Original Scientific Article
Detection of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in goats from slaughterhouses in Southwestern Nigeria using isolation, histochemistry and immunohistochemistry
Olusola Lawrence Ajayi * ,
Edem Richard Antia ,
Ojebiyi Oluwabusayo Esther ,
Temitope Morenikeji Oladipo ,
Olajire Moshood Olaniyi ,
Olajoju Jokotola Awoyomi

Mac Vet Rev 2021; 44 (1): 5 - 16

10.2478/macvetrev-2020-0031

Received: 21 February 2020

Received in revised form: 23 August 2020

Accepted: 15 September 2020

Available Online First: 05 November 2020

Published on: 15 March 2021

Correspondence: Olusola Lawrence Ajayi, alabsola@yahoo.com
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Abstract

Studies on caprine leptospirosis using isolation, histochemistry and immunohistochemistry are rare. The role of small ruminants in the epidemiology of leptospirosis is scarce. This study investigated the prevalence of Leptospira spp. serovars, and the renal pathology of caprine leptospirosis in slaughterhouses from two states in southwest Nigeria using isolation (IS), Warthin Starry silver (WSs) impregnation and immunohistochemistry (IH). One hundred and sixty-nine kidney samples were randomly obtained from goats between September 2015 and June 2017. Chi-square test was used with a confidence level set at 0.05 to ascertain associations between the positive cases, sex and animal species. Eightyseven (51.5%) samples were positive on IS, out of which 26/40 and 25/30 were positive on WSs and IH, respectively. Ten (5.9%) kidneys showed macroscopic lesions while interstitial nephritis (48.6%) and tubular nephrosis (64.2%) were the most prominent histopathological changes. The most frequently observed positive reactions were against serovars Hardjo type Prajitno (12/25, 48%), and Gripptotyphosa (5/25, 20%). Other serovars such as Bratislava (2/25, 8%), Canicola (3/25, 12%), Icterohaemorrhagiae (2/25, 8%), and Pomona (1/25, 4.0%) were also detected using IH. The result showed high prevalence of Leptospira infection in goats and the possibility of humans contracting the disease. To date, the detection of leptospirosis from kidneys of goats using IS, WSs and IH has not been reported. This study is the first documentation of evidence of pathogenic Leptospira species in renal tissues of goats.

Keywords: goats, kidney, leptospirosis, culture isolation, histopathology, immunohistochemistry

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Copyright

© 2020 Ajayi O.L. This is an open-access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation Information

Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 44, Issue 1, Pages 5-16, e-ISSN 1857-7415, p-ISSN 1409-7621, DOI: 10.2478/macvetrev-2020-0031, 2021

The all content of the Macedonian Veterinary Review, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.