Serological detection of anti-leptospiral antibodies in outdoor cats in Switzerland

Sarah Noëmi Hässle; Sabrina Rodriguez-Campos; Judith Howard; Christelle Speiser-Fontaine; Simone Schuller

doi:10.1016/j.vas.2019.100068

Serological detection of anti-leptospiral antibodies in outdoor cats in Switzerland

Vet Anim Sci. 2019 Aug 27:8:100068. doi: 10.1016/j.vas.2019.100068. eCollection 2019 Dec.

Authors

Sarah Noëmi Hässle¹, Sabrina Rodriguez-Campos², Judith Howard³, Christelle Speiser-Fontaine⁴, Simone Schuller¹

Affiliations

¹ Department Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Division of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 128, CH-3001, Bern, Switzerland.
² Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, CH-3012, Bern, Switzerland.
³ Central Diagnostic Laboratory, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 124, CH-3012, Bern, Switzerland.
⁴ Companion Animal Medical Department, Virbac group, 13 rue LID, F-06511, Carros, France.

Abstract

Leptospirosis is endemic in Switzerland affecting a broad range of hosts. The aim of this study was to estimate the exposure of cats to Leptospira in Switzerland. Plasma samples from 107 outdoor cats with an array of clinical problems were tested via microscopic agglutination test for the presence of anti-leptospiral antibodies against 12 serovars of 9 serogroups. Using a reciprocal cut-off titre of 1:100, an overall seroprevalence of 10.3% (95%CI 5.2-17.7) was observed. Seroreactivity against serovars Bratislava (n = 6), Australis (2), Pomona (3) and Copenhageni (1) was detected with reciprocal titres ranging from 1:100 to 1:800. The serologic status of the cats was independent of the disease group (p = 0.62). These results show that cats in Switzerland are commonly exposed to Leptospira and confirm the importance of serogroup Australis in this region.

Keywords: Feline; Leptospirosis; Microscopic agglutination test; Seroprevalence.