Exposure of Free-Ranging Wild Animals to Zoonotic Leptospira interrogans Sensu Stricto in Slovenia

Abstract

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.

Occurrence of Bacterial and Protozoan Pathogens in Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Central Italy

“…Wild mammals have been recognized as reservoirs for many serovars [ 42 ]. Serological investigations showed the exposure of red foxes to Leptospira, sometimes with remarkable seroprevalences: 33.8% in Croatia [ 43 ], 34% in Slovenia [ 44 ], 47% in Spain [ 45 ], 26.3% in Poland [ 46 ]. Conversely, data about the occurrence of pathogenic leptospirae in urine and/or kidneys from foxes are very scanty.…”

A Unique Case of Fatal Coinfection Caused by Leptospira spp. and Hepatozoon canis in a Red Fox Cub (Vulpes vulpes)

“…Even though Leptospira spp. and H. canis are highly prevalent throughout Europe [1,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16], clinical cases caused by these pathogens have never been documented in red foxes before. The data on the pathology caused by pathogenic Leptospira and H. canis in carnivores were all derived from dogs and cats with severe and life-threatening illnesses [18,21].…”

“…The exposure of red foxes to re-emerging pathogens like pathogenic Leptospira are frequently reported. The seroprevalence of leptospirosis in red foxes varies among regions and can reach up to 47% [1,[4][5][6][7]. The variations are probably the result of differences in targeted serovars and their regional circulation and endemicity [1].…”

Zoonoses and Wildlife: One Health Approach

“…More than 50 different species—including wild and domestic ungulates (e.g., red deer, roe deer, fallow deer, chamois, mouflon, European bison, wild boar, sheep, goat, cattle), wild carnivores (e.g., wolf, Eurasian lynx, Eurasian badger, coypu, beech marten, golden jackal), micromammals (e.g., yellow-necked field mouse, long-tailed field mouse, European water vole, white-toothed shrew, garden dormouse, common vole, house mouse, western Mediterranean mouse, black rat, Eurasian red squirrel), non-human primates (the genera Cebuella, Cercocebus, Cercopithecus, Eulemur, Hylobates, Lemur, Macaca, Mandrillus, Saimiri, and Varecia ), turtles (e.g., Testudo hermanni , T. h. boettgeri , T. graeca , and T. marginata ), bats (the families Pteropodidae, Emballonuridae, Rhinolophidae, Hipposideridae, and Vespertilionidae), and ticks ( Ixodes ricinus , Dermacentor marginatus , Hyalomma marginatum )—are included. Regarding the zoonotic pathogens represented in this issue, the presence of or exposure to 17 different pathogens—including viruses [ 4 ] (West Nile virus), bacteria [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ] ( Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Coxiella burnetii, Helicobacter pylori, H. suis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex, Salmonella sp., and Leptospira interrogans sensu stricto), and parasitic protists [ 14 , 15 ] (e.g., Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis , Blastocystis sp., Enterocytozoon bieneusi , Entamoeba histolytica , Entamoeba dispar , Balantioides coli , Troglodytella spp., Leishmania spp. )—are presented.…”

“…Žele-Vengušt et al [ 5 ] analyzed the exposure of free-ranging wild animals to zoonotic Leptospira interrogans sensu stricto in Slovenia; for this, blood samples from 249 wild animals between 2019 and 2020 were tested using the microscopic agglutination test for specific antibodies against the 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.…”