Prevalence of Leptospirosis in Population of Wild Carnivores on Croatian Teritory

Ovaj rad donosi pregled rezultata seroloških istraživanja pojavnosti protutijela za leptospirozu u divljih mesojeda na području Republike Hrvatske, tijekom vremenskog perioda od dvadeset godina (1997. - 2016.). Ne teritoriju RH-a ukupno je prikupljeno nekoliko tisuća uzoraka divljih (lisica, vuk, čagalj, ris, divlja mačka, kune) i domaćih (pas i mačka) mesojeda, dok je u recentnom istraživanju prikupljeno 586 uzoraka krvnih seruma divljih (lisice i kune) te 535 uzoraka domaćih (psi i mačke) mesojeda. Od ukupno 586 uzoraka divljih mesojeda u 179 seruma (30,5 %) pronađena su protutijela za devet različitih serovara (Australis, Sejroe, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Ballum, Pomona, Grippotyphosa, Saxkoebing, Tarassovi i Canicola) bakterije Leptospira spp., a kao najučestaliji serovari u populaciji divljih mesojeda utvrđeni su Australis (32,2 %) i Sejroe (20,1 %) za lisice, dok su najučestaliji serovari u kuna bili Australis (24,5 %), Pomona (21,8 %) i Sejroe (21,6 %). Od ukupno 535 uzoraka domaćih mesojeda u 128 seruma (23,9 %) pronađena su protutijela za svih dvanaest pretraživanih serovara, a kao najučestaliji serovari u populaciji domaćih mesojeda utvrđeni su sv. Pomona (30,8 %), sv. Grippotyphosa (20,1 %) i sv. Icterohaemorrhagiae (20,1 %) za pse, dok je najučestaliji serovar u mačaka bio sv. Pomona (21,8 %). Sa ciljem utvrđivanja pojavnosti protutijela za leptospire u divljih mesojeda tijekom dužeg vremenskog perioda, usporedili smo naše rezultate s prethodno provedenim serološkim istraživanjima. Analiza svih prikupljenih seroloških podataka pokazala je najveću učestalost serumskih protutijela u krvi divljih mesojeda za serovare Australis i Sejroe, dok je u domaćih mesojeda utvrđena značajno smanjena prisutnost serovara Canicola (3 %) uz istovremeni porast pojavnosti serovara Pomona, Grippotyphosa i Icterohaemorrhagiae. Na temelju provedenih istraživanja možemo zaključiti da su divlji mesojedi, posebice lisice vrlo važna karika u širenju leptospiroze u prirodi, a zbog njihovog sve češćeg dolaska u naseljena mjesta, naročito u blizinu odlagališta smeća, postaju sve veća prijetnja kako domaćim životinjama, tako i ljudima u pogledu širenja leptospiroze.This work presents a review of the results of serological investigations about the occurrence of different Leptospira spp. antibodies in wild carnivores in the Republic of Croatia over a period of twenty years (1997 - 2016). On the Croatian territory a total of several thousand specimens of the wild (fox, wolf, golden jackal, lynx, wild cat, martens) and domestic (dog and cat) carnivores were collected, while in the recent study 586 samples of wild (foxes and martens) and 535 samples of domestic (dogs and cats) carnivores were tested. Of the 586 samples of wild carnivores in 179 serums (30.5%) antibodies were found for nine different serovars (Australis, Sejroe, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Ballum, Pomona, Grippotyphos, Saxkoebing, Tarassov and Canicola) of Leptospira spp. As the most common serovars in wild carnivore population Australis (32.2%) and Sejroe (20.1%) were detected in red foxes, while Australis (24.5%), Pomona (21.8%) and Sejroe (21.6%) were found as a most common serovars in martens. Out of a 535 samples of domestic carnivores in 128 (23.9%) samples antibodies were found for all twelve searched serovars, and as the most frequent serovars in the population of domestic carnivores we detected Pomona (30.8%), Grippotyphosa (20.1%) and Icterohaemorrhagiae (20.1%) for dogs, while the most frequent serovar in cats was Pomona (21.8%). In order to determine the occurrence of antibodies for different serovars of Leptospira spp. in wild carnivores over a longer period of time, we compared our results with previously conducted serological studies. The analysis of all collected serological data showed the highest incidence of serum antibodies in the blood of wild carnivores for serovars Australis and Sejroe, while in serum of domestic carnivores presence of antibodies for serovar Canicola was significantly low (3%) , with a simultaneous increase of antibodies for serovars Pomona, Grippotyphosa and Icterohaemorrhagiae. On the basis of our research we can conclude that wild carnivores, especially foxes, are a very important link in the spreading cycle of leptospirosis in nature, and because of their frequent appearances in urban environment, especially in the vicinity of garbage dumps, they are become constant threat to both domestic animals and humans regarding to the spread of leptospirosi