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

Abstract

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.

Global prevalence and epidemiology of leptospirosis in domestic cats, a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…(57) A study in Japan reported a seroprevalence of antiLeptospira antibodies of 16.6 % of the cats tested and the leptospiral flaB gene was detected in 7.1 % of cat urine samples using PCR. (58) In Vietnam, a seroprevalence of 12.2 % was reported, (59) and leptospiral antibodies were detected in 10 % of feral cats from Canada, (60) which coincide with our results.…”

Leptospirosis in Vietnam

“…When comparing the results of a study on sera of 156 rats from different provinces of Vietnam, it was found that Leptospira seroprevalence in the southern province (Can Tho) was higher than in the central (Ha Tinh) or in the northern (Tai Binh): 24.6%, 10.0%, and 11.4%, respectively. The average value was 16.0% [55]. Therefore, Leptospira prevalence in rats was close to those obtained in earlier studies conducted in the Mekong Delta region [52,58,17].…”

“…Panama, Tarassovi, Australis, and Autumnalis were found in all three provinces, while Bratislava was found only in Can Tho. It should be pointed out that all 17 Leptospira serovars were present in Can Tho, while only 12 and 8 serovars were found in Taibin and Hatin, respectively [55].…”

“…The highest Leptospira prevalence in rats (> 70%) was reported in Brazil [62,29,26,27], Mexico [59], Egypt [69], and some other countries [17]. The study conducted in three provinces of Vietnam [55] revealed that the seroprevalence in animals other than rats was much higher: 44.2% in buffalo (n = 52), 32.9% in dogs (n = 219), 24.9% in cattle (n = 233), while only 12.2% in cats (n = 164), and 10.2% in pigs (n = 381). In total, it means that Leptospira seroprevalence in animals in the northern province (Tai Binh) was higher than in the central (Ha Tinh) or the southern (Can Tho): 25.9%, 13.3%, and 19.8%, respectively.…”

“…Due to such different geographical and climatic features, which to a certain extent determine socio-economic characteristics, Northern, Central and Southern Vietnam are usually considered separately. This has prompted researchers to analyze the impact of abiotic, biotic, and social factors on the spread of leptospirosis infections in those different regions of Vietnam [55].…”