Environmental factors associated with seroprevalence of Leptospira spp. infection in stray and shelter dogs in the Caatinga biome

ABSTRACT: Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that must be studied on the One Health point of view. It is possible that there are particularities in the epidemiology of leptospirosis in Caatinga biome, where the environment is often unfavorable and challenges the adaptability of Leptospira spp. Overall, 100 dogs (47 shelter and 53 stray dogs) selected based on sampling calculation were used to evaluate the Leptospira spp. seroprevalence and associated factors. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was applied to detect anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies (cut-off titer 50). Risk factors were identified using the robust Poisson regression analysis. Twenty-four animals (24%; 95% CI = 15.6% - 32.4%) were seroreactive, antibody titers ranged from 50 to 200, and the reacting serogroups were Ballum (17%), Autumnalis (6%) and Djasiman (1%). The factors/categories associated with seropositivity were the environment where the animal stay/soil (prevalence ratio [PR] = 6.03; 95% CI for PR: 1.86 - 7.69; P < 0.001) and access to polluted water/yes (PR = 3.79; 95% CI for PR: 1.85 - 24.22; P = 0.011). The results suggested leptospirosis as a concern in the One Health context in stray and shelter dogs from the Caatinga biome despite the adverse conditions of this biome for the survive of Leptospira spp. on the environment. Moreover, despite being social and government issues, factors such as environment where the animal stay (soil) and access to polluted water must be carefully deemed and corrected to avoid the transmission of leptospires to animals and humans.