Abstract. A survey of 179 animals (black rats, dogs, sheep, buffaloes, cattle, donkeys, weasels, and cats) for Leptospira infection was conducted in Mahalla City (Lower Egypt). Blood, urine, and kidney were collected and tested by culture, microscopic agglutination test (MAT), and/or polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Among rats, 26% were positive by PCR, including 7% that were also positive by culture for L. interrogans serovars Grippotyphosa, Pyrogenes, and Icterohaemorrhagiae. L. borpetersenii serovar Polonica was isolated for the first time in Egypt in three rats. MAT titers ≥ 1:800 were observed in 11% of rats and 12% of dogs. L. interrogans serovar Grippotyphosa was detected in one cat. Sheep and donkeys were negative for leptospirosis by all methods. Buffaloes and cattle were seropositive in 20% and 44% of animals, respectively. Data indicate that several pathogenic serovars are circulating in the animals, which may pose exposure risks and account for high rates of acute febrile illness.

Brucella species are highly monomorphic, with minimal genetic variation among species, hindering the development of reliable subtyping tools for epidemiologic and phylogenetic analyses. Our objective was to compare two distinct multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) subtyping methods on a collection of 101 Brucella melitensis isolates from sporadic human cases of brucellosis in Egypt (n ‫؍‬ 83), Qatar (n ‫؍‬ 17), and Libya (n ‫؍‬ 1). A gel-based MLVA technique, MLVA-15 IGM , was compared to an automated capillary electrophoresis-based method, MLVA-15 NAU , with each MLVA scheme examining a unique set of variable-number tandem repeats. Both the MLVA IGM and MLVA NAU methods were highly discriminatory, resolving 99 and 101 distinct genotypes, respectively, and were able to largely separate genotypes from Egypt and Qatar. The MLVA-15 NAU scheme presented higher strain-to-strain diversity in our test population than that observed with the MLVA-15 IGM assay. Both schemes were able to genetically correlate some strains originating from the same hospital or region within a country. In addition to comparing the genotyping abilities of these two schemes, we also compared the usability, limitations, and advantages of the two MLVA systems and their applications in the epidemiological genotyping of human B. melitensis strains.Brucellosis is a common zoonotic disease causing infections in economically important livestock, such as cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs (22). In humans, this highly diverse illness, also known as Malta or undulant fever, initially presents as a fever, malaise, and myalgia and may later develop into a chronic illness affecting various organs and tissues (21,25). Brucellosis is usually transmitted to humans through consumption of contaminated and untreated milk products or by direct contact with infected animals. There are nine phenotypically recognized species in the Brucella genus: Brucella melitensis, B. abortus, B. suis, B. ovis, B. canis, and B. neotomae; two new marine species, B. ceti and B. pinnipedialis (11); and B. microti (27), isolated from the common vole. Each species has distinctive host preferences, pathogenicity, and epidemiology.Although some developed countries have eradicated B. abortus from cattle through vaccination campaigns, B. melitensis, B. abortus, and B. suis remain the principal causes of human brucellosis worldwide and are major public health problems, primarily in developing countries (7). Brucellosis is prevalent in the Mediterranean basin, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and areas of Latin America where people are economically dependent on ruminant livestock (23,28). Over the past decade, the global epidemiology of human brucellosis has changed, due in part to the implementation of national and international surveillance programs, animal vaccination campaigns, and socioeconomic changes (22).Current microbiological (4) and low-resolution molecular typing methods are useful for identifying Brucella isolates and determining species and biovar designatio...