Isolation and molecular identification of Leptospira santarosai and Leptospira interrogans in equines from eastern Mexico.

Leptospirosis is an infectious disease with a worldwide distribution, which represents a major challenge in animal production across developing countries, mainly in tropical areas. Horses are particularly susceptible to the disease, presenting manifestations ranging from subclinical to the development of uveitis that compromises the visual health of the animals. In recent years, serological studies have been carried out in equid populations from America, demonstrating high exposure. For this reason, the aim of this study was to demonstrate microbiologically and molecularly the presence of the members of the genus Leptospira in urine samples from equids in an endemic state of leptospirosis in Mexico, and to detect the serological presence of anti-Leptospira antibodies in the sampled animals. For this reason, blood and urine samples were collected from 28 horses and one mule from three localities in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. Urine samples were inoculated in Ellinghausen-McCullough-Johnson-Harris (EMJH) medium, and the recovered isolates were typed using a short Multi Locus Sequence Typing scheme. Amplifications of the expected size were subjected to sequencing, and the recovered sequences were compared with those of reference deposited in GenBank using the BLAST tool. To identify their phylogenetic position, we performed a phylogenetic reconstruction using the maximum likelihood method. Additionally, Microscopic Agglutination test was performed on the serum samples to identify anti-Leptospira antibodies. We recovered 16 urine isolates which tested positive for the presence of Leptospira DNA. The phylogenetic reconstruction and the MLST analysis confirmed the presence of several genotypes of Leptospira interrogans and Leptospira santarosai. An overall serological frequency of 97.1 % was detected. Our results represent the first record of the presence of Leptospira through bacteriological isolates in equids from Mexico.

Equine Welfare in Practice: A Collaborative Outreach and Education Program with Michigan State University, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and Universidad Veracruzana.

There is great need for veterinary care for working equids worldwide. Addressing this need provides an opportunity for veterinary students to gain primary care experience. An annual two week collaborative outreach and educational program with Michigan State University (MSU), the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and the Universidad Veracruzana (UV) was developed to provide care for working equids in rural Mexican communities. From 2017 to 2019 24 US veterinary students and 25 Mexican veterinary students, interns and residents examined, vaccinated and dewormed more than 2200 equids and performed more than 80 castrations, 100 rectal palpations for pregnancy diagnosis, 220 dental floats and 320 hoof trims. They also treated many wounds, sarcoids, vampire bat bites and tick infestations and also saw unusual cases including tetanus, eye injuries, nuchal bursitis, cervical vertebral malformation and suspected vesicular stomatitis. Development of the collaborative MSU-UNAM-UV Equine Welfare in Practice Clerkship required vision, learning, relationship building, creativity, fund-raising and perseverance to develop and agree on mutually beneficial objectives for all participants. The project is largely financed through private donations and supplies provided by pharmaceutical companies. The outcome has been a highly successful program that could be used as a model by other Colleges of Veterinary Medicine world-wide.