Canine Leptospirosis Serology in Southern Mexico City

Abstract

Background: Leptospirosis is an important zooanthroponotic disease spread worldwide which infection is recognized as a re-emergent disease. Leptospirosis is a systemic disease of humans and domestic animals, mainly dogs, cattle and swine, characterized by fever, renal and hepatic insufficiency, pulmonary manifestations and reproductive failure. Objective: To study the seroprevalence of anti-Leptospira antibodies in an urban canine population. Materials and Methods: The study was performed in March 2014 in stray dogs that had been captured in the districts of Coyoacan, Iztapalapa, Iztacalco and Benito Juarez in Mexico City; 117 dogs were analyzed, from each of which 5 ml of blood were obtained. Serology was performed using a MAT test (Microscopic Agglutination Test), finding that the antigens corresponded to 13 serotypes of Leptospirainterrogans. Three age groups were formed: Group 1) younger than a year (n = 28), Group 2) 1 to 6 years (n = 75), and Group 3) older than 6 years (n = 14). Results: Of the analyzed sera, 28.2% were seropositive to one or more Leptospira serotypes, 74% of the positive seracoagglutinated with two or more serotypes. The most frequent serotypes were: Canicola, Icterohaemorrhagiae and Portland-vere. Serotypes Canicola, Pyrogenes, and Bratislava resulted statistically significant (p 0.001). The presence of anti-Leptospira antibodies in the blood of animals of 1 to 6 years resulted with a p 0.001. The sera from Iztapalapa reacted to nine serotypes. Conclusion: The 28.2% of seropositivity indicates Leptospira transmission in the canine population that was studied could exhibit a potential public health risk.