---
_id: '12951'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Leptospirosis is a neglected worldwide zoonotic bacterial disease with a high
    prevalence in subtropical and tropical countries. The prevalence of Leptospira
    spp. in humans, cattle and dogs is unknown in Bhutan. Therefore, we sought to
    find out whether humans, cattle or dogs had been infected in the past with leptospires
    by measuring antibodies in the serum. We therefore collected blood from 864 humans
    ≥13 years of age, 130 bovines and 84 dogs from different rural and urban areas
    in Bhutan and tested the serum for antibodies specific for leptospires with a
    screening of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and a confirmatory microscopic
    agglutination test (MAT). In humans, 17.6% were seropositive by ELISA and 1.6%
    by MAT. The seropositivity was stronger in bovines (36.9%) and dogs (47.6%). “Having
    had a fever recently” (OR 5.2, p = 0.004), “working for the military” (OR 26.6,
    p = 0.028) and “being unemployed” (OR 12.9, p = 0.041) (reference category = housemaker)
    were statistically significantly associated with seropositivity when controlled
    for the effects of other risk factors. However, due to the small number of positive
    test results, the findings on risk factors should be interpreted with caution.
    Based on the serogroups found in the three species, dogs could be a source of
    infection for humans, or dogs and humans are exposed to the same environmental
    risk factors Clinical leptospirosis in humans and domestic animals should be investigated
    by testing blood and urine for the presence of leptospires by molecular methods
    (qPCR).
article_number: '308'
author:
- first_name: Anou
  full_name: Dreyfus, Anou
  last_name: Dreyfus
- first_name: Marie-Thérèse
  full_name: Ruf, Marie-Thérèse
  last_name: Ruf
- first_name: Anne
  full_name: Mayer-Scholl, Anne
  last_name: Mayer-Scholl
- first_name: Theresa
  full_name: Zitzl, Theresa
  last_name: Zitzl
- first_name: Nadine
  full_name: Loosli, Nadine
  last_name: Loosli
- first_name: Nadja Seyhan
  full_name: Bier, Nadja Seyhan
  last_name: Bier
- first_name: Stephanie
  full_name: Hiereth, Stephanie
  last_name: Hiereth
- first_name: Sebastian
  full_name: Ulrich, Sebastian
  id: '85847'
  last_name: Ulrich
  orcid: 0000-0002-4511-9537
- first_name: Sven
  full_name: Poppert, Sven
  last_name: Poppert
- first_name: Reinhard K.
  full_name: Straubinger, Reinhard K.
  last_name: Straubinger
- first_name: John
  full_name: Stenos, John
  last_name: Stenos
- first_name: Tshokey
  full_name: Tshokey, Tshokey
  last_name: Tshokey
citation:
  ama: Dreyfus A, Ruf MT, Mayer-Scholl A, et al. Exposure to Leptospira spp. and Associated
    Risk Factors in the Human, Cattle and Dog Populations in Bhutan. <i>Pathogens</i>.
    2021;10(3). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030308">10.3390/pathogens10030308</a>
  apa: Dreyfus, A., Ruf, M.-T., Mayer-Scholl, A., Zitzl, T., Loosli, N., Bier, N.
    S., Hiereth, S., Ulrich, S., Poppert, S., Straubinger, R. K., Stenos, J., &#38;
    Tshokey, T. (2021). Exposure to Leptospira spp. and Associated Risk Factors in
    the Human, Cattle and Dog Populations in Bhutan. <i>Pathogens</i>, <i>10</i>(3),
    Article 308. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030308">https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030308</a>
  bjps: <b>Dreyfus A <i>et al.</i></b> (2021) Exposure to Leptospira Spp. and Associated
    Risk Factors in the Human, Cattle and Dog Populations in Bhutan. <i>Pathogens</i>
    <b>10</b>.
  chicago: Dreyfus, Anou, Marie-Thérèse Ruf, Anne Mayer-Scholl, Theresa Zitzl, Nadine
    Loosli, Nadja Seyhan Bier, Stephanie Hiereth, et al. “Exposure to Leptospira Spp.
    and Associated Risk Factors in the Human, Cattle and Dog Populations in Bhutan.”
    <i>Pathogens</i> 10, no. 3 (2021). <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030308">https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030308</a>.
  chicago-de: Dreyfus, Anou, Marie-Thérèse Ruf, Anne Mayer-Scholl, Theresa Zitzl,
    Nadine Loosli, Nadja Seyhan Bier, Stephanie Hiereth, u. a. 2021. Exposure to Leptospira
    spp. and Associated Risk Factors in the Human, Cattle and Dog Populations in Bhutan.
    <i>Pathogens</i> 10, Nr. 3. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030308">10.3390/pathogens10030308</a>,
    .
  din1505-2-1: '<span style="font-variant:small-caps;"><span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Dreyfus,
    Anou</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Ruf, Marie-Thérèse</span>
    ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Mayer-Scholl, Anne</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Zitzl,
    Theresa</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Loosli, Nadine</span>
    ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Bier, Nadja Seyhan</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Hiereth,
    Stephanie</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Ulrich, Sebastian</span>
    ; u. a.</span>: Exposure to Leptospira spp. and Associated Risk Factors in the
    Human, Cattle and Dog Populations in Bhutan. In: <i>Pathogens</i> Bd. 10. Basel,
    MDPI (2021), Nr. 3'
  havard: A. Dreyfus, M.-T. Ruf, A. Mayer-Scholl, T. Zitzl, N. Loosli, N.S. Bier,
    S. Hiereth, S. Ulrich, S. Poppert, R.K. Straubinger, J. Stenos, T. Tshokey, Exposure
    to Leptospira spp. and Associated Risk Factors in the Human, Cattle and Dog Populations
    in Bhutan, Pathogens. 10 (2021).
  ieee: 'A. Dreyfus <i>et al.</i>, “Exposure to Leptospira spp. and Associated Risk
    Factors in the Human, Cattle and Dog Populations in Bhutan,” <i>Pathogens</i>,
    vol. 10, no. 3, Art. no. 308, 2021, doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030308">10.3390/pathogens10030308</a>.'
  mla: Dreyfus, Anou, et al. “Exposure to Leptospira Spp. and Associated Risk Factors
    in the Human, Cattle and Dog Populations in Bhutan.” <i>Pathogens</i>, vol. 10,
    no. 3, 308, 2021, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030308">https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030308</a>.
  short: A. Dreyfus, M.-T. Ruf, A. Mayer-Scholl, T. Zitzl, N. Loosli, N.S. Bier, S.
    Hiereth, S. Ulrich, S. Poppert, R.K. Straubinger, J. Stenos, T. Tshokey, Pathogens
    10 (2021).
  ufg: '<b>Dreyfus, Anou u. a.</b>: Exposure to Leptospira spp. and Associated Risk
    Factors in the Human, Cattle and Dog Populations in Bhutan, in: <i>Pathogens</i>
    10 (2021), H. 3.'
  van: Dreyfus A, Ruf MT, Mayer-Scholl A, Zitzl T, Loosli N, Bier NS, et al. Exposure
    to Leptospira spp. and Associated Risk Factors in the Human, Cattle and Dog Populations
    in Bhutan. Pathogens. 2021;10(3).
date_created: 2025-06-15T09:59:24Z
date_updated: 2025-06-16T12:10:19Z
department:
- _id: DEP4010
doi: 10.3390/pathogens10030308
extern: '1'
intvolume: '        10'
issue: '3'
keyword:
- leptospirosis
- microscopic agglutination test (MAT)
- seroprevalence
- cattle
- yak
- dog
- one health
- Bhutan
language:
- iso: eng
place: Basel
publication: Pathogens
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2076-0817
publication_status: published
publisher: MDPI
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: Exposure to Leptospira spp. and Associated Risk Factors in the Human, Cattle
  and Dog Populations in Bhutan
type: scientific_journal_article
user_id: '83781'
volume: 10
year: '2021'
...