Leptospira spp. serological testing
The presence of serum anti-Leptospira spp. agglutinins was
determined by the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT). A panel of 24
strains of live Leptospira including the serovars Andamana,
Australis, Autumnalis, Bataviae, Bratislava, Butembo, Canicola,
Castellonis, Copenhageni, Cynopteri, Grippotyphosa, Hardjo (strain
hardjoprajtino), Hebdomadis, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Javanica, Panama,
Pomona, Pyrogenes, Sentot, Shermani, Tarassovi, Whitcombi, and Wolffi
was used, and a saprophytic serovar Patoc of L. biflexa was used
as an internal control. Endpoint titers were determined using two-fold
dilutions until the last well showing 50% agglutination was recorded.
The final titer was determined by the reciprocal of the positive highest
dilution. The cutoff for a positive agglutination reaction was defined
as a titer ≥100. For each positive sample, the most probable infecting
serogroup was the one presenting the highest titers.