Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Leptospirosis antibody rates in dogs and owners in Southern Brazil
By Benitez, Aline do Nascimento et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2020·School of Medical Sciences and Institute of Computing, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Spatial and Simultaneous Seroprevalence of Anti-Antibodies in Owners and Their Domiciled Dogs in a Major City of Southern Brazil.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that 21% of dogs in a city in Southern Brazil tested positive for leptospirosis, a serious infection that can affect both pets and humans. In contrast, only about 1.8% of dog owners showed signs of the infection. The most common strain found in dogs was Canicola, which was also present in some owners. The researchers noted that dogs might be exposed to the disease more than their owners, and in some cases, both the dog and owner tested positive for the same strain, suggesting that the infection could be transmitted within households. This highlights the importance of monitoring and protecting pets from leptospirosis.
People also search for: dog leptospirosis symptoms · how to prevent leptospirosis in dogs · Canicola infection in pets
Abstract
Although leptospirosis has been considered a major concern in urban areas, no study to date has spatially and simultaneously compared both owner and dog serology in households of major cities. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to assess the seroprevalence ofantibodies, evaluate associated risk factors and conduct spatial analyses in 565 randomly selected households, which included 597 dog owners and 729 dogs in Londrina, Southern Brazil. Seropositivity by MAT were detected in in 11/597 (1.84%) owners and in 155/729 (21.26%) dogs. The risk factors were evaluated with logistic regression analysis and spatial factors and case distribution were evaluated with kernel density analyses. The sera of 14/155 (9.03%) dogs reacted for more than one serovar with the same titer. Canicola was the most frequent serogroup, detected in 3/11 (27.27%) owners and 76/155 (49.03%) dogs. The highest titer among the owners was 1:3,200 and was detected in the same household with a titer of 1:800 in the dog. Simultaneous owner-dog seropositivity was found in 7/565 (1.23%) households, with three reacted against serogroup Canicola. Positive owners were detected in 4/565 (0.70%) households and positive dogs were detected in 141/565 (24.95%) households. The associated risks of infection for dogs were different from those associated with infection in owners. Risk analyses for Canicola also identified specific factors of infection. Regardless of owner and dog cases were not statistically clustered, the kernel map has shown dog positivity occurrence in the same hot locations and near positive owners. The dependent variable analysis and logit model suggested a greater likelihood of peri-domiciliary contact with. In conclusion, exposure toinfection was significantly higher in dogs than in their owners and human cases spatially overlapped dog cases, implicating dogs as potential environmental sentinels for this disease. In addition, the associated risk may vary according to serogroup, and the observed simultaneous Canicola seropositivity of owner and dog has suggested intradomicile-transmitted infection.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33490126/