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Leptospirosis is an anthropozoonosis of economic and public health importance, caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. Horses are deemed important in its transmission chain due to their proximity to humans, and because the species is often asymptomatic, making these animals potential silent reservoirs. In this context, the objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of seropositive horses for Leptospira spp., and to identify the presence of Leptospira spp. serogroups and antibody titers, the occurrence of areas with higher density of infection cases and demographic characteristics associated with seropositivity in the states of Paraíba (PB), Pernambuco (PE), Rio Grande do Norte (RN) and Ceará (CE), in the Northeast region of Brazil, during rainy (May and June) and dry (October and November) seasons from 2017 to 2019. Using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), 1152 equine serum samples from 225 municipalities were analyzed. Anti-Leptospira antibodies were detected in 23.9 % (95 % CI= 21.4 - 26.3 %) of the samples in the three-year period, with a frequency of 30.4 % (95 % CI= 26.7 - 34.2 %) during the rainy period (with greater emphasis on the Ballum serogroup) and 17.4 % (95 % CI= 14.3 - 20.5 %) in the dry period (with greater emphasis on the Sejroe serogroup). Age of horses ≥ 6 years (6-10 years, 11-15 years and ≥ 16 years), rainy season, and animal belonging to Pernambuco state were factors with higher seropositivities. Regarding spatial distribution, a higher percentage of seropositive animals was observed in Pernambuco (P < 0.05), in interstate border areas, and large urban centers, with a spatial cluster detected in the dry season of 2018 with relative risk of 2.8 (P = 0.049) times higher in municipalities within the cluster. It is suggested that measures for controlling rodents and contact with wild animals in equine farming, both in rainy and dry periods, combined with care regarding the use of pastures shared with cattle and the adoption of immunoprophylaxis are important in preventing and controlling leptospirosis in horses in the Northeast region of Brazil., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. none, (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A cross-sectional study based on a planned sampling was carried out to determine flock-level risk factors associated to Leptospira spp. infection in dairy goat flocks in a semiarid region of Northeastern Brazil. Serum samples from 975 adult dairy goats from 110 flocks were examined for Leptospira spp. antibodies by MAT using 24 serovars. A structured questionnaire focusing on risk factors for leptospirosis was completed for each flock. Of the 110 flocks 48 (43.6%; 95% CI: 34.2-53.4%) presented at least one seropositive animal, and most frequent serovar was Autumnalis (10.9%). Ninety-eight (8.7%; 95% CI: 5.7-12.9%; design effect=4.23) of the 975 goats tested seropositive at MAT, and serovar Autumnalis was also the most frequent (1.74%). Presence of rodents (OR=2.78; P=0.015) was identified as a risk factor. There was also association between history of infertility (OR=14.74; P=0.015) and prevalence of positive flocks. We suggest that a program of rodent control should be included in the flock management practices aiming to reduce transmission of the agent and then to reduce prevalence of positive flocks and occurrence of reproductive disorders such as impaired fertility., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)