Outbreak of Leptospira borgpetersenii Serogroup Sejroe Infection in Kennel: The Role of Dogs as Sentinel in Specific Environments

Andrea Balboni, Elisa Mazzotta, Maria Beatrice Boniotti, Cristina Bertasio, Laura Bellinati, Laura Lucchese, Mara Battilani, Letizia Ceglie, Silvia Marchione, Giulio Esposito and Alda Natale
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Andrea Balboni: Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, 40064 Bologna, Italy
Elisa Mazzotta: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Maria Beatrice Boniotti: Italian Reference Centre for Animal Leptospirosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia Romagna “Bruno Ubertini”, 25121 Brescia, Italy
Cristina Bertasio: Italian Reference Centre for Animal Leptospirosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia Romagna “Bruno Ubertini”, 25121 Brescia, Italy
Laura Bellinati: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Laura Lucchese: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Mara Battilani: Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, 40064 Bologna, Italy
Letizia Ceglie: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Silvia Marchione: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Giulio Esposito: Unità Operativa Complessa Veterinaria A e C Sanità Animale e Igiene degli Allevamenti e delle Produzioni Zootecniche, Azienda USL di Bologna, 40124 Bologna, Italy
Alda Natale: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, 35020 Legnaro, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-12

Abstract: Kennels may represent high-risk environments for the diffusion of Leptospira infection in dogs and consequently a threat to public health. This study describes an outbreak of Leptospira infection in a kennel in Italy in 2020, both with clinically ill and asymptomatic dogs. Fifty-nine dogs, including three ill dogs, were tested for Leptospira spp. infection by the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and real-time qPCR. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) analysis was used to genotype the identified leptospires. Thirty of the fifty-nine (50.9%) dogs had MAT titer and/or molecular positivity indicative of Leptospira infection. Twenty-two of the fifty-nine (37.3%) dogs exhibited seropositivity against at least one serovar belonging to the Sejroe serogroup, and MLST analysis identified L. borgpetersenii serogroup Sejroe ( Leptospira ST155) as responsible for the outbreak. Up to now, Sejroe serogroup infection was sporadically reported in dogs. The extension of the MAT antigen panel to several serovars belonging to the serogroup Sejroe could be useful in the diagnosis of canine leptospirosis. Dogs may serve as sentinel of leptospires in specific environments, and surveillance of Leptospira infection in kennels is strongly recommended even when the correct vaccine prophylaxis is administered, because the vaccines currently available are not able to protect from all of the serogroups.

Keywords: dog; kennel; Italy; Leptospira; outbreak; Sejroe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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