheep, as well as other production and wild animals in the region. Some factors may be contributing to this scenario, such as the fact that sheep farming in the region is characterized mainly by subsistence systems, where veterinary assistance and adequate sanitary management are absent, thus increasing the possibility of contact with Leptospira.Keywords: small ruminants, semi-arid, zoonosis.

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“…This finding aligns with results documented in the baseline study, which found that the presence of breeding pigs was associated with seroprevalent cases against L. interrogans ( 14 ). The association between breeding pigs and the concomitant seroprevalence to both agents can be elucidated by considering the role of infected or sick domestic pigs, which excrete leptospires in their urine, contaminating soils and water sources ( 31 , 32 ) and the evidence of Amblyomma cajennense complex tick infestation in pigs, implicating them as vectors in the infection cycle of SFG rickettsiae ( 33 , 34 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eco-epidemiological study of seropositivity against Rickettsia and Leptospira agents in rural areas of Urabá, Colombia.

Torres-Bustamante,

Cantillo-Barraza,

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Rickettsioses and leptospirosis are infectious diseases that are often underdiagnosed due to a lack of knowledge about their epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, management, among others. Objetive: to characterize the seroprevalence and seroincidence of both Rickettsia and Leptospira agents and determine the risk factors for these outcomes in rural areas of Urabá, Antioquia. Methods: a secondary data analysis using information on Rickettsia and Leptospira exposure from a prior prospective study that explored sociocultural and ecological aspects of Rickettsia infection in rural Urabá, Colombia. A multinomial mixed logistic regression model was employed to analyze factors linked to seroprevalent cases of Rickettsia, Leptospira and both, along with descriptive analyses of seroincident cases. Results: the concomitant seroprevalence against Rickettsiaand Leptospira was 9.38% [95%CI 6.08%-13.37%] (56/597). The factors associated with this seroprevalence were age (ORa= 1.02 [95%CI 1.007–1.03]), male gender (ORa= 3.06 [95%CI 1.75–5.37]), fever history (ORa= 1.71 [95%CI 1.06–2.77]) the presence of breeding pigs (ORa= 2.29 [95%CI 1.36–3.88]), peridomicile yucca crops(ORa= 2.5 [95%CI 1.1–5.62]), and deforestation practices(ORa= 1.74 [95%CI 1.06–2.87]). The concomitant seroincidence against Rickettsia and Leptospira was 1.09% (3/274) [95%CI 0.29%-4.05%], three cases were female, with a median age of 31.83 years-old (IQR 8.69–56.99). At the household level, all the seroincident cases had households built partially or totally with soil floors, wooden walls, and zinc roofs. Two seroincident cases described the presence of equines, canines, and domestic chickens in intra or peri-domicile. Finally, two cases were exposed to synanthropic rodents, and one case to tick infestation. Conclusion: there is evidence of seroprevalent and seroincident cases of seropositivity against both Rickettsia and Leptospira in rural areas of Urabá, Colombia. These findings can help improve public health surveillance systems in preventing, detecting, and attending to the different clinical cases caused by these pathogens.

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High frequency of seropositive and carriers of Leptospira spp. in pigs in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil

Cited by 12 publications

References 34 publications

An overview on the molecular diagnosis of animal leptospirosis

An overview on the molecular diagnosis of animal leptospirosis

Spatial Distribution of Serologically Reactive Sheep to Leptospira spp. in the Northeast Region of Brazil

Eco-epidemiological study of seropositivity against Rickettsia and Leptospira agents in rural areas of Urabá, Colombia.

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