INTERACTION BETWEEN STRUCTURE OF SMALL MAMMAL POPULATION AND OCCURRENCE OF ANTIBODIES TO LEPTOSPIRA

Five rodent species (Apodemus flavicollis, A. agrarius, A. microps, Cl ethrionomys glareolus and Microtus arvalis) were examined serologicall y for presence of antibodies to leptospira. Small mammals were caught in several areas of eastern Slovakia, an important part of host materi al comming from East Slovakian Lowland (45.7%), south part of Kosice b asin (26.5%) and Slovak carst (10.1%). Serological examinations were u sed by Kmety and Bakoss (1978), the sexual condition of rodents were a scertained after Pelikan (1965). Altogether, 2113 individuals of roden t species were examined during five years (1991-1995), antibodies to l eptospires were demonstrated in 5.02% of examined hosts. In examined h osts antibodies to six serovars of leptospira (Leptospira grippothypho sa, L. sejroe, L. bataviae, L. bratislava, L. pomona and L. sorex-jaln a) were found. The most frequently observed antibodies were those of t he serovar L. grippothyphosa (65.1%) and L. sejroe (25.5%). Slightly h igher percentage of positive hosts in mature group rodents (5.4%) comp aring with immature rodents (4.6%) were statistically insignificant. S imilarly, no differences were found between percentage of positive rod ent females (5.3%) and group of males (4.7%). No statistical differenc es were found in positivities to leptospira antibodies among sexual an d age groups of individual rodent species, too. Proportion of serologi cal positivities to L. grippothyphosa and L. sejroe in compared sex an d age rodent groups were very similar. In evaluated rodent species tre nd of increases of serological positive values from spring to autumn w as observed, but it was statistically confirmed only in A. agrarius.