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Seroprevalence of Leptospira spp. in Horses in Israel.
Abstract: Leptospirosis has been reported in both humans and animals in Israel but has not been reported in horses. In 2018, an outbreak of Leptospira spp. serogroup Pomona was reported in humans and cattle in Israel. In horses, leptospirosis may cause equine recurrent uveitis (ERU). This report describes the first identification of Leptospira serogroup Pomona as the probable cause of ERU in horses in Israel, followed by an epidemiological investigation of equine exposure in the area. Serologic exposure to Leptospira was determined by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) using eight serovars. In 2017, serovar Pomona was identified in a mare with signs of ERU. Seven of thirteen horses from that farm were seropositive for serogroup Pomona, of which three had signs of ERU. During the same time period, 14/70 horses from three other farms were positive for serogroup Pomona. In 2015, two years prior to this diagnosis, 259 horses from 21 farms were sampled and one horse tested seropositive for serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae. In 2018, one year later, 337 horses were sampled on 29 farms, with none testing seropositive. Although horses are not considered a major host of Leptospira spp., it appears that horses may be infected, and clinically affected, in the course of an outbreak in other species. The identification of leptospirosis in stabled horses may impose a significant zoonotic risk to people.
Publication Date: 2021-04-01 PubMed ID: 33915691PubMed Central: PMC8065697DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10040408Google 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
- Clinical Findings
- Diagnosis
- Disease Diagnosis
- Disease Outbreaks
- Disease Transmission
- Epidemiology
- Equine Diseases
- Equine Health
- Horses
- Infectious Disease
- Leptospira
- Microscopic Agglutination Test
- Public Health
- Serodiagnosis
- Serological Surveys
- Seroprevalence
- Uveitis
- Veterinary Medicine
- Veterinary Science
- Zoonotic Diseases
Summary
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This research investigates the prevalence of Leptospirosis, a bacterial disease, in horses in Israel, reporting the first identification of the Leptospira serogroup Pomona as the likely cause of Equine Recurrent Uveitis (ERU) in horses in the country and assessing the disease’s potential to transfer to humans.
Understanding Leptospirosis
- Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects both humans and animals. It’s caused by the bacteria Leptospira.
- In horses, the disease can cause a condition called Equine Recurrent Uveitis (ERU), an inflammation of the uvea, a middle layer of the eye.
- Despite prior reports of Leptospirosis in humans and animals in Israel, no incidents involving horses had been documented until this research.
Investigation and Findings
- In the year 2018 in Israel, an outbreak of the Leptospira serogroup Pomona was recorded among humans and cattle. Subsequently, similar cases started emerging among horses, marking the first-reported instance of this serogroup as the likely cause of ERU in horses in the country.
- The researchers conducted an epidemiological investigation to study equine exposure across the region. They used a diagnostic process known as the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) to determine exposure to Leptospira, assisted by an investigation of eight different serovars (variants of a bacterial species).
- The results demonstrated that seven out of thirteen horses from a single farm tested positive for serogroup Pomona, with three experiencing signs of ERU.
- Further testing across three different farms during the same time period found 14 out of 70 horses to be positive for serogroup Pomona.
Historical Investigation and Implications
- A look into the past revealed that in 2015, two years before the outbreak, only one horse among the 259 sampled from 21 different farms tested positive for a different variant, serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae.
- By contrast, in 2018 (one year after the outbreak), 337 horses across 29 different farms were tested, and all samples came back negative for the bacteria.
- The research brings to light that horses, although not traditionally considered primary hosts of Leptospira, can indeed be infected and show symptoms during an outbreak in other species.
- The presence of leptospirosis in horses, particularly those in stable conditions, could pose a notable zoonotic risk—that is, a risk of diseases transferring from animals to humans. This is a concern that requires attention from both public health officials and owners given the close interaction between people and horses.
Cite This Article
APA
Tirosh-Levy S, Baum M, Schvartz G, Kalir B, Pe'er O, Shnaiderman-Torban A, Bernstein M, Blum SE, Steinman A.
(2021).
Seroprevalence of Leptospira spp. in Horses in Israel.
Pathogens, 10(4).
https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10040408 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
- Division of Bacteriology and Mycology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Bet Dagan 50200, Israel.
- Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
- Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
- Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
- Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
- Division of Bacteriology and Mycology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Bet Dagan 50200, Israel.
- Division of Bacteriology and Mycology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Bet Dagan 50200, Israel.
- Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Citations
This article has been cited 5 times.- Braga CDS, Zeppelini CG. Leptospira in Brazilian Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera): A Systematic Review. Vet Med Sci 2025 Nov;11(6):e70619.
- Benvin I, Paisie TK, Caetano Varanda I, Weiner ZP, Stoddard RA, Gee JE, Gulvik CA, Marston CK, Mojčec Perko V, Štritof Z, Habuš J, Margaletić J, Vucelja M, Bjedov L, Turk N. Whole Genome Characterization of Leptospira kirschneri Serogroup Pomona in Croatia: Insights into Its Diversity and Evolutionary Emergence. Pathogens 2025 Aug 29;14(9).
- Zeng J, Wu M, Zhou Y, Zhu M, Liu X. Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) in Ocular Diseases: An Update. Biomolecules 2022 Oct 8;12(10).
- Geiger T, Gerhards H, Wollanke B. Detection of Anti-LipL32 Antibodies in Serum Samples from Horses with Chronic Intraocular Infection with Leptospira spp. Pathogens 2021 Oct 14;10(10).
- Wasiński B, Paschalis-Trela K, Trela J, Czopowicz M, Kita J, Żychska M, Cywińska A, Markowska-Daniel I, Carter C, Witkowski L. Serological Survey of Leptospira Infection in Arabian Horses in Poland. Pathogens 2021 Jun 1;10(6).
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