Seroprevalence of 16 Leptospira Serovars in Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) Hunted in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

In order to investigate the occurrence and epidemiology of leptospirosis in the wild boar (Sus scrofa) population of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, blood samples were collected from 2616 wild boar regularly hunted in 2023 and 2024. The diagnostic investigations were performed using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) using a panel of fifteen pathogenic and one intermediate serovar of Leptospira spp. Overall, 12.4% (325/2616) (CI 95% 11.2–13.7) of wild boar were seropositive, with Australis being the most prevalent serovar (22.8%), followed by Pomona (13.2%) and Pyrogenes (12.3%). Specific antibodies against the intermediate Leptospira fainei serovar Hurstbridge were also detected in 8% of the positive samples. Based on these results, we conclude that wild boar are regularly infected with different zoonotic Leptospira serovars. As these hunted animals are tested for other notifiable diseases, additional screening for specific antibodies against Leptospira spp. could be easily implemented. This would be an important tool for detecting human and domestic animals’ risk of exposure and may provide insight into which Leptospira serovars might be currently of clinical relevance.