Leptospirosis, one neglected disease in rural Senegal

A serological study was carried out in two Senegalese villages located in the Sine-Saloum region in order to estimate the presence of anti-leptospiral antibodies in humans and animals, and to identify the predominant serogroups. Seven hundred and forty-nine serum samples were collected from humans (n = 545), dogs (n = 33), donkeys (n = 20), goats (n = 52), sheep (n = 43) and N'Dama cattle (n = 56), all originated from Dielmo and Ndiop villages. All samples were tested for different serovars of pathogenic Leptospira species by the microscopic agglutination test. Considering titres ≥ 1:100, 7.7% [CI 95:5.5 to 9.9] on the 545 human blood samples tested and 42.2% [CI₉₅ :35.4 to 48.9] on the 204 animal blood samples tested were found to be positive to one or more serovars. The results obtained indicate that the Australis serogroup is the most prevalent serogroup in human (67.3%) and cattle (27.3%). Serogroup Icterohaemorhagiae is the most frequent serogroup in goat (55.6%) and donkey (37.5%). Canicola (23.4%), Icterohaemorhagiae (21.1%) and Australis (12.5%) serogroups are the most prevalent serogroups in dogs. This study shows that diverse Leptospira serovars occur in a wide range of wild and domestic mammal species, as well as in humans in Senegal. However, further studies are needed to better understand the complexity of Leptospira epidemiology in Africa, identify the reservoirs of different serogroups and estimate its impact on livestock. Understanding the multi-host epidemiology of leptospirosis is essential to control and prevent the disease.