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Veterinary Sciences
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Leptospiral Infections in Animals
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Leptospiral Infections in Animals

A special issue of Veterinary Sciences (ISSN 2306-7381). This special issue belongs to the section "Veterinary Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 13710

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Katrin Strutzberg-Minder

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
IVD Innovative Veterinary Diagnostics (IVD GmbH), 30926 Seelze, Germany
Interests: infectious diseases in swine and horse and diagnostics for them; infectiology & epidemiology in general; Leptospira; Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae; Glaesserella parasuis
Dr. Bettina Wollanke

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Klinik für Pferde der LMU, D-80539 Muenchen, Germany
Interests: leptospirosis; clinical symptoms; diagnosis and treatment of leptospiral infections; equine recurrent uveitis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As we all know, leptospirosis is a worldwide underestimated zoonosis in animals and humans. Reasons for this underestimation include the fact that most infections in humans and animals are subclinical, which not only makes diagnosis more difficult but also means that an infection with leptospires can spread unnoticed, and in addition, there is only rarely surveillance of leptospirosis. However, the symptoms of leptospirosis vary from mild febrile illness to severe courses of the disease with life-threatening complications, whereby clinical signs are not pathognomonic, and laboratory confirmation is mandatory for a definitive diagnosis.

Many new insights into leptospires and leptospirosis have been gained in the last few years, especially through the development of molecular biological analysis methods, but also through other research activities.

The genomic diversity of the genus Leptospira was analyzed, and based on the new knowledge obtained from this, a multiplex real-time PCR assay for the diagnosis and differentiation of the two newly identified pathogenic groups of Leptospira, with 38 newly identified species so far, was validated on samples.

Furthermore, leptospires have long been classified into at least 24 serogroups with more than 250 serovars, which has proven useful for initial serological diagnosis and epidemiological understanding at regional or population level. However, these serogroups have no taxonomic status, and all molecular typing methods require isolates, but isolation of leptospires is not usually realistic in the context of veterinary diagnostics.

While we share new knowledge in leptospiral professional societies, news about leptospires does not readily reach the general veterinary community. This Special Issue aims to contribute to bringing together and making available the current state of knowledge on leptospiral infections in animals. All aspects of leptospirosis in all animals (all species studied, whether patients or reservoir hosts), such as epidemiology, pathogenesis, pathology, disease, diagnosis and diagnostics, and therapy and prophylaxis, are welcome.

Dr. Katrin Strutzberg-Minder
Dr. Bettina Wollanke
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Veterinary Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • animal patients
  • animal reservoirs
  • epidemiology
  • pathogenesis
  • pathology
  • disease
  • diagnosis
  • therapy and prophylaxis

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1972 KiB  
Article
Analysis of 1840 Equine Intraocular Fluid Samples for the Presence of Anti-Leptospira Antibodies and Leptospiral DNA and the Correlation to Ophthalmologic Findings in Terms of Equine Recurrent Uveitis (ERU)—A Retrospective Study
by Tobias Geiger, Hartmut Gerhards, Bogdan Bjelica, Elke Mackenthun and Bettina Wollanke
Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(8), 448; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9080448 - 21 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3194
Abstract
In the equine clinic of the LMU in Munich, therapeutic vitrectomies have been routinely performed in horses for three decades. The vitreous samples obtained during vitrectomies were usually tested for anti-Leptospira antibodies and for more than 20 years also by PCR for [...] Read more.
In the equine clinic of the LMU in Munich, therapeutic vitrectomies have been routinely performed in horses for three decades. The vitreous samples obtained during vitrectomies were usually tested for anti-Leptospira antibodies and for more than 20 years also by PCR for leptospiral DNA. If the indication for surgery was ophthalmologically inconclusive, an aqueous humor was collected preoperatively and examined for evidence of leptospiral infection. In this study, medical records from 2002 to 2017 were analyzed. Records for 1387 eyes affected by equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) and 237 eyes affected by another type of uveitis met the inclusion criteria. A total of 216 samples from healthy eyes were used as controls. In 83% of intraocular samples from ERU eyes, antibody titers of 1:100 or higher were detectable by microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Similarly, 83% of intraocular samples had anti-Leptospira antibodies detected by ELISA. In 72% of the intraocular specimens, leptospiral DNA was detectable by PCR. No antibodies were detectable in the samples from eyes with another type of uveitis or in the samples from healthy eyes. A PCR was positive in only one sample from a healthy eye. These results with a very high number of intraocular specimens demonstrate the great importance of an intraocular leptospiral infection for ERU. It can be concluded that for a reliable diagnosis of intraocular leptospiral infection or to reliably exclude an infection multiple tests should be applied. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leptospiral Infections in Animals)
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10 pages, 697 KiB  
Article
Longitudinal Testing of Leptospira Antibodies in Horses Located near a Leptospirosis Outbreak in Alpacas
by Charlotte Bolwell, Erica Gee, Brooke Adams, Julie Collins-Emerson, Katherine Scarfe, Shahista Nisa, Emma Gordon, Chris Rogers and Jackie Benschop
Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(8), 426; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9080426 - 12 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2016
Abstract
The objectives of this study were to determine if horses located near an outbreak of leptospirosis in alpacas had Leptospira titres indicative of a previous or current infection and, if so, to determine the magnitude in change of titres over time. Further, the [...] Read more.
The objectives of this study were to determine if horses located near an outbreak of leptospirosis in alpacas had Leptospira titres indicative of a previous or current infection and, if so, to determine the magnitude in change of titres over time. Further, the objective was to determine if horses with high titre results were shedding Leptospira in their urine. Blood samples were collected from twelve horses located on or next to the farm with the outbreak in alpacas, on day zero and at four subsequent time points (two, four, six and nine weeks). The microscopic agglutination test was used to test sera for five serovars endemic in New Zealand: Ballum, Copenhageni, Hardjo, Pomona and Tarassovi. A reciprocal MAT titre cut-off of ≥1:100 was used to determine positive horses. Seven out of twelve horses (58%) were positive to at least one serovar during one of the time points. Two horses recorded titres of ≥1600, one for both Pomona and Copenhageni and the other for Hardjo, and these two horses were both PCR positive for Leptospira in their urine samples. For five out of seven horses, the titres either remained the same or changed by one dilution across the sampling time points. The study confirmed endemic exposure to five endemic Leptospira serovars in New Zealand in a group of horses located near a confirmed leptospirosis outbreak in alpacas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leptospiral Infections in Animals)
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21 pages, 1551 KiB  
Article
Rodent–Human Interface: Behavioral Risk Factors and Leptospirosis in a Province in the Central Region of Thailand
by Kanokwan Suwannarong, Ngamphol Soonthornworasiri, Pannamas Maneekan, Surapon Yimsamran, Karnsunaphat Balthip, Santi Maneewatchararangsri, Watcharee Saisongkorh, Chutarat Saengkul, Suntaree Sangmukdanun, Nittaya Phunta and Pratap Singhasivanon
Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(2), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9020085 - 17 Feb 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4191
Abstract
This sequential explanatory mixed-method study consisted of analytical, cross-sectional, and qualitative studies. The research was conducted in the Khao Nor and Khao Kaew areas of the Banphot Pisai districts of Nakhon Sawan Province in 2019. Here, we examined the rodent contact characteristics of [...] Read more.
This sequential explanatory mixed-method study consisted of analytical, cross-sectional, and qualitative studies. The research was conducted in the Khao Nor and Khao Kaew areas of the Banphot Pisai districts of Nakhon Sawan Province in 2019. Here, we examined the rodent contact characteristics of villagers in these areas and determined the potential characteristics/risk factors associated with rodents using a semi-structured questionnaire, key informant interview (KII), and focus group discussion (FGD). Results of the quantitative study (N1 = 372) characterized participants that contacted rodents per gender, age, occupation, knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP), including their cultural contexts, and beliefs. Ninety participants (24.2%) reported contact with rodents, and the reasons for their direct physical rodent contact were hunting (35, 9.4%), killing (41, 11.0%), preparing rodents as food (33, 8.9%), consuming cooked meats (12, 3.2%), feeding food (4, 1.1%), cleaning feces (17, 4.6%), and cleaning carcasses (33, 8.9%). Moreover, logistic regression results showed that males encountering rodents were statistically significant (Adjusted OR = 3.137, 95% CI 1.914–5.139, p < 0.001). Low monthly household income (<THB 15,000 or <USD 450) was also negatively statistically significant with encountering rodents (Adjusted OR = 0.57, 95% CI 0.33–0.99, p = 0.04). Additionally, the villagers had a low level of knowledge toward zoonotic diseases and inappropriate attitudes and practices toward contacting rodents and zoonotic diseases. Thirty-five qualitative study participants (N2) participated in the KIIs and FGDs. Various rodent contact activities were also reported among the qualitative research participants, such as hunting, consumption, and selling them to their friends and neighbors. However, these rodents also destroyed their belongings, crops, and plants. Some participants also reported that rodents accounted for leptospirosis transmission. As a result, communication intervention should be planned to provide appropriate knowledge and attitude to the villagers, especially among those who have close contact with rodents in the understudied area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leptospiral Infections in Animals)
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15 pages, 1162 KiB  
Article
Leptospira interrogans Serogroup Pomona in a Dairy Cattle Farm in a Multi-Host Zootechnical System
by Antonino Aliberti, Valeria Blanda, Vincenzo Di Marco Lo Presti, Giusi Macaluso, Paola Galluzzo, Cristina Bertasio, Carmela Sciacca, Francesca Arcuri, Rosalia D’Agostino, Dorotea Ippolito, Flavia Pruiti Ciarello, Alessandra Torina and Francesca Grippi
Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(2), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9020083 - 16 Feb 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3653
Abstract
Bovine leptospirosis is an infectious zoonotic disease causing reproductive problems and economic losses in livestock. This work reports, for the first time in Sicily (South Italy), an outbreak of Leptospira interrogans serogroup Pomona that occurred in cattle farms within the Nebrodi Park and [...] Read more.
Bovine leptospirosis is an infectious zoonotic disease causing reproductive problems and economic losses in livestock. This work reports, for the first time in Sicily (South Italy), an outbreak of Leptospira interrogans serogroup Pomona that occurred in cattle farms within the Nebrodi Park and was mainly characterized by full-term abortion. Blood and urine samples were collected at different time points from animals of six different farms (Farms A–F) sharing the same grazing area. Research of antibodies against pathogenic Leptospira species in serum samples was carried out via Micro Agglutination Test (MAT). Urine samples were subjected to pathogen isolation and molecular analyses via TaqMan Real Time-PCR. Genotyping of Leptospira species was obtained by Multi-locus sequence typing. MAT detected antibodies against Leptospira interrogans serogroup Pomona in serum samples of all the farms. Pathogenic Leptospira spp. DNA and culture isolation was obtained from urine samples. Genotyping confirmed the excretion of L. interrogans serogroup Pomona. This study describes clinical manifestations, diagnostic implications and epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak in cattle due to L. interrogans Pomona in a protected multi-host area, where domestic and wild animals share the same habitat, suggesting a role of wild species in transmission and persistence of Pomona serogroup among cattle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leptospiral Infections in Animals)
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