LEPTOSPIRA-INTERROGANS IN THE GENITAL-TRACT OF SHEEP - RESEARCH ON EWES AND RAMS EXPERIMENTALLY INFECTED WITH SEROVAR HARDJO (HARDJOBOVIS)

To verify if Leptospira hardjo can colonize the male and female genita l organs of sheep, 9 animals (6 non pregnant ewes and 3 mature rams) w ere infected with a strain of L. hardjobovis recently recovered from t he kidneys of a seropositive ewe. Postinfection controls (bacteriologi c, serologic, immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy) failed to disclose the presence of leptospires in the uterus and oviducts, testi cles, epididymis, prostate and bulbourethral glands of animals used fo r the experiment and slaughtered from 37 to 242 postinfection days. Al l animals showed a renal localization of L. hardjobovis lasting for th e entire period of the study (over a months). These results emphasize the important role of sheep as maintenance hosts of this serovar.