Genetic characteristics of pathogenic Leptospira in wild small animals and livestock in Jiangxi Province, China, 2002–2015

Abstract

Background Leptospirosis is one of the most important neglected tropical bacterial diseases worldwide. However, there is limited information on the genetic diversity and host selectivity of pathogenic Leptospira in wild small mammal populations. Methodology/Principal findings Jiangxi Province, located in southern China, is a region highly endemic for leptospirosis. In this study, among a total of 3,531 trapped rodents dominated by Apodemus agrarius (59.7%), 330 Leptospira strains were successfully isolated from six different sites in Jiangxi between 2002 and 2015. Adding 71 local strains from humans, various kinds of livestock and wild animals in Jiangxi, a total of 401 epidemic strains were characterized using 16S rRNA gene senquencing, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Among them, the most prevalent serogroup was Icterohaemorrhagiae (61.10%), followed by Javanica (19.20%) and Australis (9.73%); the remaining five serogroups, Canicola, Autumnalis, Grippotyphosa, Hebdomadis and Pomona, accounted for 9.97%. Species identification revealed that 325 were L . interrogans and 76 were L . borgpetersenii . Moreover, L . interrogans was the only pathogenic species in Fuliang and Shanggao and was predominant in Shangrao (95.0%); L . borgpetersenii was the most common in the remaining three sites. Twenty-one sequence types (STs) were identified. Similarly, ST1 and serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae were most prevalent in Shangrao (86.0% and 86.4%) and Fuliang (90.4% and 90.4%), ST143 and serogroup Javanica in Shangyou (88.5% and 90.4%) and Longnan (73.1% and 73.1%), and ST105 and serogroup Australis in Shanggao (46.3% and 56.1%). Serogroup Icterohaemorhagiae primarily linked to A . agrarius (86.9%), serogroup Canicola to dogs (83.3%). There were significant differences in the distribution of leptospiral species/serogroups/STs prevalence across host species/collected locations among the 394 animal-associated strains (Fisher’s exact test, p<0.001). Conclusions/Significance Our study demonstrated high genetic diversity of pathogenic Leptospira strains from wild small animals in Jiangxi from 2002 to 2015. A . agrarius was the most abundantly trapped animal reservoir, and serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae and ST1 were the most dominant in Jiangxi. Significant geographic variation and host diversity in the distribution of dominant species, STs and serogroups were observed. Moreover, rat-to-human transmission might play a crucial role in the circulation of Leptospirosis ...

Leptospiral shedding and seropositivity in shelter dogs in the Cumberland Gap Region of Southeastern Appalachia

“…Most of the MAT positive sera were reactive to serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae, followed by serovars Bratislava and Autumnalis. These three serovars have previously been isolated from dogs [39,41]. Association between Icterohaemorrhagiae and rodents is well documented [42].…”

“…In the present study, sequence analysis of PCR-positive dog urine samples revealed that L. interrogans was the species involved in infections. L. interrogans has been associated with infection in humans, rodents and other animals [36][37][38][39]. Considering the animal and public health significance of these leptospiral species, the role of shelter dogs in transmission cycle in this region should be further investigated.…”

Leptospirosis trends in China, 2007–2018: A retrospective observational study

“…Infectious diseases are among the most important health issues throughout the world (Ballados‐González et al, ; Basit et al, ; Ijaz et al, ). Leptospirosis has been considered as a neglected zoonosis, which causes significant public health problems worldwide, especially in Southeast Asian countries like China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia and South Korea (Loan et al, ; Zhang, Wang, et al, ; Zhang, Xu, et al, ). In Indonesia, the Ministry of Health reported that the number of leptospirosis cases was 664, 426, 335, 409 and 857 during 2007 to 2011, respectively (2011 IHDP, ; Sakundarno, Bertolatti, Maycock, Spickett, & Dhaliwal, ).…”

“…So far, at least 200 species of domestic mammals and wild animals covering Pisces, Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves and Mammalia have been confirmed to serve as hosts, although the epidemiology of leptospirosis and the role of animals is complex and highly dependent on the specific serovars (Ballados‐González et al, ; Delooz et al, ; Hamond et al, ; Zhang, Wang, & Yan, ). Rodents and domestic animals (pigs, dogs, cattle, horses and sheep) are considered the main reservoirs for Leptospira infections in humans (Ellis, ; Guernier et al, ; Zhang, Xu, et al, ). Human cases of leptospirosis generally are acquired through direct contact with urine of infected animals at mucous membranes/broken skin of the host animals/human or indirect contact with the water and soil contaminated by the urine of infected animals (Hsieh et al, ; Ko et al, ).…”

Molecular Typing of Pathogenic Leptospira Species Isolated from Wild Mammal Reservoirs in Sardinia

“…The main reservoirs of pathogenic Leptospira species are rodents; however, more recently, an increasing number of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts have also been reported to shed this pathogen in their urine. Among rodents, rats represent the main reservoir of pathogenic Leptospira , while wild and domestic mammals [ 7 , 8 ], livestock [ 9 , 10 ], amphibians [ 11 ], reptiles [ 12 ], ticks [ 13 ], and bats [ 14 ] also appear to play an important role in the spread of the leptospires. Most human infections occur following exposure to soil or water contaminated with the urine of reservoir animals [ 15 ].…”