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Prevalence and serovars of leptospira involved in equine abortions in central Kentucky during the 1991-1993 foaling seasons.
Abstract: In this study, the prevalence of leptospira-induced abortions/stillbirths for the past 3 foaling seasons (1991-1993) was determined, and fetal tissues and/or the mare's urine from positive cases were cultured in an attempt to isolate and identify the leptospira serovars responsible for the abortions. The sensitivity and specificity of the primary diagnostic tests, the fluorescent antibody test (FAT) and the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), used for the diagnosis of leptospirosis were also determined. For the 3 years, 74 (3.3%) of 2,264 abortion/stillborn submissions were diagnosed as leptospirosis. Twelve cases occurred in the 1991, 19 in the 1992, and 43 in the 1993 foaling seasons. Leptospires were isolated from 45 (60.8%) of the 74 cases, and they were identified as serovar kennewicki (43 cases), serovar grippotyphosa (1 case), and a serovar similar to pomona (1 case). Of the 29 culture-negative cases, serologic results indicated that leptospires in the Pomona serogroup (kennewicki is a member of this serogroup) were responsible for 25 abortions, leptospires in the Grippotyphosa serogroup for 1 abortion, and leptospires in the Sejroe serogroup for 1 abortion. The specificities of the FAT on fetal tissues and mare's placenta and of the MAT on fetal fluid were 100%. The sensitivity of the FAT was 98.7%, and that of the MAT was 81.3%.
Publication Date: 1995-01-01 PubMed ID: 7779971DOI: 10.1177/104063879500700114Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
- Clinical Findings
- Diagnosis
- Disease Diagnosis
- Disease Management
- Disease Outbreaks
- Disease Prevalence
- Disease Surveillance
- Disease Treatment
- Epidemiology
- Equine Health
- Horses
- Infectious Disease
- Leptospira
- Microscopic Agglutination Test
- Pathogens
- Public Health
- Serodiagnosis
- Seroprevalence
- Serotypes
- Vascular
- Veterinary Medicine
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
This research explored the occurrence and types of leptospira bacterial strains that lead to horse abortions in central Kentucky from 1991-1993. It also analyzed the accuracy of the primary diagnostic tests used for detecting leptospirosis.
Overview of the Research
In this study, the researchers aimed to:
- Estimate the prevalence of leptospira-induced abortions/stillbirths over three foaling seasons (1991-1993)
- Identify the specific leptospira serovars (distinct variations within a species of bacteria) linked to the abortions
- Assess the sensitivity (ability of the test to correctly identify positive cases) and specificity (ability of the test to correctly identify negative cases) of the two primary diagnostic tests—Fluorescent Antibody Test (FAT) and Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) used for the detection of leptospirosis
Findings of the Research
Out of the 2,264 abortion/stillborn submissions over three years, 74 cases (about 3.3%) were diagnosed as leptospirosis. The numbers of leptospirosis-induced abortions increased each year: 12 cases in 1991, 19 cases in 1992 and 43 cases in 1993.
In 60.8% of these cases, leptospires were successfully isolated and identified as:
- Serovar kennewicki in 43 cases
- Serovar grippotyphosa in one case
- A serovar similar to pomona in one case
From the leftovers 29 culture-negative cases, serologic analysis inferred that:
- The Pomona serogroup (which includes kennewicki) was responsible for 25 abortions
- The Grippotyphosa serogroup caused one abortion
- The Sejroe serogroup caused one abortion
Testing Accuracy
Both the FAT and MAT diagnostic methods showed 100% specificity. The FAT demonstrated sensitivity at 98.7%, while the MAT had sensitivity at 81.3%. These high values indicate that both tests were effective in accurately detecting Leptospirosis, with the FAT being the more sensitive of the two.
Cite This Article
APA
Donahue JM, Smith BJ, Poonacha KB, Donahoe JK, Rigsby CL.
(1995).
Prevalence and serovars of leptospira involved in equine abortions in central Kentucky during the 1991-1993 foaling seasons.
J Vet Diagn Invest, 7(1), 87-91.
https://doi.org/10.1177/104063879500700114 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Veterinary Science, College of Agriculture, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40511, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Abortion, Veterinary / epidemiology
- Abortion, Veterinary / microbiology
- Animals
- Animals, Newborn
- Female
- Fetal Death / veterinary
- Fluorescent Antibody Technique
- Horse Diseases
- Horses
- Kentucky / epidemiology
- Leptospira / classification
- Leptospira / isolation & purification
- Leptospirosis / epidemiology
- Leptospirosis / veterinary
- Pregnancy
- Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / epidemiology
- Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / microbiology
- Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / veterinary
- Prevalence
Citations
This article has been cited 10 times.- Zečević I, Picardeau M, Vince S, Hađina S, Perharić M, Štritof Z, Stevanović V, Benvin I, Turk N, Lohman Janković I, Habuš J. Association between Exposure to Leptospira spp. and Abortion in Mares in Croatia. Microorganisms 2024 May 21;12(6).
- Hamond C, Adam EN, Stone NE, LeCount K, Anderson T, Putz EJ, Camp P, Hicks J, Stuber T, van der Linden H, Bayles DO, Sahl JW, Schlater LK, Wagner DM, Nally JE. Identification of equine mares as reservoir hosts for pathogenic species of Leptospira. Front Vet Sci 2024;11:1346713.
- Anderson T, Hamond C, Haluch A, Toot K, Nally JE, LeCount K, Schlater LK. Animals Exposed to Leptospira Serogroups Not Included in Bacterins in the United States and Puerto Rico. Trop Med Infect Dis 2023 Mar 22;8(3).
- Wollanke B, Gerhards H, Ackermann K. Infectious Uveitis in Horses and New Insights in Its Leptospiral Biofilm-Related Pathogenesis. Microorganisms 2022 Feb 7;10(2).
- Wood PL, Steinman M, Erol E, Carter C, Christmann U, Verma A. Lipidomic analysis of immune activation in equine leptospirosis and Leptospira-vaccinated horses. PLoS One 2018;13(2):e0193424.
- Hamond C, Pinna A, Martins G, Lilenbaum W. The role of leptospirosis in reproductive disorders in horses. Trop Anim Health Prod 2014 Jan;46(1):1-10.
- Szeredi L, Haake DA. Immunohistochemical identification and pathologic findings in natural cases of equine abortion caused by leptospiral infection. Vet Pathol 2006 Sep;43(5):755-61.
- Palaniappan RU, McDonough SP, Divers TJ, Chen CS, Pan MJ, Matsumoto M, Chang YF. Immunoprotection of recombinant leptospiral immunoglobulin-like protein A against Leptospira interrogans serovar Pomona infection. Infect Immun 2006 Mar;74(3):1745-50.
- Palaniappan RU, Chang YF, Jusuf SS, Artiushin S, Timoney JF, McDonough SP, Barr SC, Divers TJ, Simpson KW, McDonough PL, Mohammed HO. Cloning and molecular characterization of an immunogenic LigA protein of Leptospira interrogans. Infect Immun 2002 Nov;70(11):5924-30.
- Zuerner RL, Bolin CA. Differentiation of Leptospira interrogans isolates by IS1500 hybridization and PCR assays. J Clin Microbiol 1997 Oct;35(10):2612-7.
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