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Abstract
Human leptospirosis is a zoonotic and potentially fatal disease that has increasingly been reported in both developing and developed countries, including France. However, our understanding of the basic aspects of the epidemiology of this disease, including the source of Leptospira serogroup Australis infections in humans and domestic animals, remains incomplete. We investigated the genetic diversity of Leptospira in 28 species of wildlife other than rats using variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) and multispacer sequence typing (MST). The DNA of pathogenic Leptospira was detected in the kidney tissues of 201 individuals out of 3,738 tested individuals. A wide diversity, including 50 VNTR profiles and 8 MST profiles, was observed. Hedgehogs and mustelid species had the highest risk of being infected (logistic regression, OR = 66.8, CI95% = 30.9–144 and OR = 16.7, CI95% = 8.7–31.8, respectively). Almost all genetic profiles obtained from the hedgehogs were related to Leptospira interrogans Australis, suggesting the latter as a host-adapted bacterium, whereas mustelid species were infected by various genotypes, suggesting their interaction with Leptospira was different. By providing an inventory of the circulating strains of Leptospira and by pointing to hedgehogs as a potential reservoir of L. interrogans Australis, our study advances current knowledge on Leptospira animal carriers, and this information could serve to enhance epidemiological investigations in the future.
Highlights
Leptospira spp. are endemic in many domestic and wild mammals, which may shed the bacteria in their urine [1]
The objectives of this study were (1) to describe the Leptospira strains circulating in wildlife other than rats using variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) and multispacer sequence typing (MST), (2) to identify the animal species with the highest prevalence of leptospiral renal carriage, (3) to identify the animal species that would predominantly carry Leptospira related to the serogroup Australis, and (4) to assess the potential role of wildlife species in maintaining Leptospira in France
Based on rrs (16S) gene typing, 201 individuals were found infected with pathogenic Leptospira
Summary
Leptospira spp. are endemic in many domestic and wild mammals, which may shed the bacteria in their urine [1]. Antibodies against the Leptospira serogroup Australis, historically considered uncommon, have recently been implicated in 6% to 18% of infected patients and 43% of leptospirosis cases in livestock, diagnosed in both by the use of a microagglutination test (reference test) [2,4,5]. This change in the disease epidemiology is important for public health and requires a thorough and up-to-date understanding of the disease epidemiology to enhance prevention and preparedness
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