The prevalence of Leptospira among invasive small mammals on Puerto Rican cattle farms

Benavidez, Kathryn M; Guerra, Trina; Torres, Madison; Rodríguez, David; Veech, Joseph A.; Hahn, Dittmar; Miller, Robert J.; Soltero, Fred; Ramírez, Alejandro E. Pérez; León, Adalberto Pérez de; Castro-Arellano, Iván

doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0007236

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 58 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This suggests that current assessment of FIB may not be a reliable indicator of safe water quality in the tropics. Future studies similar to Benavidez et al (2019) should help to better understand the link between the presence of pathogenic leptospires and specific animal sources (rats, mongoose, cattle, etc.) and develop public health preventative measures to limit the spread of this disease on the island.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal shifts in the presence of pathogenic leptospires, Escherichia coli, and physicochemical properties in coastal rivers and streams of Puerto Rico

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Leptospirosis is an emerging zoonotic disease in the Caribbean region and the island of Puerto Rico. Information on the presence of pathogenic Leptospira in rivers and streams of Puerto Rico is currently lacking. This study aimed to evaluate seasonal shifts in the presence of pathogenic leptospires and the level of Escherichia coli from 32 coastal locations in Puerto Rico's dry and wet seasons. Physicochemical parameters (temperature, salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen) were determined at each site. The temperature (25.8 • C) and pH (average 7.6) values were all within acceptable USEPA regulatory standards. Thirty-eight percent of the sites of the dry season and 28% of the wet season sites contained dissolved oxygen levels ≤4 mg L −1 , which is relatively low. In the dry season, 19 sites (59%) and 18 (56%) of the wet season sites had E. coli counts >410 most probable number (MPN) 100 ml −1 and would be considered unsafe for recreational use. The lipl32 gene quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay was used for the detection of pathogenic leptospires in the samples. Low concentrations of pathogenic leptospires (<60 genome copies 100 ml −1) at Camuy, Espíritu Santo, Río Guayanilla, Quebrada Majagual, and Río Fajardo were detected during the wet season. Pathogenic leptospires were detected (∼40 genome copies 100 ml −1) at only one site, Loíza, during the dry season. There was no predictable relationship between the physicochemical parameters, concentrations of E. coli, and the presence of pathogenic leptospires in water samples.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal shifts in the presence of pathogenic leptospires, Escherichia coli, and physicochemical properties in coastal rivers and streams of Puerto Rico

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Invasive rodents in Fernando de Noronha are subject of major concern, once they can rapidly reproduce and adapt to human activity (Benavidez et al, 2019). Furthermore, invasion of rodents induced devastating effects on local biodiversity, leading to extinction of native wildlife (Russell et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroepidemiology of leptospirosis and molecular characterization of the first Leptospira strain isolated from Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil

Silva¹,

Marvulo²,

Ferreira³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Leptospirosis has been widely reported in insular environments worldwide, characterizing a major public health threat. Although low genetic biodiversity is expected in these regions, the introduction of domestic and synanthropic mammals may contribute to the wider diversity leptospiral strains in insular settings. This study proposes a large-scale investigation of Leptospira infection in animals from Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil. A total of 1,265 blood samples from domestic (n=682), synanthropic (n=133) and wild (n=450) animals were collected between 2007 and 2014, totaling 12 species. The presence of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies was investigated by the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) and kidney samples from synanthropic rodents were collected for the isolation of Leptospira spp. The leptospires recovered were further characterized by MAT with polyclonal antibodies, whole genome sequencing and Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST). The MAT results revealed the presence of agglutinins in 90 samples (7.1%), and the most frequently found serogroup was Icterohaemorrhagiae (n=57) in practically all species included. Viable leptospires were recovered from one brown rat, and characterization revealed that the isolate belongs to L. interrogans serogroup Pyrogenes. This study stands as the most comprehensive investigation of Leptospira spp. infection in Fernando de Noronha archipelago, also providing the characterization of the first leptospiral strain ever isolated from an insular setting in Brazil. The results suggest that synanthropic rodents play a major role in the transmission of leptospirosis among wildlife and domestic species in the archipelago.

show abstract

“…Invasive rodents in Fernando de Noronha are subject of major concern, as they can rapidly reproduce and adapt to human activity (Benavidez et al., 2019). Furthermore, invasion of rodents induced devastating effects on local biodiversity, leading to extinction of native wildlife (Russell et al., 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroepidemiological investigation of animal leptospirosis and molecular characterization of the first Leptospira strain isolated from Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil

Silva

Marvulo²,

Ferreira

et al. 2020

Transbound Emerg Dis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

The prevalence of Leptospira among invasive small mammals on Puerto Rican cattle farms

Cited by 17 publications

References 58 publications

Seasonal shifts in the presence of pathogenic leptospires, Escherichia coli, and physicochemical properties in coastal rivers and streams of Puerto Rico

Seasonal shifts in the presence of pathogenic leptospires, Escherichia coli, and physicochemical properties in coastal rivers and streams of Puerto Rico

Seroepidemiology of leptospirosis and molecular characterization of the first Leptospira strain isolated from Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil

Seroepidemiological investigation of animal leptospirosis and molecular characterization of the first Leptospira strain isolated from Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About