Seroepidemiological survey for leptospirosis in equines from semiarid region of Paraíba state, Northeastern Brazil

The aim of this survey was to determine epidemiological indicators for leptospirosis in equids from Paraiba state, Northeastern Brazil. A total of 138 equids were sampled from 58 rural properties, and for the diagnosis of leptospirosis it was used the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) with 22 serovars as antigens. A seropositivity found was 40.6% (56/138). The reactive serogroups were Australis (43%), Sejroe (16.3%), Icterohaemorrhagiae (14.3%), Grippotyphosa (10.2%), Canicola (6.1%), Tarassovi (4.1%), Pomona (2%), Ballum (2%) and Hebdomadis (2%). Animals over 36 months of age presented higher chance of get seropositive (odds ratio = 3.04; 95% CI = 1.23 – 7.56; P = 0.016). The results obtained in the present work point to the high occurrence of seropositive equids for Leptospira sp. in the semiarid of Paraiba, Northeastern Brazil. As it is the first report of seropositive equidae in Paraiba, other surveys should be conducted in the region aiming to isolate and identify the agent for the determination of the current infection in the animals.