Abstract

SEGHESSO ZABALA, Ada; ANTHONY OMEZZOLLI, Lilian María; POLI LOVAGNINI, Georgina  and  FRANCOIS BARBAGELATA, Silvina. Seropositivity of Leptospira interrogans found in dogs from the city of Rosario, Argentina. Rev Cubana Med Trop [online]. 2013, vol.65, n.2, pp.185-190. ISSN 0375-0760.

Introduction: leptospirosis is one of the most widespread zoonoses worldwide. The urban epidemics caused by floods, became a serious problem for public health. Canine species is the most affected by leptospirosis. Dogs become infected with Leptospira interrogans and the disease, which represents one of the most important risk factors in the transmission of leptospires in urban areas. Definitive diagnosis of leptospirosis due to multisyndromic feature of the disease is only possible through laboratory results. Objective: the objective was to estimate the rate of seropositivity to different serovars of L. interrogans in dogs in the city of Rosario. Methods: a descriptive cross-sectional epidemiological study in a dog population of Rosario, which included dogs of both sexes, all ages, regardless of race or vaccination status. The samples were analyzed by internationally standardized Microscopic Agglutination (MAT). This experiment used the following serovars of L. interrogans: Pomona, Icterohaemorrhagiae, canicola, Bratislava, grippotyphosa, and castellonis Pyrogenes. The cutoff point for the technique was 1:100. One hundred fifty six samples were processed. Results: of the analyzed samples, 134 were negative and 22 positive to MAT. There were 12 (54.54 %) positive to Castellonis, 7 (31.81 %) to Canicola, 1 (4.54 %) to Pyrogenes, 1 (4.54 %) to Pomona and 1 (4.54 %) to Icterohaemorrhagiae. The highest titers were 1:200 and in Castellonis serovar. Conclusions: the results of this study indicate that serovar Castellonis is the most frequently detected one for the canine population of Rosario at present, and it should be considered in the formulation of immunogens against canine leptospirosis.

Keywords : leptospirosis; dogs; serologic study; Rosario; Santa Fe; Argentina.

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