The occurrence of Leptospira in mammals is an indicator for assessing potential health risks, particularly in tropical regions. Understanding their hosts’ habitat characteristics and spatial occurrence is essential to surveil them. This study aimed to determine the characteristics of the peridomiciles associated with the spatial occurrence of Leptospira hosts. We inventoried the characteristics of the peridomiciles. Blood serum was gathered from dogs, opossums, and rodents for a microagglutination essay to detect exposure to several serogroups of Leptospira. A generalized linear model with binomial distribution helped estimate risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals between a seropositive animal’s occurrence and the peridomiciles’ characteristics. For estimates with the occurrence of one or more seropositive animals, a multinomial model was fitted. The seroprevalence in rodents was 81.8%; in opossums 31.2%; and 56.5% for dogs. The most frequent serogroup in dogs and rodents was Canicola. In opossums, the seroreaction was against Tarassovi, Ballum, Sejroe, and Cynopteri. The results showed that the peridomicile area (m²), the geographic polygon, and the accumulation of plastic containers (PET) were characteristics related to the occurrence of seropositive animals. The results revealed that the peridomicile’s characteristics and spatial distribution in the locality help explain the occurrence of Leptospira hosts.

Leptospirosis is a globally distributed zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic bacteria of the Leptospira genus. Currently, 77 genomic species have been described. Leptospira interrogans is the most extensively studied species due to its high prevalence worldwide and the severity of the disease it causes in humans and animals. However, Leptospira santarosai is an important pathogenic species in the Americas, the Caribbean islands, and Taiwan. This species has a high serological diversity: it can infect domestic, wild, and agricultural production animals, causing reproductive problems and substantial economic losses. Additionally, Leptospira santarosai has been detected in water sources and wet soils. In humans, infection with this species can lead to a wide range of clinical manifestations and severe complications. Therefore, this study aimed to synthesize available information on the serological diversity, geographical distribution, natural sources of infection, and human leptospirosis caused by Leptospira santarosai to better understand their role in the leptospirosis transmission cycle. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted, following the criteria established by the PRISMA-2020 guide, the search for scientific articles was conducted in five specialized and multidisciplinary databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO, and LILACS), and a search engine (Google Scholar). Two different search strategies (Leptospira santarosai OR L. santarosai) were used. Result: Once the search was carried out in the databases, 2989 scientific articles were identified. These articles underwent a process of identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion, resulting in 84 articles that met all established inclusion criteria. These articles were included in the qualitative synthesis and elaboration of the systematic review. Conclusions: Leptospira santarosai shows a high serological diversity, with 14 serogroups and 59 serovars. The species has a wide geographic distribution, having been reported on five continents and in 26 countries, and has been described as an infectious agent in at least 24 host animals. It has also been detected in environmental sources such as water and wet soils; 24 serovars have been identified as the causative agents of human leptospirosis, causing clinical manifestations that range from mild to severe forms of the disease and clinical complications such as myocarditis, uveitis, and neuroleptospirosis. Although L. santarosai is considered native to the Americas, it shows an expansion pattern to other continents and countries. Therefore, this pathogenic species of the Leptospira genus represents an important public health problem worldwide.

The occurrence of Leptospira in mammals is an indicator for assessing potential health risks, particularly in tropical regions. Understanding their hosts' habitat characteristics and spatial occurrence is essential to surveil them. This study aimed to determine the characteristics of the peridomiciles associated with the spatial occurrence of Leptospira hosts. We inventoried the characteristics of the peridomiciles. Blood serum was gathered from dogs, opossums, and rodents for a microagglutination essay to detect exposure to several serogroups of Leptospira. A generalized linear model with binomial distribution helped estimate risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals between a seropositive animal's occurrence and the peridomiciles' characteristics. For estimates with the occurrence of one or more seropositive animals, a multinomial model was fitted. The seroprevalence in rodents was 81.8%; in opossums 31.2%; and 56.5% for dogs. The most frequent serogroup in dogs and rodents was Canicola. In opossums, the seroreaction was against Tarassovi, Ballum, Sejroe, and Cynopteri. Results showed that the peridomicile area (m2), the geographic polygon, and the accumulation of plastic containers (PET) were characteristics related to the occurrence of seropositive animals. The results revealed that the peridomicile's characteristics and spatial distribution in the locality help explain the occurrence of Leptospira hosts.