Skip to main content
Public Health Reports logoLink to Public Health Reports
. 1981 May-Jun;96(3):250–254.

Leptospira interrogans serovars hardjo and pomona: causes of infections in dairy cows and humans in Florida

F H White, G E Sutherland, L E Raynor, C R Cottrell, K R Sulzer
PMCID: PMC1424194  PMID: 7232685

Abstract

Leptospirosis was diagnosed in 11 milkers on 3 dairy farms in a Florida county. Serologic test results identified Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo as the infecting organism in milkers and cows on one farm, and hardjo was isolated from two cows. On the second farm, serovars hardjo and pomona were implicated serologically in the cows and milkers, and pomona was isolated from two milkers. On the third farm, hardjo infection was identified by serologic tests in one milker, and hardjo was isolated from another.

This was the first isolation of hardjo from a human being reported in the United States. Leptospiral infection is an occupational hazard for dairy milkers in some areas of the United States. Thus, the authors recommend that preventive measures should be taken. These measures should include boots and other protective clothing and protection from urine spray for the eyes and nose.

Full text

PDF
250

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bigler W. J., Collins T. E., Nichols J. B., Galton M. M., Prather E. C. Trends of sporadic leptospirosis in Florida. Public Health Rep. 1970 Mar;85(3):225–232. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Christmas B. W., Bragger J. M., Till D. G. Dairy farm fever in New Zealand: isolation of L pomona and L hardjo from a local outbreak. N Z Med J. 1974 May 8;79(514):904–906. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Christmas B. W., Tennent R. B., Lindsay P. G. Dairy farm fever in New Zealand: a local outbreak of human leptospirosis. N Z Med J. 1974 May 8;79(514):901–904. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cole J. R., Jr, Sulzer C. R., Pursell A. R. Improved microtechnique for the leptospiral microscopic agglutination test. Appl Microbiol. 1973 Jun;25(6):976–980. doi: 10.1128/am.25.6.976-980.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. ELLINGHAUSEN H. C., Jr, MCCULLOUGH W. G. NUTRITION OF LEPTOSPIRA POMONA AND GROWTH OF 13 OTHER SEROTYPES: FRACTIONATION OF OLEIC ALBUMIN COMPLEX AND A MEDIUM OF BOVINE ALBUMIN AND POLYSORBATE 80. Am J Vet Res. 1965 Jan;26:45–51. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. GALTON M. M., ACREE J. A., LEWIS A., PRATHER E. C. Leptospirosis in domestic animals in Florida with reference to cattle. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1956 Jan 15;128(2):87–91. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gordon L. M. Leptospira interrogans serotype hardjo outbreak in a Victorian dairy herd and associated infection in man. Aust Vet J. 1977 May;53(5):227–229. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1977.tb00194.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hoare R. J., Claxton P. D. Observations on Leptospira hardjo infection in New South Wales. Aust Vet J. 1972 May;48(5):228–232. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1972.tb05141.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hussain B., Gbadamosi S. G., Siddique I. H. Serological studies on leptospirosis in cattle in east central Alabama. Can J Comp Med. 1978 Jul;42(3):373–375. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. ROTH E. E., GALTON M. M. Isolation and identification of Leptospira hardjo from cattle in Louisiana. Am J Vet Res. 1960 May;21:422–427. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Robertson A., Boulanger P., Mitchell D. Isolation and Identification of a Leptospire of The Hebdomadis Serogroup (L. Hardjo) From Cattle in Canada. Can J Comp Med Vet Sci. 1964 Jan;28(1):13–18. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. SULZER C. R., SHOTTS E. B., Jr, OLSEN C. D., GALTON M. M. LEPTOSPIROSIS DUE TO SEROTYPE HARDJO IN CATTLE. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1964 Apr 15;144:888–890. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Schnurrenberger P. R., Hanson L. E., Martin R. J. Leptospirosis: long-term surveillance on an Illinois farm. Am J Epidemiol. 1970 Oct;92(4):223–239. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a121202. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Shenberg E., Bitnun S., Birnbaum S. H. Leptospirosis among dairy workers in the valley of Jezreel: first recorded isolation of Leptospira hardjo in Israel. Isr J Med Sci. 1977 Apr;13(4):377–384. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Shenberg E., Torten M. A new leptospiral vaccine for use in man. I. Development of a vaccine from Leptospira grown on a chemically defined medium. J Infect Dis. 1973 Nov;128(5):642–646. doi: 10.1093/infdis/128.5.642. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Stallmann N. D. The isolation of a strain of Leptospira, serotype hardjo, from a patient in Southern Queensland. Aust Vet J. 1972 Oct;48(10):576–576. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1972.tb08023.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Public Health Reports are provided here courtesy of SAGE Publications

RESOURCES