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Isolation of leptospira Serovars Canicola and Copenhageni from cattle urine in the state of Paraná, Brazil

Isolamento de leptospiras dos Sorovares Canicola e Copenhageni em amostras de urina de bovinos no estado do Paraná, Brasil

In 2001, 698 urine samples were randomly collected from cattle at a slaughterhouse in the State of Paraná, Brazil. Direct examination using dark field microscopy was carried out immediately after collection. Five putative positive samples were cultured in modified EMJH medium, yielding two positive cultures (LO-14 and LO-10). Typing with monoclonal antibodies revealed that the two isolates were similar to Canicola (LO-14) and Copenhageni (LO-10). Microscopic agglutination test results show that Hardjo is the most common serovar in cattle in Brazil. Rats and dogs are the common maintenance hosts of serovars Copenhageni and Canicola. The excretion of highly pathogenic serovars such as Copenhageni and Canicola by cattle can represent an increasing risk for severe leptospirosis is large populations, mainly living in rural areas.

Leptospira; culture; leptospirosis; diagnosis; cattle


Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia USP - ICB III - Dep. de Microbiologia, Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 2415, Cidade Universitária, 05508-900 São Paulo, SP - Brasil, Ramal USP 7979, Tel. / Fax: (55 11) 3813-9647 ou 3037-7095 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
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