Leptospira interrogans serovar Hardjo: an abortifacient in New Zealand? A review of the literature

Authors: Dixon RJ
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 31, Issue 7, pp 107-109, Jul 1983
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Cattle, Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant
Subject Terms: Abortion/stillbirth, Bacterial, Biosecurity, Disease surveillance, Reproduction, Reproduction - female, Disease/defect
Article class: Review Article

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Abstract: From experimental and clinical evidence, Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo has been suspected as an abortifacient in cattle overseas. Early reports from North America and Australia described clinical disease with abortions occurring up to 12 weeks later associated with hardjo infections. Recent studies in the United Kingdom have found hardjo infections in nearly 69 percent of aborted foetuses from problem farms, and a prospective epidemiological study determined a relationship between hardjo infection and abortion on one property. In New Zealand, although the epidemiology of hardjo infections has been studied, little attention has been paid to the potential abortifacient role of this organism. In part this is due to the impracticality of using serology to diagnose infections that may have occurred months prior to the abortion. Future research to resolve this question should therefore revolve around hardjo isolation, cohort studies, and the examination of pathogenic mechanisms by which hardjo may induce abortion in cattle.

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