Molecular determination of Leptospira spp. in semen and pre-ejaculatory fluid, and serological study of Creole horses in the department of Cundinamarca (Colombia)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to serologically (microagglutination test) and molecularly— <em>Leptospira spp.</em> DNA by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR)—detect the exposition or presence of Leptospira spp. from blood, pre-ejaculatory fluid, and semen samples in Colombian Creole horses representative of this breed, in 44 breeding centers in the department of Cundinamarca. In Colombia, there are no studies related to the presence of <em>leptospires</em> in equine semen, and according to health plans designed for this species they are not vaccinated against this disease. Samples were collected from a total of 107 animals, selected by convenience sampling after serum analysis, 35 were seroreactive (32.7%), corresponding to the <em>Leptospira</em> interrogans serogroup, serovars canicola, pomona, and grippotyphosa. <em>Leptospira spp.</em> DNA was detected by conventional PCR in two semen samples that represented 1.9% of the total samples. Using the dark-field technique, different bacterial forms were found in most of the pre-ejaculatory fluid samples, some of them compatible with <em>Leptospira</em>. Desquamated cells, crystals, and urates were also found. In addition, the bacterium was not isolated in the EMJH medium and no DNA was detected by the conventional PCR technique from the preejaculatory fluid.