title: Seroprevalence of leptospirosis in dogs in urban Harare and selected rural communities in Zimbabwe.
abstract: A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate seroprevalence of canine leptospirosis in  urban Harare and five selected rural communities in Zimbabwe and to assess public awareness  of the disease. Sera from randomly selected dogs were tested for antibodies to the serovars  Canicola, Grippotyphosa, Icterohaemorrhagiae and Pomona of Leptospira interrogans using an  enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Clinical chemistry was performed on all seropositive  and selected seronegative sera to screen for hepatic and renal insufficiency. A questionnaire- based survey was conducted in Harare to assess dog owners' awareness of leptospirosis and  other zoonoses. Overall, 15.6% of sera samples tested (39 out of 250; 95% confidence interval  [CI]: 11.0% - 20.2%) were positive for leptospiral antibodies. A significantly higher (p &lt; 0.05)  seroprevalence was recorded in urban dogs than in rural dogs (25% vs. 11.2%). No significant  difference in seroprevalence was observed amongst dogs from different rural communities or  between sexes of dogs. There was a significant association between seropositivity and hepatic  and/or renal insufficiency (p &lt; 0.01), with dogs having hepatic and/or renal insufficiency  being approximately twice as likely to be seropositive (relative risk = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.3-3.0). Of  the dog owners, 78.8% (119/151) were aware of zoonoses. Except for rabies (92.4%), awareness  of leptospirosis (5.0%) and other zoonoses amongst these owners was low. This study showed  that leptospirosis was present and represented a risk to dogs from urban Harare and the selected  rural communities in Zimbabwe. Availing training programmes for dog owners would be  beneficial in improving disease control and reducing the public health risk of pet zoonoses.
authors: Department of Paraclinical Veterinary Studies, University of Zimbabwe. gmatope@vet.uz.ac.zw.
authors: Solomon
authors: S
authors: Dhliwayo
authors: Gift
authors: G
authors: Matope
authors: Lisa
authors: L
authors: Marabini
authors: Keith
authors: K
authors: Dutlow
authors: Davis M
authors: DM
authors: Pfukenyi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004285:Dogs; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D011634:Public Health; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D015030:Zimbabwe; D015047:Zoonoses
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial