Objectives

This is the first serological study of leptospirosis in Mashhad, Iran, in order to determine the predominant serovars of leptospira in stray dogs population in this region of country.

Materials & Methods

Serum samples collected from 292 stray dogs during april 30 to the end of September 2002 from the Mashhad area were tested for leptospira antibodies, using the microscopic agglutination test.

Results

The overall leptospiral seroprevalence were 42 (14.38%) out of 292 sera sampled. 35 (11.98%) sera reacted with Canicola Hondutrech, 14 (4.79%) with Pomona, 7 (2.39%) with Sejroe Hardjo, 5 (1.71%) with Gripotyphosa and 2 (0.68%) with icterohaemorrhagiae.

Conclusion

In order to effective coverage of vaccination, identification of the predominant serovars in each region is essential. Because of close contact between stray and owned dogs in many areas especially in the suburbs, our achieved results can be almost representative of the predominant serovars in owned dogs population in Mashhad. At the present time the current vaccines used against dog leptospirosis in Mashhad, include canicola, icterohaemorrhagiae and grippotyphosa. Therefore we strongly recommend the polyvalent vaccines, including Pomona and hardjo in addition to the mentioned serovars.