Seroprevalence of leptospirosis in human groups at risk due to environmental, labor or social conditions

Meny, Paulina; Menéndez, Clara; Ashfield, Natalia; Quintero, Jair; Ríos, Cristina; Iglesias, Tamara; Schelotto, Felipé; Varela, Gustavo

doi:10.1016/j.ram.2019.01.005

Cited by 20 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…noguchii sequences, obtained from other geographical regions and available in public databases, allowed to build a picture of related groups. Also included in this analysis were secY sequences obtained from 4 Leptospira strains recently isolated from human infections in Uruguay by one of the groups of our consortium [ 12 , 13 ]. Such human isolates correspond to L .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Isolation of pathogenic Leptospira strains from naturally infected cattle in Uruguay reveals high serovar diversity, and uncovers a relevant risk for human leptospirosis

et al. 2018

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Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonosis with worldwide distribution. The causative agents are spirochete bacteria of the Leptospira genus, displaying huge diversity of serovars, the identity of which is critical for effective diagnosis and vaccination purposes. Among many other mammalian species, Leptospira infects cattle, eliciting acute signs in calves, and chronic disease in adult animals often leading to abortions. In South America, and including in Uruguay, beef and dairy export are leading sources of national income. Despite the importance of bovine health, food safety, and bovine-related dissemination of leptospirosis to humans, extremely limited information is available as to the identity of Leptospira species and serovars infecting cattle in Uruguay and the South American subcontinent. Here we report a multicentric 3-year study resulting in the isolation and detailed characterization of 40 strains of Leptospira spp. obtained from infected cattle. Combined serologic and molecular typing identified these isolates as L. interrogans serogroup Pomona serovar Kennewicki (20 strains), L. interrogans serogroup Canicola serovar Canicola (1 strain), L. borgpetersenii serogroup Sejroe serovar Hardjo (10 strains) and L. noguchii (9 strains). The latter showed remarkable phenotypic and genetic variability, belonging to 6 distinct serogroups, including 3 that did not react with a large panel of reference serogrouping antisera. Approximately 20% of cattle sampled in the field were found to be shedding pathogenic Leptospira in their urine, uncovering a threat for public health that is being largely neglected. The two L. interrogans serovars that we isolated from cattle displayed identical genetic signatures to those of human isolates that had previously been obtained from leptospirosis patients. This report of local Leptospira strains shall improve diagnostic tools and the understanding of leptospirosis epidemiology in South America. These strains could also be used as new components within bacterin vaccines to protect against the pathogenic Leptospira strains that are actually circulating, a direct measure to reduce the risk of human leptospirosis.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is worth noting that two L . interrogans strains that had recently been isolated from human leptospirosis cases in Uruguay affecting rural workers [ 12 , 13 ] clustered in the same secY clade together with the L . interrogans bovine isolates that we now describe.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isolation of pathogenic Leptospira strains from naturally infected cattle in Uruguay reveals high serovar diversity, and uncovers a relevant risk for human leptospirosis

et al. 2018

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“…through contaminated water [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Due to close contact with soil, natural water sources and farm animals, workers on dairy farms and slaughterhouses, harvesters and veterinarians are also at a higher risk of exposure [ 24 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Pet animals, especially rats, are also a potential source of infection [ 35 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Season, Population and Individual Characteristics on the Prevalence of Leptospira spp. in Bank Voles in North-West Germany

Schmidt

Obiegala

Imholt

et al. 2021

Biology

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Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonotic disease with more than 1 million human cases annually. Infections are associated with direct contact to infected animals or indirect contact to contaminated water or soil. As not much is known about the prevalence and host specificity of Leptospira spp. in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus), our study aimed to evaluate Leptospira spp. prevalence and genomospecies distribution as well as the influence of season, host abundance and individual characteristics on the Leptospira prevalence. Bank voles, which are abundant and widely distributed in forest habitats, were collected in the years 2018 to 2020 in North-West Germany, covering parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. The DNA of 1817 kidney samples was analyzed by real-time PCR targeting the lipl32 gene. Positive samples were further analyzed by targeting the secY gene to determine Leptospira genomospecies and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to determine the sequence type (ST). The overall prevalence was 7.5% (95% confidence interval: 6.4–8.9). Leptospira interrogans (83.3%), L. kirschneri (11.5%) and L. borgpetersenii (5.2%) were detected in bank voles. Increasing body weight as a proxy for age increased the individual infection probability. Only in years with high bank vole abundance was this probability significantly higher in males than in females. Even if case numbers of human leptospirosis in Germany are low, our study shows that pathogenic Leptospira spp. are present and thus a persisting potential source for human infection.

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“…The lead factors to transmission leptospirosis infection from rodents to human is activities taking place in wetlands and rice fields, forestry work, and farmers. Leptospirosis is a disease caused by work 39 . Risk work is work that has contact with air, mud and soil that supports transmission of leptospirosis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is because the Leptospira bacteria can survive in the air, and also moist soil 1,2 . Types of works that are at risk are farmers, sugar cane farmers, breeders, cleaning workers, abattoir workers, fish and ungags processing, butchers, laboratory workers, miners, garbage transporters in endemic areas, market workers, veterinarians, and other jobs that are related to the environment contaminated with Leptospira bacteria or Leptospira bacterial habitat 39,40 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Presence of Rodents Infected With Leptospira Bacteria in Various Countries and the Leptospirosis Potential in Humans: A Systematic Review

Nova

Susanna

Warsito

2020

MJPHM

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Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by Leptospira bacteria. It is a global public health concern, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. The aim of this review was to summarize some relevant studies that discuss the presence of rodents and the identification of Leptospira bacteria in rodents. This review also presents findings on the potential reassociation of the presence of rodents with Leptospira bacterial infections to leptospirosis cases in humans. A systematic review methodology used to minimize article selection bias that was likely to occur. During the initial search from three science databases (ProQuest, Scopus, and PubMed), 119 articles were retrieved. During the screening process, three articles were excluded due to duplication, 101 articles were excluded based on title and abstract incompatibility with the inclusion criteria, five articles were excluded due to incompatibility of article content with the inclusion criteria, and two articles were excluded because of the ineligibility with the study. In the final screening process, eight articles were chosen to be analyzed. This review found that the presence of rodents infected with Leptospira had the potential to cause leptospirosis in humans through contaminated water and soil or by direct human-to-human contact. The lead factors in the transmission of leptospirosis infection from rodents to humans are activities that take place in wetlands and rice fields, forestry work, and farming activities.

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Seroprevalence of leptospirosis in human groups at risk due to environmental, labor or social conditions

Cited by 20 publications

References 36 publications

Isolation of pathogenic Leptospira strains from naturally infected cattle in Uruguay reveals high serovar diversity, and uncovers a relevant risk for human leptospirosis

Isolation of pathogenic Leptospira strains from naturally infected cattle in Uruguay reveals high serovar diversity, and uncovers a relevant risk for human leptospirosis

Influence of Season, Population and Individual Characteristics on the Prevalence of Leptospira spp. in Bank Voles in North-West Germany

The Presence of Rodents Infected With Leptospira Bacteria in Various Countries and the Leptospirosis Potential in Humans: A Systematic Review

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