The Prevalence of Leptospiral Antibodies in Free Roaming Cats in Worcester County, Massachusetts

Abstract

Background: Serosurveys of cats for exposure to or infection with leptospires have been published from other geographic areas, but none for cats in the United States in the past 4 decades.Hypothesis/Objectives: The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the prevalence of leptospiral antibodies in a population of free roaming cats in Worcester County, (central) Massachusetts.Animals: Sixty-three free roaming cats presenting to a trap-neuter-return (TNR) program. Methods: Prospective study. Serum was collected from 63 free roaming cats presented to a university associated TNR. Microagglutination titers to Leptospira interrogans serovars Autumnalis, Hardjo, Bratislava, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Canicola, Pomona, and L kirshneri Grippotyphosa were determined.Results: A total of 3 of 63 cats (4.8%) had a titer of 1 : 100 or greater to one or more serovars, with Autumnalis being the most common. None of the cats were seropositive to Hardjo, Grippotyphosa, or Canicola.Conclusions and clinical importance: These results are consistent with previously published seroprevalence rates in feral cats. Additional studies are required to determine the role of leptosporosis in clinical disease in the domestic cat.

Current Understanding of the Pathogenesis of Progressive Chronic Kidney Disease in Cats

“…[66][67][68][69] Experimental studies suggest that cats are largely resistant to acute leptospirosis although reports of clinical cases suggests that this is a possibility. 67,70 A study by Rodriguez and colleagues has compared seropositivity and urinary PCR between CKD cats and non-age matched controls.…”

ANTICORPOS ANTI-Leptospira spp. E LEPTOSPIRÚRIA EM GATOS NA REGIÃO METROPOLITANA DE CURITIBA/PR-BRASIL

“…A razão para os valores baixos permanece desconhecida, alguns autores sugerem que isso possa ocorrer por uma resposta imune rápida, seguida de rápido declínio no título (Shophet e Marshall, 1980) ou pela necessidade de baixos títulos de anticorpos para controlar a infecção (Rodriguez et al, 2014). Há ainda a hipótese de que os sorovares que afetam os gatos podem não ser descritos até o momento ou serem diferentes dos habitualmente testados para cães e humanos, sendo assim, a prevalência dos estudos estaria correlacionada a reações cruzadas entre os sorovares (Markovich et al, 2012).…”

“…Após recuperação da doença clínica alguns animais podem tornar-se portadores assintomáticos, e contaminarem o ambiente por longos períodos com eliminação de leptospiras pela urina (Adler e Moctezuma, 2010). A grande quantidade de espécies capazes de albergar e eliminar a bactéria assegura a persistência do agente no ambiente e também o elevado potencial de infecção (Markovich et al, 2012).…”

Leptospirosis in dogs and cats: epidemiology, clinical disease, zoonotic implications and prevention

“…These authors also indicate that the role of cat's characteristics such as age, sex, breed, lifestyle or the contact with reservoir hosts as potential risk factors for the infection have not been largely investigated in observational studies. Markovich et al (2012) add that the role of age, sex, breed in the disease epidemiology has not received much attention, therefore there is an urgent need for further research.…”