Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Leptospirosis antibody rates and disease in Colorado horses
By Fagre, Anna C et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2020·College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Seroprevalence ofspp. in Colorado equids and association with clinical disease.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A study found that 82% of healthy horses tested in Colorado had antibodies to Leptospira, a bacteria that can cause serious health issues like abortion and eye problems. The testing showed that older horses were more likely to have these antibodies. Additionally, horses with clinical signs, such as eye issues, had a higher chance of being positive for a specific harmful type of Leptospira called Pomona. This suggests that if your horse is experiencing eye problems, it might be worth discussing Leptospira testing with your veterinarian.
People also search for: horse eye problems · Leptospira in horses · equine uveitis treatment
Abstract
Detection ofis difficult as a result of intermittent leptospiruria and brief leptospiremia. Hence, diagnosis relies heavily on serologic testing, the reference method of which is the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). In horses, clinical leptospirosis has been associated with abortion, recurrent uveitis, and sporadic cases of hepatic and renal disease. Little information exists on the seroprevalence of antibodies toin equids in the United States; past nationwide studies suggest that the seroprevalence in some areas is as high as 77% (reciprocal titer ≥ 100). We tested sera from 124 apparently healthy horses previously submitted for equine infectious anemia (EIA) serology using MAT for 6 serovars-Bratislava, Canicola, Grippotyphosa, Hardjo, Icterohaemorrhagiae, and Pomona. When using a reciprocal MAT titer cutoff of ≥ 100, 102 of 124 (82%) of the samples were positive for at least one serovar. Seropositivity was significantly associated with increasing age. Query of specimens from clinical cases submitted to the Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for MAT since 2010 indicated significantly greater seroprevalence ( = 0.015) of pathogenic serovar Pomona in clinical cases compared to sera submitted from healthy equids for routine EIA testing. Information from our diagnostic laboratory submission forms also suggests a correlation between uveitis or other ophthalmic problems and serovar Pomona.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32715980/