Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences

Abstract

A seroprevalence study was carried out in goats in Thrissur district of Kerala in the month of October 2011, in view of leptospirosis outbreak in the state. A total of 22 serum samples (18 from apparently healthy animals and four from aborted animals) were collected. All the serum samples were screened for leptospirosis by Microscopic AgglutinationTest (MAT) using a battery of nine serovars of Leptospira interrogans viz., Australis, Autumnalis, Canicola, Grippotyphosa, Hebdomadis, Icterohaemorrhaegiae, Javanica, Pomona and Pyrogenes. In the present study eight animals (36.36 %) were found to be seropositive for leptospirosis with Autumnalis (50 %) as the most prevalent serovar affecting goats, being involved in five cases followed by Pomona (25 %), Australis (12.5 %) and Grippotyphosa (12.5 %).Paired sera revealed a fourfold increase in titre in two of the aborted animals thus confirming leptospiral abortion. The animals were found seronegative to Canicola, Hebdomadis, Icterohaemorrhaegiae, Javanica, and Pyrogenes. The MAT titres were in the range of 1 in 100 to 1 in 400.