Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Leptospirosis antibody rates in dogs, cats, and horses in Tennessee
By McCreight, Kellie A et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2025·Department of Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: seroprevalence in dogs, cats, and horses in Tennessee, USA.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study in Tennessee found that nearly 30% of dogs tested positive for certain infections, with the highest rates linked to a specific type called Autumnalis. Vaccinated dogs showed a significantly higher rate of immunity compared to unvaccinated ones, suggesting that vaccines are effective in protecting against these infections. The research also indicated that some dogs might show positive results due to cross-reactivity, meaning their immune response could be triggered by different but related infections. Overall, vaccination appears to play a crucial role in reducing the risk of these infections in dogs.
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Abstract
We estimated theseroprevalence in dogs, cats, and horses from Tennessee, USA, using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) against 12serovars. We observedseropositivity in 110 of 374 (29.4%) dogs, 21 of 170 (12.4%) cats, and 42 of 88 (47.7%) horses. The highest seroprevalence was observed for serovars Autumnalis (74.6%) in dogs, and Bratislava in cats (42.9%) and horses (95.2%). We found a significant level of potential cross-reactivity between multipleserovars tested, with highest cross-reactivity to serovar Autumnalis in dogs.seroprevalence was significantly higher in vaccinated dogs (45 of 98 [46%]) compared to unvaccinated dogs (14 of 86 [16%]; < 0.001). A significant difference in seroprevalence was observed in vaccinated and unvaccinated dogs to all 4 serovars included in canine leptospiral vaccines ( < 0.001). We also evaluated thetesting results from our diagnostic laboratory submissions from 2021-2023; 103 of 252 (40%) canine serum samples were positive, with the highest positivity rate for serovar Autumnalis. Onreal-time PCR, 35 of 325 (10.7%) urine samples and 15 of 257 (5.8%) blood samples were positive. The cross-reactivity between theserovars used in the MAT and vaccination status should be considered when estimating seroprevalence.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39673474/