Prevalence and Carrier Status of Leptospirosis in Smallholder Dairy Cattle and Peridomestic Rodents in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Leptospirosis is an important bacterial zoonotic disease globally and one of the notifiable diseases in Sri Lanka. Other than human leptospirosis, little information is available on leptospirosis in domestic and feral animals in Sri Lanka. Thus, this study attempted to determine the prevalence and carrier status of leptospirosis in smallholder dairy cattle and peridomestic rodents to understand the impact of the disease on public health in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Cattle and rodent samples were collected from the Yatinuwara and Udunuwara divisional secretaries in Kandy. Serum samples were analyzed for the presence of antileptospiral antibodies using microscopic agglutination test. DNA was extracted from cattle urine and rodent kidney tissue samples, in which polymerase chain reaction was carried out to detect the Leptospira flaB gene. The cattle in 19 (38.8%) of the 49 farms harbored antileptospiral antibodies. Out of 113 cattle serum samples, 23 (20.3%) were positive; 17 (73.9%) and 6 (26.1%) reacted with serogroups Sejroe and Hebdomadis, respectively. Out of the 74 rodent samples, 13 (17.5%) were positive; 8 (61.5%) and 4 (30.8%) had reactions to serogroups Javanica and Icterohaemorrhagiae, respectively. Leptospiral DNA was detected in one cattle urine sample and identified as Leptospira interrogans. This study revealed a high prevalence of leptospirosis in cattle and rodents in Kandy. These animals were infected with a wide array of leptospiral serogroups, which are consistent with the research findings observed in humans in Kandy. Overall, serological data indicate that relative to rodents, cattle may be a more significant reservoir for human transmission and a greater source of potential risk to local agricultural communities.

A ten-year follow-up of human leptospirosis in Uruguay: an unresolved health problem

“…Localized outbreaks involving people, dogs and other animals were seen to coincide with bovine recognized infections and "abortion storms" due to Leptospira spp. 14,15,18,21,22,32,37,39 . Extensive cattle or sheep raising activities were apparently less frequently associated with human infection.…”

Distinct genetic characteristics of Sri Lankan <i>Rattus</i> and <i>Bandicota</i> (Murinae, Rodentia) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear markers

“…1) (Gamage et al, 2011a). Rats were collected in houses in Yatinuwara and Udunuwara DS, and bandicoot rats were collected from farms in Yatinuwara DS.…”

“…This study was initially sparked by a concern with the evolutionary history and ecology of zoonoses in Sri Lanka, where hantaviruses and leptospirosis have been reported as causative agents of disease (Vitarana et al, 1988;Gamage et al, 2011aGamage et al, , 2011b. Both of these pathogens, as well as many others, are likely transmitted by species of Rattus and Bandicota (Meerburg et al, 2009).…”

“…In contrast, members of the genus Bandicota (usually called bandicoot rats) have been largely neglected in genetic studies other than as outgroups to the closely related Rattus (e.g., Pagès et al, 2010;Aplin et al, 2011). Members of both genera are known to be reservoirs for the pathogenic agents of major infectious diseases including hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), hepatitis E, scrub typhus, rickettsial pox, leishmaniasis and leptospirosis (Meerburg et al, 2009;Aplin et al, 2011;Li et al, 2011), several of which have been reported in Sri Lanka (Vitarana et al, 1988;Gamage et al, 2011aGamage et al, , 2011b. Since these pathogens are often host species-specific (Bharti et al, 2003;Bi et al, 2008), a firm taxonomic and phylogenetic understanding of the rodent hosts is essential for understanding their evolutionary history, natural ecology and zoonotic behavior.…”

Molecular epidemiology of pathogenic <i>Leptospira</i> spp. among large ruminants in the Philippines

“…Infected animals become carriers harboring leptospires in the renal tubules and intermittently shedding into the environment for extended periods [1, 10, 21]. Acute leptospirosis in this animal is uncommon and characterized by pyrexia, hemolytic anemia, hemoglobinuria, jaundice, occasionally meningitis and death that is associated with infections from serogroups Pomona, Icterohaemorrhagiae and Grippotyphosa in young animals [10, 12, 26]. Domestic water buffalo is also infected with leptospirosis, however, the information is scarce as it was thought to have similar scenario with that of cattle [10].…”