Seroprevalence of Leptospira in feral dogs from El Pedregal de San Ángel Ecological Reserve, Mexico

Leptospirosis is the most widely distributed zoonotic disease worldwide, which is caused by 17 species of spirochetes of the genus Leptospira. . These microorganisms are associated with a wide range of vertebrate hosts, particularly canids, in which they can generate a wide range of clinical signs, which can go from a subclinical infection to acute cases that generates liver and / or kidney disfunction. Given that dogs are considered as sentinel units that allows identifying the degree of dissemination of these bacteria in the environment, for this reason epidemiological surveillance is a priority in these hosts. The aim of this study was to identify the sero-reactivity against the species of the genus Leptospira in free-range and feral canids in an urban ecological reserve in Mexico City and explore its implications for public health and conservation medicine. Serum samples were obtained from 19 dogs, which were subjected to the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). The frequency of anti- Leptospira spp. antibodies in feral dogs was 100% (95% CI 82.3-100), with sero- reactivity against three serovars. This is the first approach that identifies the degree of exposure to Leptospira spp. in feral dogs in Mexico, particularly in an Ecological Reserve.