Survey occurrence of serum antibodies against Leishmania spp., Toxoplasma gondii and Trypanosoma cruzi, agents with zoonotic potential, in horses from the state of São Paulo, Brazil

In this research, a seroepidemiological survey was conducted on 202 horses located on 21 properties in the northwestern region of the state of São Paulo (Brazil) to estimate exposure to Leishmania spp., Toxoplasma gondii , and Trypanosoma cruzi . Antibodies against Leishmania , T. gondii and T. cruzi , were detected in 48 (23.76%), 29 (14.36%) and 2 (0.99%) of the 202 horses, respectively. We found a significantly higher occurrence of antibodies against Leishmania compared to those against the other protozoa (Chi-Square = 46.7, 2 d.f., P < 0.001). Seropositivity for the aforementioned protozoa was not significantly associated with age group sex, breed, or function. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and direct agglutination test (DAT) were, respectively, the serological tests that most frequently detected antibodies against Leishmania spp. and T. gondii . A weak, but significant, correlation between seropositivity profile and geographic distance between farms was detected, possibly indicating that the environment and/or husbandry differentially affect the transmission of parasites with different life cycles. To our knowledge, this is the first seroepidemiological survey of T. cruzi in horses in southeastern Brazil.