High Diversity of Leptospira Species Infecting Bats Captured in the Urabá Region (Antioquia-Colombia)

Leptospirosis is a globally distributed zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic bacteria of the genus Leptospira. This zoonotic disease affects humans, domestic animals and wild animals. Colombia is considered an endemic country for leptospirosis; Antioquia is the second department in Colombia, with the highest number of reported leptospirosis cases. Currently, many studies report bats as reservoirs of Leptospira spp. but the prevalence in these mammals is unknown. The goal of this study was to better understand the role of bats as reservoir hosts of Leptospira species and to evaluate the genetic diversity of circulating Leptospira species in Antioquia-Colombia. We captured 206 bats in the municipalities of Chigorodó (43 bats), Carepa (43 bats), Apartadó (39 bats), Turbo (40 bats), and Necoclí (41 bats) in the Urabá region (Antioquia-Colombia). Twenty bats tested positive for Leptospira spp. infection (20/206—9.70%) and the species of infected bats were Carollia perspicillata, Dermanura rava, Glossophaga soricina, Molossus molossus, Artibeus planirostris, and Uroderma convexum. These species have different feeding strategies such as frugivorous, insectivores, and nectarivores. The infecting Leptospira species identified were Leptospira borgpetersenii (3/20–15%), Leptospira alexanderi (2/20–10%), Leptospira noguchii (6/20–30%), Leptospira interrogans (3/20–15%), and Leptospira kirschneri (6/20–30%). Our results showed the importance of bats in the epidemiology, ecology, and evolution of Leptospira in this host-pathogen association. This is the first step in deciphering the role played by bats in the epidemiology of human leptospirosis in the endemic region of Urabá (Antioquia-Colombia).

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High Diversity of Leptospira Species Infecting Bats Captured in the Uraba Region (Antioquia-Colombia)

10.20944/preprints202108.0480.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Fernando P Monroy ◽

Sergio Solari ◽

Juan Alvaro Lopez ◽

Piedad Agudelo-Florez ◽

Ronald Guillermo Pelaez-Sanchez

Keyword(s):

Pathogenic Bacteria ◽

Zoonotic Disease ◽

Feeding Strategies ◽

Endemic Region ◽

Glossophaga Soricina ◽

Leptospira Spp ◽

Leptospira Borgpetersenii ◽

Molossus Molossus ◽

Reservoir Hosts ◽

Leptospira Species

Leptospirosis is a globally distributed zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic bacteria of the genus Leptospira. This zoonotic disease affects humans, domestic, or wild animals. Colombia is considered an endemic country for leptospirosis; and Antioquia is the second department in Colombia with the highest number of reported leptospirosis cases. Currently, many studies report bats as reservoirs of Leptospira spp. but its prevalence in these mammals is unknown. In the present study we aimed to better understand the role of bats as reservoir hosts of Leptospira species and to evaluate the genetic diversity of circulating Leptospira species in Antioquia-Colombia. We captured 206 bats in the municipalities of Chigorodó (43 bats), Carepa (43 bats), Apartadó (39 bats), Turbo (40 bats), and Necoclí (41 bats) in the Urabá region (Antioquia-Colombia). Twenty bats were positive for Leptospira spp. infection (20/206 - 9,70%) and the species of infected bats were Carollia perspicillata, Dermatura rava, Glossophaga soricina, Molossus molossus, Artibeus planirostris, and Uroderma convexum. These species have different feeding strategies such as frugivorous, insectivores, and nectarivores. The infecting Leptospira species identified were Leptospira borgpetersenii (3/20 – 15%), Leptospira alexanderi (2/20 – 10%), Leptospira noguchii (6/20 – 30%), Leptospira interrogans (3/2 – 15%), and Leptospira kirschneri (6/20 – 30%). The results of this research show the importance of bats in the epidemiology, ecology and evolution of Leptospira in this host-pathogen association. This is the first step in deciphering the role played by bats in the epidemiology of human leptospirosis in the endemic region of Uraba (Antioquia-Colombia).

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In Silico Analysis of Genetic VapC Profiles from the Toxin-Antitoxin Type II VapBC Modules among Pathogenic, Intermediate, and Non-Pathogenic Leptospira

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms7020056 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 56

Author(s):

Alexandre Lopes ◽

Bruna Azevedo ◽

Rebeca Emídio ◽

Deborah Damiano ◽

Ana Nascimento ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pathogenic Bacteria ◽

In Silico Analysis ◽

Amino Acid Sequences ◽

Protein Alignment ◽

Pathogenic Leptospira ◽

Leptospira Spp ◽

Unique Species ◽

Silico Analysis ◽

Leptospira Species ◽

Complex Manner

Pathogenic Leptospira spp. is the etiological agent of leptospirosis. The high diversity among Leptospira species provides an array to look for important mediators involved in pathogenesis. Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems represent an important survival mechanism on stress conditions. vapBC modules have been found in nearly one thousand genomes corresponding to about 40% of known TAs. In the present study, we investigated TA profiles of some strains of Leptospira using a TA database and compared them through protein alignment of VapC toxin sequences among Leptospira spp. genomes. Our analysis identified significant differences in the number of putative vapBC modules distributed in pathogenic, saprophytic, and intermediate strains: four in L. interrogans, three in L. borgpetersenii, eight in L. biflexa, and 15 in L. licerasiae. The VapC toxins show low identity among amino acid sequences within the species. Some VapC toxins appear to be exclusively conserved in unique species, others appear to be conserved among pathogenic or saprophytic strains, and some appear to be distributed randomly. The data shown here indicate that these modules evolved in a very complex manner, which highlights the strong need to identify and characterize new TAs as well as to understand their regulation networks and the possible roles of TA systems in pathogenic bacteria.

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Bats are a potential reservoir of pathogenic Leptospira species in Colombia

The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries ◽

10.3855/jidc.10642 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (04) ◽

pp. 278-283 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jose Mateus ◽

Natalia Gómez ◽

María Teresa Herrera-Sepúlveda ◽

Marylin Hidalgo ◽

Jairo Pérez-Torres ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ribosomal Rna ◽

Potential Role ◽

Caribbean Region ◽

Pathogenic Leptospira ◽

Glossophaga Soricina ◽

Leptospira Spp ◽

Potential Reservoir ◽

Causative Agents ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Leptospira Species

Introduction: Bats have become an epidemiologically significant source of pathogenic microorganisms, such as leptospires, the causative agents of leptospirosis. However, little information exists about bats and their potential role as a reservoir of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in Colombia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in the kidneys of bats from the Caribbean region of Colombia deposited in the collection of mammals of the Museo Javeriano de Historia Natural (MPUJ-MAMM). Methodology: DNA was extracted from twenty-six kidney samples from a total of 13 species of bats captured in Colombia. First, 16S ribosomal RNA conventional PCR was performed to detect the presence of Leptospira spp. Then, in samples that tested positive, LipL32 PCR was performed to detect pathogenic Leptospira spp. by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Results: The presence of Leptospira spp. was observed in 7/26 (26.9%) bats from the following 6 species: Carollia perspicillata, Glossophaga soricina, Dermanura phaeotis, Uroderma bilobatum, Desmodus rotundus, and Lophostoma silvicolum, and pathogenic Leptospira spp. were detected in 4/26 samples (15.4%). Conclusions: This study suggests that bats present in the Caribbean region of Colombia could be potential reservoirs of pathogenic Leptospira spp.

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First Isolation and Molecular Typing of Pathogenic and Intermediate Leptospira Species from Urine of Symptomatic Dogs

Veterinary Sciences ◽

10.3390/vetsci8120304 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (12) ◽

pp. 304

Author(s):

Ivana Piredda ◽

Loris Bertoldi ◽

Giuseppe Benvenuto ◽

Bruna Palmas ◽

Aureliana Pedditzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Analysis ◽

Zoonotic Risk ◽

Leptospira Spp ◽

Blood And Urine Samples ◽

Healthy Dogs ◽

Polymerase Chain ◽

Sequence Types ◽

Leptospira Species

Aim of this study was to evaluate, the presence and diversity of Leptospira spp. in blood and urine samples collected from 175 owned-dogs from Sardinia, Italy. After determination of leptospiral infection by microscopic agglutination test (MAT), urine from MAT-positive dogs were examined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (lipL32 rt-PCR) and then isolated by culture. In order to characterize obtained serovars, positive cultures were then subjected to 16S rRNA and secY sequencing, phylogenetic analysis and Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST). Results showed that seven dogs (4%; 95% CI: 0–55) had Leptospira DNAs in their urine and five strains were isolated from urine cultures. The three different sequence types (ST17, ST198 and ST24) belonging to Leptospira interrogans genomospecies identified by MLST analyses in this study, confirmed that the leptospiral infection was widespread in Sardinian dogs. We also reported the first characterization of a new Leptospira spp. isolated from urine of one dog living in the study area. Whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, confirmed that this genospecies was closely related to Leptospira hovindhougenii, an intermediate Leptospira spp. with unknown pathogenicity previously isolated from a rat in Denmark. Further studies are required to clarify whether healthy dogs that shed leptospires in their urine could represent a zoonotic risk for humans in this region.

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Molecular Detection of Leptospira Species Serotypes in Iranian Stray Dogs

International Journal of Medical Laboratory ◽

10.18502/ijml.v6i2.1032 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Saam Torkan ◽

Hassan Momtaz

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

Chain Reaction ◽

Serum Samples ◽

Blood Samples ◽

Stray Dogs ◽

Wide Range ◽

Leptospira Spp ◽

Polymerase Chain ◽

Leptospira Species

Background and Aims: Leptospirosis is a spirochetal disease with public health importance globally. This disease affects a wide range of domestic and wild animals. Dogs are one of the species most sensitive to Leptospira canicola and Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae. The present study was concluded to evaluate the prevalence rate of Leptospira species and L. canicola and L. icterohaemorrhagiae serovars in Iranian stray dogs. Materials and Methods: One-hundred and twenty blood samples were first taken from stray dogs. Then the samples were transferred to the laboratory. Sera were extracted from blood samples and genomic DNA was extracted. DNA samples were subjected to conventional polymerase chain reaction. Positive samples for Leptospira spp. were analyzed for presence of L. canicola and L. icterohaemorrhagiaeserovars using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results: Nine samples out of 120 serum samples (7.5%) were positive for the flagella gene of the Leptospira spp. Prevalence of Leptospira spp. in serum samples of male and female dogs were 5.4% and 10.86%, respectively. Prevalence of L. canicola and L. icterohaemorrhagiae serovars were 55.55% and 33.33%, respectively. We found that 11.11% of samples were positive for both serovars. Two to three and 3-4 year old dogs had the highest prevalence of Leptospira spp. Conclusions: The considerable prevalence of leptospirta spp. and also their zoonotic serovars among Iranian stray dogs represented an important public health issue regarding the contact of healthy human with these dogs. Identification of infected dogs and their vaccination can inhibit the distribution of Leptospira spp.

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Mycobacterium microti: Not Just a Coincidental Pathogen for Cats

Frontiers in Veterinary Science ◽

10.3389/fvets.2020.590037 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Author(s):

Sophie Peterhans ◽

Patricia Landolt ◽

Ute Friedel ◽

Francisca Oberhänsli ◽

Matthias Dennler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diagnostic Tools ◽

Endemic Region ◽

Wild Mice ◽

Promising Tool ◽

Release Assay ◽

Skin Nodules ◽

Ifn Γ ◽

Mycobacterium Microti ◽

Reservoir Hosts ◽

Immunodiagnostic Tests

Public interest in animal tuberculosis is mainly focused on prevention and eradication of bovine tuberculosis in cattle and wildlife. In cattle, immunodiagnostic tests such as the tuberculin skin test or the interferon gamma (IFN-γ) assay have been established and are commercially available. Feline tuberculosis is rather unknown, and the available diagnostic tools are limited. However, infections with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex members need to be considered an aetiological differential diagnosis in cats with granulomatous lymphadenopathy or skin nodules and, due to the zoonotic potential, a time-efficient and accurate diagnostic approach is required. The present study describes 11 independent cases of Mycobacterium microti infection in domestic cats in Switzerland. For three cases, clinical presentation, diagnostic imaging, bacteriological results, immunodiagnostic testing, and pathological features are reported. An adapted feline IFN-γ release assay was successfully applied in two cases and appears to be a promising tool for the ante mortem diagnosis of tuberculosis in cats. Direct contact with M. microti reservoir hosts was suspected to be the origin of infection in all three cases. However, there was no evidence of M. microti infection in 346 trapped wild mice from a presumptive endemic region. Therefore, the source and modalities of infection in cats in Switzerland remain to be further elucidated.

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Rabies diagnosis and serology in bats from the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical ◽

10.1590/s0037-86822011005000011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 140-145 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Marilene Fernandes de Almeida ◽

Luzia Fátima Alves Martorelli ◽

Miriam Martos Sodré ◽

Ana Paula Arruda Geraldes Kataoka ◽

Adriana Ruckert da Rosa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rabies Virus ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

São Paulo ◽

Tadarida Brasiliensis ◽

Control Center ◽

Glossophaga Soricina ◽

Molossus Molossus ◽

Immunofluorescent Test ◽

Artibeus Lituratus ◽

Rabies Diagnosis

INTRODUCTION: Bats are one of the most important reservoirs and vectors of the rabies virus in the world. METHODS: From 1988 to 2003, the Zoonosis Control Center in São Paulo City performed rabies diagnosis on 5,670 bats by direct immunofluorescent test and mouse inoculation test. Blood samples were collected from 1,618 bats and the sera were analyzed using the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test to confirm rabies antibodies. RESULTS: Forty-four (0.8%) bats were positive for rabies. The prevalence of rabies antibodies was 5.9% using 0.5IU/ml as a cutoff. Insectivorous bats (69.8%) and bats of the species Molossus molossus (51.8%) constituted the majority of the sample; however, the highest prevalence of antibodies were observed in Glossophaga soricina (14/133), Histiotus velatus (16/60), Desmodus rotundus (8/66), Artibeus lituratus (5/54), Nyctinomops macrotis (3/23), Tadarida brasiliensis (3/48), Carollia perspicillata (3/9), Eumops auripendulus (2/30), Nyctinomops laticaudatus (2/16), Sturnira lilium (2/17) and Eumops perotis (1/13). The prevalence of rabies antibodies was analyzed by species, food preference and sex. CONCLUSIONS: The expressive levels of antibodies associated with the low virus positivity verified in these bats indicate that rabies virus circulates actively among them.

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Development of Chronic and Acute Golden Syrian Hamster Infection Models With Leptospira borgpetersenii Serovar Hardjo

Veterinary Pathology ◽

10.1177/0300985811409252 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 49 (2) ◽

pp. 403-411 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

R. L. Zuerner ◽

D. P. Alt ◽

M. V. Palmer

Keyword(s):

Syrian Hamster ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Pathogenic Leptospira ◽

Golden Syrian Hamster ◽

Lethal Infection ◽

Infection Models ◽

Important Exception ◽

Leptospira Borgpetersenii ◽

Human Infections ◽

Leptospira Species

The golden Syrian hamster ( Mesocricetus auratus) is frequently used as a model to study virulence for several Leptospira species. Onset of an acute lethal infection following inoculation with several pathogenic Leptospira species has been widely adopted for pathogenesis studies. An important exception is the outcome following inoculation of hamsters with live L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo, the primary cause of bovine leptospirosis and a cause of human infections. Typically, inoculation of hamsters with L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo fails to induce clinical signs of infection. In this study, the authors defined LD50 and ID50 for 2 strains of L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo: JB197 and 203. Both strains infected hamsters with ID50 values of approximately 1.5 × 102 bacteria yet differed in tissue invasion and interaction with leukocytes, resulting in widely divergent clinical outcomes. Hamsters infected with strain 203 established renal colonization within 4 days postinfection and remained asymptomatic with chronic renal infections similar to cattle infected with serovar Hardjo. In contrast, hamsters infected with strain JB197 developed a rapidly debilitating disease typical of acute leptospirosis common in accidental hosts (eg, humans) with an LD50 of 3.6 × 104 bacteria. Evidence that strain JB197 resides in both extracellular and intracellular environments during hamster infection was obtained. Development of models that result in chronic and acute forms of leptospirosis provides a platform to study L. borgpetersenii pathogenesis and to test vaccines for the prevention of leptospirosis.

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Rats in the city: implications for zoonotic disease risk in an urbanizing world

10.1101/2021.03.18.436089 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kim Rebecca Blasdell ◽

Serge Morand ◽

Susan G W Laurance ◽

Stephen L Doggett ◽

Amy Hahs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Disease Risk ◽

Rattus Rattus ◽

Zoonotic Disease ◽

Microbial Pathogens ◽

Abundance And Diversity ◽

Impact Of Urbanization ◽

Rodent Community ◽

And Function ◽

The Impact ◽

Reservoir Hosts

Urbanization is rapidly transforming much of Southeast Asia, altering the structure and function of the landscape, as well as the frequency and intensity of the interactions between people, animals, and the environment. In this study, we began to explore the impact of urbanization on zoonotic disease risk by simultaneously characterizing changes in the abundance and diversity of reservoir hosts (rodents), ectoparasite vectors (ticks), and microbial pathogens across a gradient of urbanization in Malaysian Borneo. We found that although rodent species diversity decreased with increasing urbanization, two species appeared to thrive in anthropogenic environments: the invasive urban exploiter, Rattus rattus and the native urban adapter, Sundamys muelleri. R. rattus was strongly associated with the presence of built infrastructure across the gradient and dominated the urban rodent community where it was associated with high microbial diversity and multi-host zoonoses capable of environmental transmission, including Leptospira spp., and Toxoplasma gondii. In contrast, S. muelleri was restricted to sites with a significant vegetative component where it was found at high densities in the urban location. This species was strongly associated with the presence of ticks, including the medically important genera Ambylomma, Haemaphysalis, and Ixodes. Overall, our results demonstrate that the response to urbanization varies by species at all levels: host, ectoparasite, and microbe. This may lead to increased zoonotic disease risk in a subset of environments across urban and urbanizing landscapes that can be reduced through improved pest management and public health messaging.

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Morcegos urbanos de Guarulhos: alta riqueza de espécies e dominância de espécies ecologicamente flexíveis reveladas a partir de dados de monitoramento da raiva

Iheringia Série Zoologia ◽

10.1590/1678-4766e2021009 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 111 ◽

Author(s):

Marcos A. Melo ◽

David de A. Braga ◽

Wilson Mansho ◽

Renata R. Carvalho ◽

Débora C. de Oliveira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Glossophaga Soricina ◽

Molossus Molossus

RESUMO Urbanização afeta a composição e funções ecossistêmicas das comunidades de morcegos em várias regiões do planeta. Entretanto, este ainda é um tema pouco explorado no Neotrópico. No Brasil, embora poucas cidades apresentem inventários de quirópteros, órgãos municipais de saúde pública (e.g., Centro de Controle de Zoonoses) realizam a vigilância passiva dos morcegos infectados pelo vírus da raiva. Estas instituições fazem a identificação dos espécimes oriundos principalmente de áreas urbanas e coletam dados biológicos importantes para o manejo ambiental, controle populacional, ecologia e conservação das espécies. O presente estudo analisou os dados de recebimento de morcegos, de 2001 a 2017, oriundos da cidade de Guarulhos, comparando as taxas de recebimento, frequência, riqueza e dominância das espécies com estudos prévios conduzidos em cidades brasileiras. Os dados da vigilância em saúde pública demonstraram uma alta riqueza de espécies (n = 29), representadas por três famílias mais comuns em áreas urbanas brasileiras (Phyllostomidae, Molossidae e Vespertilionidae). Molossus molossus (Pallas, 1766), Glossophaga soricina (Pallas, 1766) e Myotis nigricans (Schinz, 1821) representaram a maioria (70%) dos dados da quiropterofauna de Guarulhos. Esta dominância pode estar relacionada com a flexibilidade da dieta dessas espécies (insetívoras e nectarívoras não obrigatórias) e abrigos diurnos em edificações, recursos estes altamente disponíveis nas cidades brasileiras. Assim, para mitigar os efeitos da urbanização sobre a rica quiropterofauna regional, recomenda-se que o planejamento ambiental das cidades considere suas diretrizes urbanísticas e florísticas como uma ferramenta ao manejo integrado da fauna silvestre e saúde pública, além de implantar estratégias para aumentar o potencial de conservação da biodiversidade nestes ambientes.

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