Serologic prevalence of leptospiral infection in the horses in Kurdistan Province in Iran

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease with global distribution, the main source is rodents and wild animals that excrete leptospira in their urine. This study was conducted on 167 horses to determine the serologic prevalence of leptospiral infection in Kurdistan Province, Iran.  Sera were examined at 1:100 dilution using six live serovars of Leptospira interrogans, including Pomona, Canicola, Hardjo, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Australis, and Grippotyphosa, through microscopic agglutination test (MAT). The significance of the obtained results was examined in the SPSS24 software by different tests, including T-test and ANOVA.  Of 167 samples, there were 16 (9.6%) positive and 151 (90.4%) negative samples with significant differences (P < 0.05). Icterohaemorrhagiae was the most abundant strain, and Grippotyphosa and Australis had the least numbers. Hardjo and Pomona were not observed here. The grouping was based on population and determined by dental pattern. Age groups of < 2 years, 2-4 years, and 4-6 years presented one (2.94%), seven (10.60%), and eight (18.6%) positive samples. No positive samples were found in samples aged over six years, with no significant differences among the age groups. Of 91 mares and 76 stallions, 12 (13.18%) mares, and 4 (5.26%) stallions were positive. The sexes were not significantly different in terms of serologic leptospiral infection. Of 16 positive samples, Kurdish, Arab, and hybrid races comprised seven (43.8%), five (31.3%), and four (25%) of the horses, respectively. Significant differences were observed among the genera and races of the horses infected with different Leptospira serovars (P < 0.05). It can, therefore, be concluded that serologic infection with different Leptospira serovars is found in the horses studied in Kurdistan Province, which necessitates preventive measures against its further prevalence.