Results
Out of the 1.265 animals sampled, 90 (7.1%) tested positive by MAT.
Seropositivity for Leptospira was heterogeneous among species,
and anti-Leptospira agglutinins were found in 14.3% of the
synanthropic rodents (19/133), 9.4% of the domestic animals (64/682),
and 1.6% of the wild animals included (7/450). Equines and tegu lizards
were the most seroreactive species, with seroreactivity of 62.5% and
30.8%, respectively. Conversely, none of the rock cavies had
anti-Leptospira agglutinins, and only three out of the 435 cattle
egrets tested positive (0.7%). Regarding the other species sampled, 4%
of chickens tested positive (4/100), while 5% of cats (11/220), 6% of
sheep (5/83), 9.6% of dogs (14/146), 16,7% of goats (2/12), and 17.1%
of cattle (18/105) presented detectable agglutinins by MAT.
Seroreactivity rates of Norway rats and brown rats were 12% (3/25) and
14.8% (16/108), respectively. Table 1 shows the seropositivity
according to the species studied and most likely infecting serogroups
found among the seroreactive animals.
Table 1: Number and percentage of animals presenting
anti-Leptospira spp. agglutinins according to the reacting
serogroups and the highest titration found for each animal species, July
2007 to April 2014, Fernando de Noronha, Brazil.