Abstract
Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonotic disease affecting mostly the world’s tropical regions. The rural people of northeastern Thailand suffer from a large number of leptospirosis infections, and their abundant rice fields are optimal rodent habitats. To evaluate the contribution of diversity and carriage rate of pathogenic Leptospira in rodent reservoirs to leptospirosis incidence, we surveyed rodents, between 2011 and 2012, in four provinces in northeastern Thailand with the highest incidence rates of human leptospirosis cases. We used lipL32 real-time PCR to detect pathogenic Leptospira in rodent kidneys, partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing to classify the infecting Leptospira species, and whole 16S rDNA sequencing to classify species of isolated Leptospira. Overall prevalence of Leptospira infection was 3.6% (18/495). Among infected rodents, Bandicota indica (14.3%), Rattus exulans (3.6%), and R. rattus (3.2%) had renal carriage. We identified two pathogenic Leptospira species: L. interrogans (n = 15) and L. borgpetersenii (n = 3). In addition, an L. wolffii (LS0914U) isolate was recovered from the urine of B. indica. Leptospira infection was more prevalent in low density rodent populations, such as B. indica. In contrast, there was a lower prevalence of Leptospira infection in high density rodent populations of R. exulans and R. rattus.
Highlights
Pathogenic Leptospira species are the causative agents of leptospirosis, one of the most common zoonotic diseases in the world [1]
We evaluated Leptospira prevalence in rodents, between 2011 and 2012, from four provinces in the northeastern region of Thailand with the highest incidence rates of human leptospirosis cases: Burirum, Kalasin, Sisaket, and Surin
A total of 495 rodents were trapped from the four provinces reporting the highest incidence of human leptospirosis cases to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) since 2007 (Figure 1)
Summary
Pathogenic Leptospira species are the causative agents of leptospirosis, one of the most common zoonotic diseases in the world [1]. Rodents are the primary reservoir hosts for Leptospira, a variety of domestic and wild animals, such as dogs, buffaloes, cattle, pigs, and mongooses serve as reservoirs and may transmit the disease to other animals through direct and indirect exposure to infected urine [2,3]. Infected animals shed Leptospira from their renal tubules into the environment via urine [4,5]. Most human leptospirosis cases are the result of contact with water or soil contaminated with the urine of infected animals [1]. The seroprevalence rates of Leptospira in rodents trapped during 1998 to 2000 in epidemic areas from 10 provinces (Burirum, Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phetchabun, Phitsanulok, Chanthaburi, Chon Buri, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Trang, and Surat Thani) across Thailand was approximately 4.8%, with most seropositive rodents being found in northeastern rodent populations (7.1%) [7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
