Abstract
Simple SummaryAlthough Leptospira infection occurs in domestic cat populations, studies on leptospirosis are very limited in felines and the role of cats in the epidemiology of this zoonosis has not received much attention. The present work is an epidemiologic study intended to determine the prevalence of anti-Leptospira antibodies and risk factors related with the seropositivity in cats from urban and rural environments. A higher prevalence in rural cats was detected (25.2%) compared with urban animals (1.8%). Characteristics of the habitat of the animals and some agricultural activities performed by cat’s owners were found to be risk factors associated with the seropositivity.Leptospirosis is an emerging zoonotic disease of worldwide distribution. A cross-sectional study was conducted in urban and rural environments in southern Chile (1) to detect domestic cats with serologic evidence of exposure to Leptospira spp.; (2) to determine the prevalence of anti-Leptospira antibodies; (3) to describe seroprevalences according to different characteristics of the animals, and (4) to identify risk factors associated with the seropositivity in the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT). Blood samples were taken from 124 owned cats. A frequentist and Bayesian approach were applied for prevalence estimation. The overall apparent prevalence of anti-Leptospira antibodies was 8.1% (95% Confident Interval = 3.9–4.3). With the Bayesian approach, the overall True Prevalence (TP) was 5.2% (95% Credibility Interval (CrI) = 0.6–12.4). The TP for urban cats was 1.8% (95% CrI = 0.1–7.2) and the TP for rural felines was 25.2% (95% CrI = 9.3–46.6). Cats that live in a place where agricultural activities are performed with water that flows in streams or backwater and cats that live in places near flooded areas had a higher risk of seropositivity in MAT. The exposure to Leptospira spp. in domestic cats of urban and rural origin in Southern Chile is a public health concern that requires an increased awareness and the implementation of preventive measures.
Highlights
Leptospirosis is an emerging zoonotic disease of worldwide distribution that is caused by spirochaetes of the genus Leptospira [1]
Due to the limited ability to diagnose Leptospira infection in endemic regions worldwide [9], and given that the clinical leptospirosis is difficult to recognize or is less frequent in cats than in other animal species [6], it is possible that the infection may be subdiagnosed in feline populations, for example, in cats that have a history of living outdoor or that have the habit of hunting and the potential risk factors associated with the seropositivity in diagnostic tests for leptospirosis have not been widely investigated in observational studies [3]
To investigate whether certain characteristics of the cats, their lifestyle or features of their habitat could influence the seropositivity to Leptospira spp., the aims of this study were the following: (1) to detect the presence of domestic cats with serologic evidence of exposure to Leptospira spp. in urban and rural environments; (2) to determine the prevalence of anti-Leptospira antibodies in both environments; (3) to describe prevalences according to the urban and rural origin and the different characteristics of the cats; and
Summary
Leptospirosis is an emerging zoonotic disease of worldwide distribution that is caused by spirochaetes of the genus Leptospira [1]. It was thought that domestic cats were resistant to infections caused by spirochaetes and many practitioners do not consider the feline leptospirosis in the differential diagnosis of other diseases [2]. Due to the limited ability to diagnose Leptospira infection in endemic regions worldwide [9], and given that the clinical leptospirosis is difficult to recognize or is less frequent in cats than in other animal species [6], it is possible that the infection may be subdiagnosed in feline populations, for example, in cats that have a history of living outdoor or that have the habit of hunting and the potential risk factors associated with the seropositivity in diagnostic tests for leptospirosis have not been widely investigated in observational studies [3]. To investigate whether certain characteristics of the cats, their lifestyle or features of their habitat could influence the seropositivity to Leptospira spp., the aims of this study were the following: (1) to detect the presence of domestic cats with serologic evidence of exposure to Leptospira spp. in urban and rural environments; (2) to determine the prevalence of anti-Leptospira antibodies in both environments; (3) to describe prevalences according to the urban and rural origin and the different characteristics of the cats; and (4) to identify risk factors associated with the seropositivity to Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT)
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