Abstract
Simple SummaryWildlife can serve as a reservoir for highly contagious and deadly diseases, many of which are infectious to domestic animals and/or humans. Wildlife pathogen and disease surveillance is, thus, an essential tool that can provide valuable information on population health status and protect human health. Blood samples from 244 wild animals and 5 from carcasses were tested for specific antibodies against Leptospira serovars in Slovenia between 2019 and 2020 using the microscopic agglutination test. The results confirm that various wildlife species were exposed to Leptospira interrogans and may be used as a sentinel for leptospirosis, which is considered a significant health threat to other wildlife species and to humans.A total of 249 serum samples from 13 wild animal species namely fallow deer (Dama dama, n = 1), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus, n = 80), red deer (Cervus elaphus, n = 22), chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra, n = 21), mouflon (Ovis musimon, n = 4), brown hare (Lepus europaeus, n = 2), nutria (Myocastor coypus, n = 1), red fox (Vulpes vulpes, n = 97), stone marten (Martes foina, n = 12), European badger (Meles meles, n = 2), golden jackal (Canis aureus, n = 2) Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx, n = 2) and grey wolf (Canis lupus, n = 3) were analysed for the presence of antibodies against Leptospira interrogans sensu stricto. Serum samples were examined via the microscopic agglutination test for the presence of specific antibodies against Leptospira serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae, Bratislava, Pomona, Grippotyphosa, Hardjo, Sejroe, Australis, Autumnalis, Canicola, Saxkoebing and Tarassovi. Antibodies to at least one of the pathogenic serovars were detected in 77 (30.9%; CI = 25–37%) sera. The proportion of positive samples varied intraspecifically and was the biggest in large carnivores (lynx, wolf and jackal; 86%), followed by mezzo predators: stone marten (67%) and red fox (34%), and large herbivores: red deer (32%), roe deer (25%), alpine chamois (10%) and mouflon (0%). Out of the 77 positive samples, 42 samples (53.8%) had positive titres against a single serovar, while 35 (45.4%) samples had positive titres against two or more serovars. The most frequently detected antibodies were those against the serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae. The present study confirmed the presence of multiple pathogenic serovars in wildlife throughout Slovenia. It can be concluded that wild animals are reservoirs for at least some of the leptospiral serovars and are a potential source of leptospirosis for other wild and domestic animals, as well as for humans.
Highlights
In recent decades, international attention on wildlife diseases, including surveillance and monitoring programmes, has increased [1,2]
Various pathogenic serovars of Leptospira have been serologically classified into 22 serogroups and over 300 serovars based on the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) or the cross-agglutination absorption test (CAAT), respectively [7], with each serovar tending to be maintained by a host group and capable of causing the disease [8,9,10]
The highest antibody seroprevalence was found for serovar Australis in red fox and stone marten; serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae in golden jackal, grey wolf and roe deer; serovar Pomona in red deer; serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae and Sejroe in Eurasian lynx; serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae and Tarassovi in chamois; and serovar Bratislava in nutria
Summary
International attention on wildlife diseases, including surveillance and monitoring programmes, has increased [1,2]. Leptospira spp. are considered as small mammal-associated zoonotic pathogens causing diseases with potentially similar symptoms in humans [4]. It is considered as one of the most important re-emerging health threats to humans by the World Organisation for Animal Health [5,6]. Wildlife species are generally considered to be important epidemiological vectors, mainly because of their frequent reactivity to Leptospira serovars native to their habitat [16] These reservoirs are thought to act as a source of infection for humans and domestic animals, who can become a source of infection for other animals and humans [6,11]. Data on the epidemiology of Leptospira infections in wildlife and the public health significance of wildlife species worldwide are lacking [20,22]
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