{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T06:03:31Z","timestamp":1791266611592,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,3]],"date-time":"2025-04-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1743638400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Consejo Nacional de Humanidades Ciencia y Tecnolog\u00eda (CONHACYT) of Mexico","award":["822947"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["822947"]}]},{"name":"Direcci\u00f3n de Investigaci\u00f3n, UANL","award":["822947"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["822947"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Leptospirosis is one of the world\u2019s major neglected tropical zoonotic diseases (NTZDs), implicated in animal health and welfare with economic consequences for livestock production. This study aims to estimate the seroprevalence of Leptospira spp. and identify potential risk factors in small ruminant herds. This epidemiological cross-sectional study was conducted in Nuevo Le\u00f3n, a semi-arid region of Mexico. A total of 389 blood samples from goats and 385 from sheep older than eight months were randomly collected from 128 herds. Anti-Leptospira antibodies were detected using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine their association with leptospirosis infection. The overall prevalence was 13.5% (105\/774), with 14.4% (56\/389) in goats and 12.7% (49\/385) in sheep. Sejroe was the most predominant serogroup. The main risk factors in sheep were contact with domestic cattle, \u2265100 animals per herd, congenital abnormalities, contact with feral pigs, meat production system, absence of veterinary care, and abortions with odds ratios (OR) between 1.7 and 4.1. In goats, the main risk factors included lack of quarantine measures, contact with feral pigs, absence of veterinary care, and abortions where the OR ranged from 1.7 to 3.3. These findings indicate that Leptospira spp. is present in small ruminant herds. This is the first study aimed at understanding leptospirosis epidemiology in the northeastern region of Mexico, as goats and sheep may act as potential reservoirs. Continuous monitoring of Leptospira infections is imperative, as well as developing educational initiatives for farmers to implement biosecurity and prevention measures to prevent infections within herds and protect public health.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens14040344","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,3]],"date-time":"2025-04-03T05:51:26Z","timestamp":1743659486000},"page":"344","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Risk Factors Associated with the Seroprevalence of Leptospirosis in Small Ruminants from a Semi-Arid Region of Mexico"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Jes\u00fas Francisco","family":"Ch\u00e1vez-S\u00e1nchez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Nuevo Le\u00f3n, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Departamento de Virolog\u00eda, Cuerpo Acad\u00e9mico de Epidemiolog\u00eda Veterinaria, Campus Ciencias Agropecuarias, Mariano Escobedo, Nuevo Le\u00f3n C.P. 66054, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8220-6314","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lucio","family":"Galaviz-Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Nuevo Le\u00f3n, Facultad de Ciencias Biol\u00f3gicas, Laboratorio de Patolog\u00eda Molecular y Experimental, Ave. Universidad, S\/N, Ciudad Universitaria, San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Le\u00f3n C.P. 66455, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1375-7032","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zinnia Judith","family":"Molina-Garza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Nuevo Le\u00f3n, Facultad de Ciencias Biol\u00f3gicas, Laboratorio de Patolog\u00eda Molecular y Experimental, Ave. Universidad, S\/N, Ciudad Universitaria, San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Le\u00f3n C.P. 66455, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2986-0755","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pablo","family":"Zapata-Benavides","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Nuevo Le\u00f3n, Facultad de Ciencias Biol\u00f3gicas, Laboratorio de Inmunolog\u00eda y Virolog\u00eda, Ave. Universidad, S\/N, Ciudad Universitaria, San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Le\u00f3n C.P. 66455, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5782-3057","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sibilina","family":"Cedillo-Rosales","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Nuevo Le\u00f3n, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Departamento de Virolog\u00eda, Cuerpo Acad\u00e9mico de Epidemiolog\u00eda Veterinaria, Campus Ciencias Agropecuarias, Mariano Escobedo, Nuevo Le\u00f3n C.P. 66054, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2954-5939","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joel Horacio","family":"Elizondo-Lu\u00e9vano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Farmacia, Instituto de Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica de Salamanca, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno s\/n, 37007 Salamanca, Spain"},{"name":"Biomolecular Innovation Group, Laboratorio de Ciencias Naturales, Facultad de Agronom\u00eda, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Nuevo Le\u00f3n, Campus Ciencias Agropecuarias, Mariano Escobedo, Nuevo Le\u00f3n C.P. 66054, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4460-0222","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Miroslava","family":"Ka\u010d\u00e1niov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Horticulture, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia"},{"name":"School of Medical & Health Sciences, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw, Okopowa 59, 01 043 Warszawa, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8860-5685","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ramiro","family":"\u00c1valos-Ram\u00edrez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Nuevo Le\u00f3n, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Departamento de Virolog\u00eda, Cuerpo Acad\u00e9mico de Epidemiolog\u00eda Veterinaria, Campus Ciencias Agropecuarias, Mariano Escobedo, Nuevo Le\u00f3n C.P. 66054, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bradley, E.A., and Lockaby, G. (2023). Leptospirosis and the Environment: A Review and Future Directions. Pathogens, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens12091167"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Nieves, C., Huete, S.G., Veyrier, F.J., and Picardeu, M. (2024). Taxonomy and phylogenomics of Leptospira. Phylogenomics, Elsevier.","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-323-99886-4.00018-1"},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"21","article-title":"Leptospiral structure, physiology, and metabolism","volume":"387","author":"Cameron","year":"2015","journal-title":"Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"161","DOI":"10.1111\/tmi.13965","article-title":"Global distribution of Leptospira serovar isolations and detections from animal host species: A systematic review and online database","volume":"29","author":"Hagedoorn","year":"2024","journal-title":"Trop. Med. Int. Health"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vincent, A.T., Schiettekatte, O., Goarant, C., Neela, V.K., Bernet, E., Thibeaux, R., Ismail, N., Mohd- Khalid, M.K.N., Amran, F., and Masuzawa, T. (2019). Revisiting the taxonomy and evolution of pathogenicity of the genus Leptospira through the prism of genomics. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis., 13.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0007270"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1589","DOI":"10.2460\/javma.22.06.0258","article-title":"A global one health perspective on leptospirosis in humans and animals","volume":"260","author":"Sykes","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Aym\u00e9e, L., Mendes, J., and Lilenbaum, W. (2024). Bovine Genital Leptospirosis: An update of this important reproductive disease. Animals, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani14020322"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e20190144","DOI":"10.1590\/0103-8478cr20190144","article-title":"Seroprevalence of Leptospira spp. infection in sheep from northwest of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil","volume":"49","author":"Consalter","year":"2019","journal-title":"Cienc. Rural"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"899","DOI":"10.1007\/s11250-017-1255-2","article-title":"Seroprevalence and risk factors for leptospirosis in cattle, sheep, and goats, at consorted rearing from the state of Piau\u00ed, northeastern Brazil","volume":"499","author":"Campos","year":"2017","journal-title":"Trop. Anim. Health Prod."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106931","DOI":"10.1016\/j.smallrumres.2023.106931","article-title":"Efficacy of leptospirosis vaccination in small ruminants: Systematic review and meta- analysis","volume":"220","author":"Oliveira","year":"2023","journal-title":"Small Rumin. Res."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2894","DOI":"10.1017\/S0950268814003549","article-title":"Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with within-flock transmission of Leptospira interrogans in transhuman farming systems in M\u00e9xico","volume":"143","year":"2015","journal-title":"Epidemiol. Infect."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"953","DOI":"10.1007\/s42770-021-00429-y","article-title":"Spatial autocorrelation and co-occurrence of six serovarieties of Leptospira in goat herds of the State of Guanajuato, Mexico","volume":"52","year":"2021","journal-title":"Braz. J. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Avalos-Ramirez, R., Cedillo-Rosales, S., Salinas-Melendez, J., Morales-Loredo, A., Cervantes-Veja, R., Dom\u00ednguez-D\u00edaz, D., and Alvares-Ojeda, G. (2010). Parasitosis y Enfermedades Comunes en Caprinos en Majadas de Nuevo Le\u00f3n: Prevalencia y Descripci\u00f3n, Consorcio T\u00e9cnico del Noreste de M\u00e9xico, A.C."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"995","DOI":"10.22319\/rmcp.v13i4.6006","article-title":"Factores de riesgo asociados a la seroprevalencia de Lentivirus en reba\u00f1os ovinos y caprinos del noreste de M\u00e9xico","volume":"13","year":"2022","journal-title":"Rev. Mex. Cienc. Pecu."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"401","DOI":"10.1111\/ele.12418","article-title":"The community ecology of pathogens: Coinfection, coexistence and community composition","volume":"18","author":"Seabloom","year":"2015","journal-title":"Ecol. Lett."},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"57","article-title":"Perfil inmunol\u00f3gico y nutritivo del calostro y leche de cabra en la comarca lagunera","volume":"4","year":"2005","journal-title":"Rev. Chapingo"},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"(2025, March 12). Servicio de Informaci\u00f3n Agroalimentaria y Pesquera (SIAP) Avance de la Producci\u00f3n Pecuaria por Estado. Available online: https:\/\/nube.agricultura.gob.mx\/avance_pecuario\/."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e2560","DOI":"10.21897\/rmvz.2560","article-title":"Identificaci\u00f3n de especies de Eimeria presentes en caprinos (Capra aegagrus hircus) en Nuevo Le\u00f3n, M\u00e9xico","volume":"27","year":"2024","journal-title":"Rev. MVZ C\u00f3rdoba"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Picardeau, M. (2015). Leptospirosis: Updating the global picture of an emerging neglected disease. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis., 9.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0004039"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"913","DOI":"10.20506\/rst.35.3.2579","article-title":"Leptospirosis in domestic animals in France: Serological results from 1988 to 2007","volume":"35","year":"2016","journal-title":"Rev. Sci. Tech."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mwachui, M.A., Crump, L., Hartskeerl, R., Zinsstag, J., and Hattendorf, J. (2015). Environmental and behavioural determinants of leptospirosis transmission: A systematic review. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis., 9.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0003843"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bierque, E., Thibeaux, R., Girault, D., Soup\u00e9-Gilbert, M.E., and Goarant, C. (2020). A systematic review of Leptospira in water and soil environments. PLoS ONE, 15.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0227055"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106530","DOI":"10.1016\/j.anireprosci.2020.106530","article-title":"Leptospira sp. vertical transmission in ewes maintained in semiarid conditions","volume":"219","author":"Nogueira","year":"2020","journal-title":"Anim. Reprod Sci."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"611","DOI":"10.15381\/rivep.v29i2.14525","article-title":"Anticuerpos contra Leptospira spp. en caprinos lecheros en Guanajuato, M\u00e9xico","volume":"29","author":"Luna","year":"2018","journal-title":"Rev. Investig. Vet. Per\u00fa"},{"key":"ref_25","first-page":"1","article-title":"Evidence of antibodies against different Leptospira spp. serogroups and factors associated with its presence in sheep from Veracruz, Mexico","volume":"25","year":"2022","journal-title":"Trop. Subtrop. Agroecosyt."},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"Instituto Nacional de Estad\u00edstica y Geograf\u00eda (INEGI) (2023, January 15). S\u00edntesis Geogr\u00e1fica del Estado de Nuevo Le\u00f3n. Available online: https:\/\/www.inegi.org.mx\/contenidos\/productos\/prod_serv\/contenidos\/espanol\/bvinegi\/productos\/historicos\/2104\/702825220747\/702825220747_20.pdf."},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"Segura, J. (2011). Muestreo de Animales de Traspatio. T\u00e9cnicas de Muestreo para Manejadores de Recursos Naturales, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de M\u00e9xico. [2nd ed.]."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pinto, G.V., Kuppusamy, S., Rai, P., Kabekkodu, S.P., Karunasagar, I., and Kumar, B.K. (2022). Current methods for the diagnosis of leptospirosis: Issues and challenges. J. Microbiol. Methods, 195.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mimet.2022.106438"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hosmer, D., and Lemeshow, S. (2000). Applied Logistic Regression, Wiley. [2nd ed.].","DOI":"10.1002\/0471722146"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106589","DOI":"10.1016\/j.smallrumres.2021.106589","article-title":"Epidemiological and geospatial characterization of goat leptospirosis in Northeast region of Brazil","volume":"206","author":"Viana","year":"2022","journal-title":"Small Rumin. Res."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"258","DOI":"10.1111\/zph.12146","article-title":"in sheep and Cattle at a New Zealand Abattoir","volume":"62","author":"Fang","year":"2015","journal-title":"Zoonoses Public Health"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1645","DOI":"10.1007\/s11250-019-01859-5","article-title":"Epidemiology of Leptospira infection in livestock species in Saint Kitts","volume":"51","author":"Shiokawa","year":"2019","journal-title":"Trop. Anim. Health Prod."},{"key":"ref_33","first-page":"185","article-title":"Anti-leptospires antibodies seroprevalence in sheep from the Fahs region, Tunisia","volume":"161","author":"Khamassi","year":"2010","journal-title":"Rev. Med. Vet."},{"key":"ref_34","first-page":"10","article-title":"Seroprevalence and risk factors for Leptospira spp. in small ruminants of semi-arid zone in northeastern Colombia","volume":"54","year":"2021","journal-title":"Trop. Anim. Health Prod."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106610","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actatropica.2022.106610","article-title":"New insights on Leptospira sp. infection in ewes maintained in field semi-arid conditions","volume":"234","author":"Ferreira","year":"2022","journal-title":"Acta Trop."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Almeida, D.S., Paz, L.N., de-Oliveira, D.S., Silva, D.N., Ristow, P., Hamond, C., Costa, F., Wagner-Portela, R., Estrela-Lima, A., and Pinnam, M.H. (2019). Investigation of chronic infection by Leptospira spp. in asymptomatic sheep slaughtered in slaughterhouse. PLoS ONE, 14.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0217391"},{"key":"ref_37","first-page":"1","article-title":"Detection of antibodies against pathogens in feral and domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) at the Sierra la Laguna Biosphere Reserve, Mexico","volume":"4","author":"Franco","year":"2017","journal-title":"Vet. Mex. OA"},{"key":"ref_38","first-page":"1057","article-title":"Occurrence and risk factors of zoonoses in dogs and owners in Sertao, Para\u00edba State, Northeastern Brazil","volume":"39","author":"Fonseca","year":"2008","journal-title":"Semin. Cienc. Agr."},{"key":"ref_39","first-page":"100","article-title":"Animal Leptospirosis","volume":"387","author":"Ellis","year":"2015","journal-title":"Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol."},{"key":"ref_40","first-page":"106530","article-title":"Seroepidemiology and risk factors associated with Leptospira and Chlamydia abortus in goat herds in Guanajuato, M\u00e9xico","volume":"11","year":"2024","journal-title":"Vet. Mex. OA"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"289","DOI":"10.5433\/1679-0359.2006v27n2p289","article-title":"Reproductive failures in beef cattle breeding herds with emphasis for infectious causes","volume":"27","author":"Junqueira","year":"2006","journal-title":"Semin. Cienc. Agr."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"53","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetmic.2015.07.015","article-title":"Zoonotic risks for small ruminants","volume":"181","author":"Ganter","year":"2015","journal-title":"Vet. Microbiol."}],"container-title":["Pathogens"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-0817\/14\/4\/344\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T17:09:14Z","timestamp":1760029754000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-0817\/14\/4\/344"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,3]]},"references-count":42,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4]]}},"alternative-id":["pathogens14040344"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/pathogens14040344","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-0817"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-0817","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,3]]}}}