Vet World   Vol.18   January-2025  Article - 1 

Seroprevalence of Leptospira spp. antibodies in humans and livestock at various human-animal interfaces in Jordan

Background and Aim: Leptospirosis, caused by Leptospira spp., affects humans and animals, posing significant health and economic burdens. This multidisciplinary One Health study aimed to estimate the prevalence of Leptospira spp.-specific antibodies in humans and livestock at the human-animal interfaces in Jordan.

Materials and Methods: Study sites were selected across Jordan based on previous research showing a high likelihood of zoonotic pathogen circulation. The study population comprised 500 individuals and 400 livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, and camels). Blood samples were collected from both humans and livestock at baseline and at follow-up after 1.5 years. Humans were followed longitudinally, whereas livestock were sampled opportunistically. The samples were tested for Leptospira spp.-specific Immunoglobulin G antibodies using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. For humans, seroprevalence was calculated from baseline data, and incidence was calculated using follow-up data. In livestock, seroprevalence was calculated at baseline and follow-up.

Results: At baseline, the seroprevalence of leptospirosis in humans was 4.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.5–6.1), with exposure detected across all five sites. The incidence rate of human leptospirosis was 1145 cases/100,000 person-years (95% CI: 455–2,321). In livestock, the baseline seroprevalence was 1.7% (95% CI: 0.79–3.7), which increased to 4.3% (95% CI: 2.6–6.9) at follow-up. Leptospira spp. antibodies were detected only in sheep and goats at both sampling times, with no cases found in camels or cattle.

Conclusion: This study highlights the presence and dynamics of leptospirosis at the human-animal interface in Jordan, revealing a baseline human seroprevalence of 4.0% and an incidence rate of 1145 cases per 100,000 person-years. Among livestock, seroprevalence increased from 1.7% to 4.3% over the study period, with exposure limited to sheep and goats. These findings underscore the importance of targeted public health and veterinary interventions to address zoonotic leptospirosis in endemic areas.

Keywords: emerging zoonotic disease, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, human-animal interface, leptospirosis, One Health, seroprevalence

How to cite this article: Widemann L, Ismail ZB, Daradkeh Y, Al-Omari O, Fahmawi A, Lakaideh M, Sha’fout B, Mellhem H, Al-Bayari L, Al-Omari S, Talafha H, Hijazeen Z, Al-Omari B, DeMarco J, Karesh WB, and Abu-Basha EA (2025) Seroprevalence of Leptospira spp. antibodies in humans and livestock at various human-animal interfaces in Jordan, Veterinary World, 18(1): 1-7.

Received: 2024-08-21    Accepted: 2024-12-02    Published online: 2025-01-09

Corresponding author: Ehab A. Abu-Basha    E-mail: abubasha@just.edu.jo

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.1-7

Copyright: Ismail, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.