SEROPREVALENCE OF LEPTOSPIRA-INTERROGANS SEROVAR HARDJO IN COWS AND ISOLATION FROM URINE

Utilising the microagglutination test (MA) 13364 cow sera originating from public farms and 6601 samples of cow sera originating from the pr ivate sector were investigated for leptospirosis. The following nine t ypes of leptospira were used: pomona, icterohaemorrhagiae, grippotypho sa, sejroe, bataviae, australis, canicola, tarassovi and hardjo. Posit ive results were obtained for 822 of 4, 12% of the total number of inv estigated blood sera. No significant differences in the degree of infe ction between cows from the public and private sectors were discovered . L. hardjo was the most frequent serotype found in cows from the publ ic sector (84, 79%), and L. pomona was defected mostly in cows from th e private sector, accounting for 52,53%. Antibodies against L. hardjo were found in 6 out of the total of 18 investigated herds. The number of seropositive animals inside herd ranged from 0,40 to 62,61%. The ti ter of specific antibodies ranged from 1:100 to 1.32000. For the first time in our country. L. hardjo was isolated from the urine of 6 serop ositive animals. L. hardjo was isolated in cows both with low and with high antibody titers in the serum. Compared to investigations conduct ed 4 years ago the number of seropositive cows is doubled.