"Evaluaciòn de la capacidad de eliminaciòn de Leptospira patògena en orina a travès de las caracteristicas asociadas a la presentaciòn de la infecciòn en perros domèsticos de los cantones Manta, Portoviejo y Sucre".

Abstract

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis with worldwide distribution, caused by a motile spirochete bacterium of the genus Leptospira, belonging to the Leptospiraceae family, which includes two phenotypic species: Leptospira interrogans and Leptospira biflexa, which affects more than 160 species of domestic and wild animals, being transmitted by direct contact of mucous membranes or abraded skin with infected urine, soil, water, contaminated food and also by ingestion of infected tissues. The present work sought to detect the proportion of canines that eliminate pathogenic Leptospira by urine using a cross-sectional study, with a non-probabilistic sampling, the sample size was taken assuming a confidence level of 95%, an expected prevalence of 26%. and an accepted error of 5% for the cantons of Manta, Portoviejo and Sucre in the province of Manabí, collecting a total of 298 urine samples. The DNA obtained from the samples was analyzed by conventional PCR targeting the lipL32 (HAP1) gene, the main outer membrane protein found in pathogenic Leptospira species. Obtaining a result of 2.01% (6/298) prevalence of pathogenic Leptospira DNA, where the highest cases of positivity came from canines with owners, compared to animals without an owner. It is recommended to vaccinate canines against Leptospira since the bacterium remains in the environment for a long time and may be released by maintenance hosts infecting susceptible animals.