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A study of leptospirosis in South African horses and associated risk factors

Dissertation (MAST)--University of Pretoria, 2015.

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Other Authors: Gummow, Bruce
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2016
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Gummow, Bruce
author_browse Gummow, Bruce
author_facet Gummow, Bruce
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2016 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MAST)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
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license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2016
publishDateRange 2016
publishDateSort 2016
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/53311 A study of leptospirosis in South African horses and associated risk factors Gummow, Bruce vsimbizi@yahoo.fr Simbizi, Vincent UCTD Leptospirosis Horses Equine diseases Seroprevalence Veterinary science theses SDG-02 Veterinary science theses SDG-03 Veterinary science theses SDG-12 Dissertation (MAST)--University of Pretoria, 2015. Most leptospiral infections in horses are asymptomatic; however, acute disease manifestations as well as reproductive failure and recurrent uveitis have been reported. In South Africa, the epidemiology of the disease in horses is not well documented. A serosurvey to determine what serovars were present in horses from Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape Provinces and to get an estimate of the seroprevalence of leptospirosis was carried out from January 2013 until April 2014 with the assistance of four large equine hospitals: Baker & McVeigh Equine Hospital (2 branches), the Equine Clinic of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria and the Drakenstein Veterinary Clinic. Furthermore, associations between potential risk factors and both seropositive horses to the predominant serovar Bratislava and to Leptospira spp were statistically evaluated using univariable analysis and multivariable logistic regression models. Adult horses admitted to each equine hospital and horses seen on ambulatory service for various purposes were included in the study. Severely-ill, chronically infected, and horses with underlying immunosuppressive conditions were excluded from sampling, to control for potential bias. A total of 663 horse sera were collected and tested against a panel of 24 leptospiral serovars using the microscopic agglutination test. The most predominant serovars in Gauteng were Bratislava [32%, 95% CI: 29-35%]; Djasiman [10.4%, 95% CI: 8-12%] and Arborea [8.9%, 95% CI: 7-11%], in the Western Cape Province, Bratislava [27.35%, 95% CI: 23-32]; Djasiman [15.4%, 95% CI: 12-19%] and Arborea [14.5%, 95% CI: 11-18%] and in KwaZulu-Natal, Bratislava [39.4%, 95% CI: 34-44%]; Arborea [9.6%, 95% CI: 7-13%]; and Tarassovi [7.7%, 95% CI: 5-10%] respectively. Twenty one serovars representing 17 serogroups were detected in South African horses with serovar Bratislava being the most serodominant. The apparent prevalence to one or more serovars of Leptospira spp at a serum dilution of 1:100 in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape Provinces was 49%; 37% and 32% respectively. The true prevalence was calculated for each province taking into account the clustering effect during the sampling and was found to be between 24-74% in Gauteng; 26-39% in the Western Cape and 20-54% in KwaZulu-Natal. Nooitgedacht (South African horse breed) horses were found to be at greater risk of being seropositive to both serovar Bratislava (OR=5.08) and Leptospira spp (OR=6.3). Similarly, horses residing on properties with forestry in the vicinity were found to be at greater risk of being seropositive to both serovar Bratislava (OR=9.3) and Leptospira spp (OR=5.2). This study has shown that a high proportion of horses in South Africa are exposed to a wide range of serovars, inferring a complex epidemiology. It also describes for the first time new serovars of Leptospira in South African horses that have not previously been reported. tm2016 es2026 Paraclinical Sciences MAST SDG-02: Zero hunger SDG-03: Good health and well-being SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production 2016-06-22T08:00:44Z 2016-06-22T08:00:44Z 2016-04-21 2015 Dissertation Simbizi, V 2015, A study of leptospirosis in South African horses and associated risk factors, MAST Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53311> A2016 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53311 en © 2016 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Leptospirosis
Horses
Equine diseases
Seroprevalence
Veterinary science theses SDG-02
Veterinary science theses SDG-03
Veterinary science theses SDG-12
A study of leptospirosis in South African horses and associated risk factors
title A study of leptospirosis in South African horses and associated risk factors
title_full A study of leptospirosis in South African horses and associated risk factors
title_fullStr A study of leptospirosis in South African horses and associated risk factors
title_full_unstemmed A study of leptospirosis in South African horses and associated risk factors
title_short A study of leptospirosis in South African horses and associated risk factors
title_sort study of leptospirosis in south african horses and associated risk factors
topic UCTD
Leptospirosis
Horses
Equine diseases
Seroprevalence
Veterinary science theses SDG-02
Veterinary science theses SDG-03
Veterinary science theses SDG-12
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53311