It is possible that there are peculiarities in the epidemiology of leptospirosis in regions with a semiarid climate, where the environment is often adverse, allowing the occurrence of alternative transmission routes. The objective of the work was to generate contributions to the diagnosis and epidemiology of Leptospira sp. infection in sheep reared in semiarid conditions, using serological, molecular and microbiological techniques for diagnosis in dry and rainy seasons. Samples of blood, vaginal fluid, urine, bladder, kidney, uterus, uterine tube, ovary and placenta were collected from 104 sheep (52 animals per season - dry and rainy) slaughtered in the Brazilian semiarid. Diagnostic tests performed were microscopic agglutination test (MAT), polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and bacterial isolation. Anti-Leptospira sp. antibodies were found in 26 (25%) of the animals analyzed by MAT at 1:50 dilution (cut-off 50), while 69 (66.3%) animals had at least one organ/fluid with the presence of Leptospira sp. DNA. Overall, PCR was performed on 758 fragments of organs/fluids from the genital and urinary tracts, and 519 (68.5%) samples tested positive. PCR-positivity was statistically different in dry (46.2%) and rainy (11.5%) seasons for vaginal fluid. It was possible to perform the DNA sequencing in nine samples with 99% similarity to L. interrogans and recovery of viable strains in three samples of vaginal fluid. Regardless of the biological material used in PCR to detect carrier animals and the season, the highest MAT sensitivity values were obtained with cut-off 50 compared to 100. The results obtained indicate that, even in the adverse environmental conditions of the semiarid region, leptospires may survive and propagate by alternative routes of transmission, such as sexual, and the presence of PCR-positive genital tracts in ewes suggests that sexual transmission may play an important role in the epidemiology of the disease in sheep in Brazilian semiarid. In addition, it is suggested the use of titer 50 as cut-off point at serology in semiarid conditions.

中文翻译：

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使用血清学和分子技术检测钩端螺旋体 羊在半干旱条件下和生殖器官传播途径的重要性。

在半干旱气候地区，环境常常不利，因此钩端螺旋体病的流行病学可能存在特殊性，从而允许出现其他传播途径。这项工作的目的是为钩端螺旋体的诊断和流行病学做出贡献。使用血清学，分子学和微生物学技术在半干旱条件下饲养的绵羊进行感染，以在干旱和雨季进行诊断。从巴西半干旱地区屠宰的104只绵羊（每季52只动物-干燥和多雨）中收集血液，阴道液，尿液，膀胱，肾脏，子宫，子宫管，卵巢和胎盘的样本。进行的诊断测试是显微镜凝集测试（MAT），聚合酶链反应（PCR）和细菌分离。抗细螺旋体sp。在MAT中按1:50稀释度（截止值为50）稀释的动物中有26只（25％）发现有抗体，而69例（66.3％）的动物至少有一种器官/液体存在钩端螺旋体。脱氧核糖核酸。总体而言，对来自生殖道和泌尿道的758个器官/流体片段进行了PCR，并且检测到519个（68.5％）样品为阳性。阴液的干燥季节（46.2％）和雨季（11.5％），PCR阳性率有统计学差异。可以在9个样品中进行DNA测序，与询问乳杆菌有99％的相似性，并且可以在三个阴道液样品中回收活菌株。不论PCR中用于检测携带动物的动物材料和季节如何，截断50值与100截取值相比，MAT的最高灵敏度值都是最高的。所得结果表明，即使在半干旱地区不利的环境条件下，钩端尖头动物也可能通过其他传播途径（如性传播）存活并繁殖，母羊中存在PCR阳性生殖道表明该性传播可能在人类流行病学中起重要作用。巴西半干旱地区绵羊患上这种疾病。另外，建议在半干旱条件下使用效价50作为血清学检测的临界点。