Seroprevalence and risk factors of antibodies against Leptospira spp. in ovines from Uberlândia municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil

The objectives of the present study were to verify the seroprevalence of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies, identify the most frequent serovars and the risk factors associated with the infection in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. A total of 334 ovines blood samples were collected in 12 farms from Uberlândia municipality to be evaluated by means the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) against 22 serovars of Leptospira spp. and an epidemiologic questionnaire was applied for each farm in order to correlate with risk factors of leptospirosis: sex, age and breed as well as contact with cattle, contact with dogs and presence of rodents. The prevalence of seropositive to MAT was found in seventy four ovines (22.2%; CI 95% 17.6-26.4%), with titers ranging from 100 to 3200. The most frequent serovars identified were: Hardjo, Autumnalis, Hardjo and Wolffi association and Grippotyphosa. Statistically significant differences were found in males, pure breeds and presence of rodents (p<0.05). The prevalence of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies found in the present study demonstrated that this bacterium occurs in ovines of Uberlândia municipality, MG, Brazil. The need for the adoption of efficient management for the control of rodents and infection in ovines in order to avoid leptospirosis in the local flocks and future transmission to humans.