Seroprevalence of 16 Leptospira Serovars in Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) Hunted in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

In order to investigate the occurrence and epidemiology of leptospirosis in the wild boar (<i>Sus scrofa</i>) population of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, blood samples were collected from 2616 wild boar regularly hunted in 2023 and 2024. The diagnostic investigations were performed using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) using a panel of fifteen pathogenic and one intermediate serovar of <i>Leptospira</i> spp. Overall, 12.4% (325/2616) (CI 95% 11.2-13.7) of wild boar were seropositive, with Australis being the most prevalent serovar (22.8%), followed by Pomona (13.2%) and Pyrogenes (12.3%). Specific antibodies against the intermediate <i>Leptospira fainei</i> serovar Hurstbridge were also detected in 8% of the positive samples. Based on these results, we conclude that wild boar are regularly infected with different zoonotic <i>Leptospira</i> serovars. As these hunted animals are tested for other notifiable diseases, additional screening for specific antibodies against <i>Leptospira</i> spp. could be easily implemented. This would be an important tool for detecting human and domestic animals' risk of exposure and may provide insight into which <i>Leptospira</i> serovars might be currently of clinical relevance.