Dragica VOJINOVIĆ et al.: Canine leptospirosis in Belgrade in period 2010-2020
Veterinarski Glasnik 2022, 00, 1-9
UDC:
https://doi.org/10.2298/VETGL210708001V
*Corresponding author – e-mail: vojinovicdragica@yahoo.com
Full Research Article
A SEROLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANINE LEPTOSPIROSIS
IN THE CITY OF BELGRADE, SERBIA
Dragica VOJINOVIĆ
1
*, Jadranka ŽUTIĆ
1
, Ana VASIĆ
2
, Slobodan STANOJEVIĆ
1
,
Ljiljana SPALEVIĆ
1
, Zorana ZUROVAC SAPUNDŽIĆ
1
1
Scientifc Institute of Veterinary Medicine of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia;
2
Institute for Medical Research, National Institute of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Received 08 July 2021; Accepted 29 November 2021
Published online: 14 January 2022
Copyright © 2022 Vojinović et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the Creative Commons
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited
How to cite: Dragica Vojinović, Jadranka Žutić, Ana Vasić, Slobodan Stanojević, Ljiljana Spalević,
Zorana Zurovac Sapundžić. A serological survey of canine leptospirosis in the city of Belgrade,
Serbia. Veterinarski Glasnik, 2022. 00: 1-9. https://doi.org/10.2298/VETGL210708001V
Abstract
Canine leptospirosis is a zoonosis caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Leptospira.
Dogs are one of the animal species involved in the cycle of preservation and transmission
of leptospirosis in urban areas. Serological testing for the presence of specifc antibodies
against Leptospira spp. in dogs was continuously performed between 2010 and 2020 in the
city of Belgrade. At the request of the owners themselves, other veterinary laboratories
or laboratory clinics, 179 blood sera from 179 dogs were examined in the Laboratory for
Immunology, Scientifc Institute of Veterinary Medicine of Serbia. Blood sera samples
from dogs were examined using the standard microscopic agglutination test (MAT)
for the presence of specifc antibodies against seven different serovars of Leptospira:
Pomona, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Grippotyphosa, Sejroe, Canicola, Bataviae, and Australis. The
number of seropositive dogs was 17/179 (9.5%). Among all examined sera, the highest
titre of seropositive samples was to serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae (10/17, 58.8%), followed
by Pomona (4/17, 23.5%), and serovar Canicola (3/17, 17.6%). Specifc antibodies for
serovars Grippotyphosa, Sejroe, Bataviae and Australis were not detected in any of the dog
sera. Cross-reaction (the presence of two or three titres with different values where
one of them was higher than others) between different serovars was diagnosed in a low
number of sera (n=4), with the following serovars: Icterohaemorrhagiae and Pomona (n=3)
and Pomona and Canicola (n=1). The confrmed specifc antibody titres for Leptospira spp.
were between 1:100 to 1:3000 (5 sera had titres of 1:100, 7 had titres of 1:300, 4 had
titres of 1:1000, and 1 serum had a titre 1:3000). Monitoring canine leptospirosis is a
useful tool in preventing leptospirosis in Belgrade.
Key Words: Belgrade, dogs, Leptospira spp., MAT
OnLine First