NOGUEIRA, D. B.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/4355469548193363; NOGUEIRA, Denise Batista.
Resumen:
In regions with a semiarid climate, there are environmental factors that are adverse to the
survival and spread of leptospires, so the role of peculiarities in transmission routes that are
independent of the environment needs to be further investigated. Thus, it sought to generate
contributions to the diagnosis and epidemiology of infection by Leptospira sp. in sheep reared
in semiarid conditions. In Chapter I, a study was described of 104 adult female sheep sampled
during the dry and rainy period, between the years 2018 and 2019. Samples of vaginal fluid,
urine, bladder, kidney, uterus, uterine tube, ovary and placenta were collected in the slaughter
line for subsequent molecular detection through the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The
samples with the best reactions were amplified and subjected to genetic sequencing. For
bacteriological culture, only vaginal fluid and urine were used, while the blood was destined
for serological investigation through the microscopic agglutination test (SAM). In total, anti-
Leptospira sp. in 26 (25%) of the animals analyzed by SAM in the initial 1:50 dilution, while
69 (66.3%) animals had at least one organ/fluid with the presence of leptospiral DNA. Of the
758 samples of organs/fluids from the genital and urinary tracts, in 519 (68.5%) samples there
was DNA. In the analysis of the statistical variables of each type of biological material
between dry and rainy periods, only in the vaginal fluid had a significant difference between
the proportions (p <0.001), in which the dry period overlapped. It was possible to perform the
sequencing in nine samples with 99% similarity to L. interrogans and isolation in three
samples of vaginal fluid. And in three cultures of vaginal fluid, positive results were obtained
in PCR, indicating the recovery of viable strains. In Chapter II, a study was carried out to
detect vertical transmission of Leptospira sp. in fetuses of sheep slaughtered in the
Northeastern Semiarid. After slaughtering the progenitors, the fetuses were removed from the
uterine environment and taken to the laboratory, where they were necropsied. Blood samples
from the matrices and fetuses were collected to investigate the occurrence of anti-Leptospira
sp. through SAM. For molecular analysis through PCR from the conceptuses, samples of the
central nervous system (SNC), lung, liver, spleen, stomach contents, peritoneal fluid, kidney,
bladder, urine and reproductive system were collected and from those who were at the
beginning of formation , the samples consisted only of central nervous system and macerated
chest (choroid ovoid). 23 progenitors were sampled and of these, seven showed antibodies
from the title 50. Regarding the fetuses, 29 were collected, two (6.9%) of whom were
seropositive in titration 10 for the serogroups Pyrogenes, Tarassovi and Autumnalis. In PCR,
24 (82.7%) had at least one positive organ. Of a total of 209 samples, 61 (29.2%)
demonstrated the presence of leptospiric DNA. Leptospiric DNA sequencing was possible in
three samples of kidney, CNS and liver fragments with 99.3% similar to L. interrogans. In
macroscopic analysis, it was observed that three fetuses had multiple malformations.