{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T02:21:39Z","timestamp":1760149299534,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,22]],"date-time":"2023-07-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1689984000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient\u00edfico e Tecnol\u00f3gico (CNPq)"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Donkeys (Equus asinus) are historically known for their close relationship to humanity, which raises the need to study zoonotic diseases that affect them. In this perspective, leptospirosis stands out as a disease with an economic and public health impact, and its occurrence is facilitated in times of higher rainfall indexes, especially in large urban centers. In view of the scarcity of information about leptospirosis in donkeys, the objective of this study was to detect the presence of Leptospira spp. and anti-leptospiral antibodies in donkeys rescued by a zoonosis center located in the Caatiga biome, Brazilian semiarid region. Overall, 30 donkeys of both sexes, aged between 4 months and 15 years, were used, from which 64 serum samples were collected and submitted to the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). In addition, 64 samples of urine, vaginal and preputial fluid, in duplicates, were subjected to the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and microbiological. Sixteen (53.3%) animals tested positive in at least one diagnostic test, 12 (40%) of which were positive at MAT and seven (23.3%) in the molecular and bacteriological detection (urine, vaginal, and preputial fluid samples). This is the first report identifying donkeys infected with Leptospira spp. by molecular and bacteriological diagnosis in Brazil, and the first in the world to detect this agent in their genital fluids. The study also shows that donkeys are commonly exposed to leptospires in the Caatinga biome, and this constitutes a One Health-based concern, demonstrating the importance of broad studies where large numbers of humans and animals coexist when investigating zoonotic infections and when planning and implementing control measures for donkeys-associated leptospirosis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms11071853","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,24]],"date-time":"2023-07-24T01:08:11Z","timestamp":1690160891000},"page":"1853","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Strong Evidence of the Role of Donkeys in the Epidemiology of Leptospira spp. in Semiarid Conditions"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Davidianne","family":"de Andrade Morais","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Sa\u00fade Tecnologia Rural (CSTR), Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), Av. Universit\u00e1ria, s\/n, Santa Cec\u00edlia, Patos 58708-110, PB, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bruno Cesar","family":"Nunes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Sa\u00fade Tecnologia Rural (CSTR), Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), Av. Universit\u00e1ria, s\/n, Santa Cec\u00edlia, Patos 58708-110, PB, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rafael Rodrigues","family":"Soares","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Sa\u00fade Tecnologia Rural (CSTR), Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), Av. Universit\u00e1ria, s\/n, Santa Cec\u00edlia, Patos 58708-110, PB, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Murilo Duarte","family":"de Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Sa\u00fade Tecnologia Rural (CSTR), Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), Av. Universit\u00e1ria, s\/n, Santa Cec\u00edlia, Patos 58708-110, PB, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Diego Figueiredo","family":"da Costa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Ci\u00eancias Agr\u00e1rias (CCA), Universidade Federal da Para\u00edba (UFPB), Rodovia BR 079, Km 02, Areia 58397-000, PB, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hosaneide Gomes","family":"de Ara\u00fajo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Sa\u00fade Tecnologia Rural (CSTR), Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), Av. Universit\u00e1ria, s\/n, Santa Cec\u00edlia, Patos 58708-110, PB, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9153-1485","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jo\u00e3o Pessoa Ara\u00fajo","family":"J\u00fanior","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Campus de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Av. Prof. M\u00e1rio Rubens Guimar\u00e3es Montenegro, s\/n, Botucatu 18618-687, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Camila Dantas","family":"Malossi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Campus de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Av. Prof. M\u00e1rio Rubens Guimar\u00e3es Montenegro, s\/n, Botucatu 18618-687, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maria Luana Cristiny Rodrigues","family":"Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Sa\u00fade Tecnologia Rural (CSTR), Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), Av. Universit\u00e1ria, s\/n, Santa Cec\u00edlia, Patos 58708-110, PB, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1777-7348","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"S\u00e9rgio Santos","family":"de Azevedo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Sa\u00fade Tecnologia Rural (CSTR), Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), Av. Universit\u00e1ria, s\/n, Santa Cec\u00edlia, Patos 58708-110, PB, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Clebert Jos\u00e9","family":"Alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Sa\u00fade Tecnologia Rural (CSTR), Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), Av. Universit\u00e1ria, s\/n, Santa Cec\u00edlia, Patos 58708-110, PB, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"79","article-title":"History of leptospirosis and leptospira","volume":"387","author":"Adler","year":"2015","journal-title":"Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Guglielmini, J., Bourhy, P., Schiettekatte, O., Zinini, F., Brisse, S., and Picardeau, M. (2019). Genus\u2212wide Leptospira core genoma sequencia multilocus sequence typing for strain taxonomy and global surveillance. 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