Occurrence of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies in Rhipidomys spp. from a forest fragment of the Brazilian Cerrado

Abstract

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease of world importance, and its transmission depends on the interaction between humans and animals. Given the necessity to investigate potential hosts of Leptospira spp., this study verified the prevalence of different serovars in the species of Rhipidomys spp., a widespread sigmodont rodent in Brazil. The studied population originates from a semi-evergreen forest located in the county of Uberlândia, in the state of Minas Gerais. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was performed with 14 serovars. Thirteen out of the 43 wild rodents captured showed a positive agglutination reaction, with a greater prevalence of the serovars Pyrogenes, Copenhageni, and Canicola. This study found a prevalence of 30.3% anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies; all positive animals were reactive to more than one serovar.

PRIMEIRO ISOLAMENTO DE Leptospira kirschneri SOROVAR CANICOLA E Leptospira interrogans SOROVAR PYROGENES EM AMOSTRAS DE URINA DE BOVINOS ABATIDOS

“…In this study, we detected Leptospira interrogans serovar Pyrogenes in a bovine urine sample, probably by the contamination of the water sources and the environment, as observed by Flores et al (2017) and Gomes et al (2017). In slaughterhouses, the contamination of the viscera and blood from infected animals can lead the disease to the workers as well.…”

“…Leptospira interrogans serovar Pyrogenes are commonly found in equine specie (Oliveira et al, 2013) ] , and in canine as well (Flores et al, 2017). Querino et al (2003) report that Pyrogenes serovar is important to dogs, besides the human, because of its pathogenicity, which is relevant to the public health, and the wild animals as reservoirs of leptospires as a source of infection to dogs and humans.…”

“…In a study conducted by Gomes et al (2017) in Uberlândia/Minas Gerais, Brazil, the authors report that the serovars Copenhageni and Pyrogenes were the most found serologically in Cerrado area, highlighting the need of the study in rodents to the control of the disease. The study of Thibeaux et al (2017) also reports the importance of the environment to the infection of bovines and contacting workers, by the detection of Leptospira interrogans serovar Pyrogenes in the environment and infected humans in Nova Caledonia, EUA.…”

Frequency of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies in dogs and wild small mammals from rural properties and conservation units in southern Brazil

“…In two semi-arid regions of Brazil the seropositivity was 5.6% (10/180) in dog and 3.9% (6/152) in wild mammals [34]. Moreover wild canids and wild rats in the municipality of Minas Gerais presented 35% (14/40) and 30.3% (13/43) seropositivity, respectively [13,32].…”