The First Molecular Screening of Equine Leptospiral Infection in Iran

Leptospira is one of the spiral-shaped Gram-negative bacteria, which includes pathogenic (Leptospira interrogans) and non-pathogenic (Leptospira biflexa) species. This bacterium is zoonotic and is scattered all over the world. It infects a wide range of hosts, including humans, domestic animals and, rodents. Investigation and identification of Leptospira in horses is often neglected or less addressed. However, this infection in horses can cause significant economic losses, such as the loss of expensive foals of rare breeds. Leptospirosis in horses is often subclinical and shows fewer clinical symptoms, especially in adults, but in acute cases, it is associated with jaundice, hemoglobinuria, renal dysfunction, lethargy, periodic ophthalmia and, abortion in mares. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate Leptospiral infection in horses. For this purpose, 100 blood samples with anticoagulants were taken from the jugular veins of clinically healthy horses in Kerman province, Iran. Then, using the DNA extraction kit, according to the manufacturer's instructions, the DNA of the samples was extracted. In the following, a PCR technique using specific primers of the 16SrRNA gene of Leptospira interrogans was used to trace Leptospira bacteria. No positive samples were found. Based on these results, it can be concluded that Leptospira bacteria likely do not exist in the horses of Kerman city, Iran.