Serological survey of leptospiral infections in sheep, goats and dogs in Cordillera province, Bolivta.

A serological survey for antibodies to Leptospira spp. was conducted on sheep, goat and dog serum samples collected in three localities in Cordillera province in the southern part of the Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia) in 1992. A total of 98 sheep, 218 goats and 43 dogs were tested against 29 leptospiral serovars using the microscopic agglutination test. At the time of blood collection all of the examined animals appeared healthy and presented no clinical sign suggestive of leptospirosis. Antibody prevalences, as determined by positive results at a 1:100 dilution or higher, was 14.3% in sheep, 19.7% in goats, and 14.0% in dogs. Agglutinins against six serovars (poi. shermani, pomona, canicola, javanica, djasiman) were found in positive animals. The highest serological prevalence in sheep and goats was recorded for serovar poi, followed by pomona in sheep and shermani in goats. Titres to shermani were the commonest in dogs. The results of this survey indicate that leptospiral infection is common in south-east Bolivia and that serovars of several serogroups concur in the etiology.