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    Seroprevalence of leptospirosis in dogs in urban Harare and selected rural communities in Zimbabwe

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    Dhliwayo_et al_Seroprevalence_of_Leptospirosis_in_dogs_in_urban_Harare.pdf (420.5Kb)
    Date
    2012
    Author
    Dhliwayo, Solomon
    Matope, Gift
    Marabini, Lisa
    Dutlow, Keith
    Pfukenyi, Davies M
    Type
    Article
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    Abstract
    A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate seroprevalence of canine leptospirosis in urban Harare and five selected rural communities in Zimbabwe and to assess public awareness of the disease. Sera from randomly selected dogs were tested for antibodies to the serovars Canicola, Grippotyphosa, Icterohaemorrhagiae and Pomona of Leptospira interrogans using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Clinical chemistry was performed on all seropositive and selected seronegative sera to screen for hepatic and renal insufficiency. A questionnairebased survey was conducted in Harare to assess dog owners’ awareness of leptospirosis and other zoonoses. Overall, 15.6% of sera samples tested (39 out of 250; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 11.0% – 20.2%) were positive for leptospiral antibodies. A significantly higher (p < 0.05) seroprevalence was recorded in urban dogs than in rural dogs (25% vs. 11.2%). No significant difference in seroprevalence was observed amongst dogs from different rural communities or between sexes of dogs. There was a significant association between seropositivity and hepatic and/or renal insufficiency (p < 0.01), with dogs having hepatic and/or renal insufficiency being approximately twice as likely to be seropositive (relative risk = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.3–3.0). Of the dog owners, 78.8% (119/151) were aware of zoonoses. Except for rabies (92.4%), awareness of leptospirosis (5.0%) and other zoonoses amongst these owners was low. This study showed that leptospirosis was present and represented a risk to dogs from urban Harare and the selected rural communities in Zimbabwe. Availing training programmes for dog owners would be beneficial in improving disease control and reducing the public health risk of pet zoonoses.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10646/1315
    Additional Citation Information
    Dhliwayo, S., Matope, G., Marabini, L., Dutlow, K. & Pfukenyi, D.M., 2012, ‘Seroprevalence of leptospirosis in dogs in urban Harare and selected rural communities in Zimbabwe’, Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research 79(1), Art. #447, 6 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ ojvr.v79i1.447
    Sponsor
    Council for Assisting Refugee Academics (CARA), the AWARE Trust of Zimbabwe and the University of Zimbabwe Research Board Grant no. RB/103/11
    Publisher
    AOSIS OpenJournals
    Subject
    pet zoonoses
    canine leptospirosis
    bacterial zoonosis
    dogs
    Collections
    • Clinical Vet Staff Publications [11]

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