Association of leptospiral seroreactivity and breed with uveitis and blindness in horses: 372 cases (1986-1993)

Abstract

Recurrent uveitis, a leading cause of blindness in horses, often develops as a sequela to systemic leptospirosis. Over a 7-year period, 63 of 112 (56%) horses with uveitis were seropositive for Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona, but only 23 of 260 (9%) horses without uveitis were seropositive. Odds-ratio analysis revealed that seropositive horses were 13.2 times more likely to have uveitis than were seronegative horses. Of the 63 seropositive horses with uveitis, 59% developed blindness, compared with only 24% in the 49 seronegative horses with uveitis that lost vision in 1 or both eyes during the same period. Odds-ratio analysis revealed that seropositive horses with uveitis were 4.4 times more likely to lose vision than were seronegative horses with uveitis. Of the 112 horses with uveitis, 28 (25%) were Appaloosas, compared with only 10 of the 260 (4%) horses without uveitis (odds ratio, 8.3). In addition, 19 of the 28 (68%) Appaloosas with uveitis developed blindness, compared with only 30 of the 84 (36%) non-Appaloosas with uveitis that lost vision in 1 or both eyes (odds ratio, 3.8). This field study therefore confirmed a strong positive relationship between uveitis and leptospiral seroreactivity in horses. Furthermore, the data suggested that seropositive horses with uveitis were at increased risk of losing vision, compared with that in seronegative horses with uveitis, and that Appaloosas were at increased risk of developing uveitis and associated blindness, compared with that in non-Appaloosas.