Seroprevalence of Leptospira spp. in clinically healthy horses in Switzerland

Blatti, Stéphane; Overesch, Gudrun; Gerber, Vinzenz; Frey, Joachim; Hüssy, Daniela (2011). Seroprevalence of Leptospira spp. in clinically healthy horses in Switzerland. Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde, 153(10), pp. 449-456. Bern: Huber 10.1024/0036-7281/a000247

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A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the leptospiral seroprevalence in clinically healthy horses in Switzerland. A representative sample of 615 horse sera was examined by microscopic agglutination test for the presence of antibodies against 15 Leptospira spp. serovars. In total, 58.5 % (n = 360) of the horses were positive for one or more of the antigens analysed, with 20.3 % of them showing titres >= 400. The most prevalent serovar was Pyrogenes (22.6 %), followed by serovars Canicola (22.1 %) and Australis (19.2 %). Older horses, mares, ponies and animals spending increased time on pasture exhibited significantly higher prevalence rates (p < 0.05). Moreover, the prevalence was higher in summer and autumn (p = 0.003). The high seroprevalence in healthy horses indicates that they are often exposed to or infected with Leptospira spp. without developing signs of disease. Therefore, other laboratory and clinical data should always be taken into consideration when interpreting serological test results for Leptospira spp.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) > Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology 05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) 05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine (DKV) > ISME Equine Clinic Bern > ISME Equine Clinic, Internal medicine 05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine (DKV)
UniBE Contributor:	Blatti, Stéphane, Overesch, Gudrun, Gerber, Vinzenz, Frey, Joachim, Hüssy, Daniela
Subjects:	600 Technology > 630 Agriculture
ISSN:	0036-7281
Publisher:	Huber
Language:	English
Submitter:	Factscience Import
Date Deposited:	04 Oct 2013 14:31
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 14:09
Publisher DOI:	10.1024/0036-7281/a000247
PubMed ID:	21971672
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/11993 (FactScience: 218263)