High prevalence and diversity of Leptospira pathogenic serogroups in pigs, cows and free roaming dogs from undeserved rural communities in the coastal region of Ecuador

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease with global distribution but endemic to tropical regions that affects animal production systems. In Ecuador, leptospirosis is endemic with records of human outbreaks dated from more than one century ago, and where the role of animal reservoirs in the transmission dynamics is not well understood. In this study, we carried out a serological surveillance by Microagglutination Test with a panel of 24 serovars for 545 animals represented by pigs and cows, and free roaming dogs from undeserved rural communities in the province of Guayas (Coastal Region of Ecuador). Our results underscore a wide diversity of pathogenic serogroups with high prevalence across animal species including Bataviae, Australis, Pomoma, Canicola, Djasiman or Grippotyphosa. Moreover, a high seroprevalence for antibodies against <i>Leptospira</i> was found across all the species analyzed, with values of 87 % (CI95 %: 70,6-100) in dogs, 66.7 % (CI95 %: 53,6-79,7) in cows, and 100 % (CI95 %: 80,4-100) in pigs. Our results confirm previous finding about the complex epidemiology of leptospirosis in Ecuador, comprising multiples serogroups and animal reservoirs. Therefore, we strongly recommend incorporating an integrative One Health approach for the surveillance and prevention of leptospirosis in Ecuador.