Mixed <i>Leptospira</i> Infections in a Diverse Reservoir Host Community, Madagascar, 2013–2015

Moseley, Mark; Rahelinirina, Soanandrasana; Rajerison, Minoarisoa; Garin, Benoît; Piertney, Stuart B.; Telfer, Sandra

doi:10.3201/eid2406.180035

Cited by 22 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Although Leptospira can colonise the bronchial epithelium of naturally-infected wild brown rats (Zilber et al 2016), we did not identify any pulmonary infection in the sampled rats. Moreover, although mixed pathogenic Leptospira infection was described in 2/18 R. norvegicus in Madagascar (Moseley et al 2018), our study revealed only single-species infections. Heavier rats (i.e.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 80%

Prevalence and risk factors of Leptospira infection in urban brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), Vienna, Austria

et al. 2020

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Leptospirosis is a worldwide bacterial zoonosis which incidence is expected to increase in conjunction with global change. In urban ecosystems, synanthropic rats are the key source of Leptospira infection in humans and other animals. Risk assessment and prediction of human leptospirosis require investigations of the environment associated with the bacteria and infection patterns in the reservoir hosts. The objective of this study was to address the prevalence of mixed Leptospira infection in the lungs and kidneys of brown rats captured in three sites of the city centre of Vienna, Austria, between 2016 and 2018. A total of 96 brown rats were examined for the presence of Leptospira using PCR. Occurrence of mixed Leptospira infections was explored through next-generation sequencing (NGS). A logistic regression model was built to predict the individual infection status using morphological and land-use data. Overall, the prevalence of Leptospira interrogans in the kidney was 25% but varied among sites (0-36%). We did not evidence any pulmonary nor mixed infections. Host body mass and sex were strong predictors of Leptospira carriage in the sampled rats (relative variable importance (RVI) = 0.98 and 0.89, respectively) while the presence of water affected it moderately (RVI = 0.44). Our findings demonstrate that NGS is an unbiased approach to the direct characterisation of mixed leptospiral infections that could provide further insights into the ecology of Leptospira. Future surveillance programmes should consider the use of rats as sentinels for the early detection of emerging pathogenic Leptospira in urban ecosystems.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 80%

Prevalence and risk factors of Leptospira infection in urban brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), Vienna, Austria

et al. 2020

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“…infections were detected using a diagnostic real-time PCR targeting 300bp of the lfb1 gene and incorporating melt curve analysis to identify infecting Leptospira species (10). As the standard lfb1 primers may underestimate the prevalence of L. borgpetersenii infections and L. interrogans-L. borgpetersenii mixed infections may occur (11), samples which initially tested negative, as well as samples (n=12) from Cape Town, eight of which had previously been identi ed as infected with L. interrogans (7), were retested using a L. borgpetersenii species-speci c forward primer (11). All real-time PCR assays were performed as previously described (7,11).…”

Section: Leptospira Detection and Prevalence Estimationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the standard lfb1 primers may underestimate the prevalence of L. borgpetersenii infections and L. interrogans-L. borgpetersenii mixed infections may occur (11), samples which initially tested negative, as well as samples (n=12) from Cape Town, eight of which had previously been identi ed as infected with L. interrogans (7), were retested using a L. borgpetersenii species-speci c forward primer (11). All real-time PCR assays were performed as previously described (7,11). Prevalence estimates and logit con dence intervals were estimated using the binom package (https://cran.r-project.org/package=binom) and mapped using the ggmap package (https://cran.r-project.org/package=ggmap).…”

Section: Leptospira Detection and Prevalence Estimationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Melt curve analysis con rmed L. borgpetersenii in all positive samples, including that from the only R. rattus identi ed. Although the standard lfb1 primers (10) identi ed 81% (61/75) of positive samples, the remaining 14 L. borgpetersenii-positive samples were only identi ed using the L. borgpetersenii-speci c forward primer (11). Notably, no animals were found to be infected with L. interrogans in Johannesburg.…”

Section: Leptospira Prevalence and Genetic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-locus sequence analyses reveal a clonal L. borgpetersenii genotype in a heterogeneous invasive Rattus spp. community across the City of Johannesburg, South Africa

Moseley

Naidoo

Bastos

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background Rattus spp. are frequently implicated as key reservoir hosts for leptospirosis, one of the most common, but neglected, bacterial zoonoses in the world. Although leptospirosis is predicted to be a significant public health threat in Africa, studies from the continent are limited. Methods Rattus spp. (n=171) were sampled (January-May 2016) across the City of Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest inland metropole. Rattus spp. genetic diversity was evaluated by full length (1140 bp) cyt b sequencing of 42 samples. For comparison, a further 12 R. norvegicus samples collected in Cape Town, South Africa’s largest coastal metropole, were also genotyped. Leptospira infections were identified and genotyped using real-time PCR and multi-locus (lfb1, secY, lipL41) DNA sequencing. Results Five R. norvegicus haplotypes were identified across Johannesburg, four of which have not previously been detected in South Africa, and one in Cape Town. Across Johannesburg we identified a Leptospira spp. infection prevalence of 44% (75/171) and noted significant differences in the prevalence between administrative regions within the metropole. Multi-locus sequence analyses identified a clonal genotype consistent with L. borgpetersenii serogroup Javanica (serovar Ceylonica).Discussion The prevalence of infection identified in this study is amongst the highest detected in Rattus spp. in similar contexts across Africa. Despite the complex invasion history suggested by the heterogeneity in R. norvegicus haplotypes identified in Johannesburg, a single L. borgpetersenii genotype was identified in all infected rodents. The lack of L. interrogans in a rodent community dominated by R. norvegicus is notable given the widely recognised host-pathogen association between these species and evidence for L. interrogans infection in R. norvegicus in Cape Town. It is likely that environmental conditions (cold, dry winters) in Johannesburg may limit the transmission of L. interrogans. Spatial heterogeneity in prevalence suggest that local factors, such as land use, influence disease risk in the metropole. Conclusion In South Africa, as in other African countries, leptospirosis is likely underdiagnosed. The high prevalence of infection in urban rodents in Johannesburg suggest that further work is urgently needed to understand the potential public health risk posed by this neglected zoonotic pathogen.

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“…Another 'limitation' of the study is that the samples were tested using primers which could not detect mixed infections (Moseley et al, 2018), leading to a conclusion of presence of maximal one Leptospira species per infected animal, whilst the animal could potentially be infected with multiple Leptospira species. For future research, the primers for testing mixed infections should be tested and if they work as described, they should be used.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rodent-borne health risks in farming systems

Krijger

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Mixed Leptospira Infections in a Diverse Reservoir Host Community, Madagascar, 2013–2015

Cited by 22 publications

References 13 publications

Prevalence and risk factors of Leptospira infection in urban brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), Vienna, Austria

Prevalence and risk factors of Leptospira infection in urban brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), Vienna, Austria

Multi-locus sequence analyses reveal a clonal L. borgpetersenii genotype in a heterogeneous invasive Rattus spp. community across the City of Johannesburg, South Africa

Rodent-borne health risks in farming systems

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