Leptospira spp. Prevalence in Small Mammal Populations in Cotonou, Benin

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the Leptospira prevalence in small animals in Cotonou, the capital of Benin. Rodents and shrews were captured in urban and periurban settings and determined as species of the genera Rattus, Mastomys, and Crocidura. Kidney specimens of 90 animals were examined using a real-time PCR assay specific for leptospires that belong to pathogenic species. Leptospiral DNA was amplified from kidney tissues ranging from 13.3% (8/60) in Rattus rattus to 100.0% (1/1) in Crocidura spp. with an average of 18.9% (17/90) of the animals caught at 15 locations. Clade-specific Taqman PCR on 10 samples placed six of these within clade 1 comprising the species L. kirschneri, L. interrogans, L. meyeri, and L. noguchii and four within clade 2 consisting of species L. weilii, L. alexanderi, L. borgpetersenii, and L. santarosai. Phylogenetic analysis of partial sequences of the amplicons of seven samples of these 10 samples revealed that four of the clade 1 samples could equally be assigned to L. interrogans and L. kirschneri and three samples from clade 2 belonged to L. borgpetersenii. Results presented in the paper indicate that small mammals present a major public health risk for acquiring leptospirosis in Cotonou, Benin and will contribute to a raised awareness amongst health care workers and decision makers and hence promote appropriate clinical management of cases.

Leptospirosis and Extensive Urbanization in West Africa: A Neglected and Underestimated Threat?

“…This agrees with another study of 90 small mammals from Cotonou showing 18.9% of positive animals [45]. In addition, although no serogroup could be identified, several pathogenic Leptospira positive cultures could be settled from various waterholes within Cotonou and its neighborhood [46].…”

Urban Leptospirosis in Africa: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Leptospira Infection in Rodents in the Kibera Urban Settlement, Nairobi, Kenya

“…Two approaches were used to characterize the Leptospira -positive samples. Twenty-eight samples were tested by using an adapted Taqman real-time PCR that separates Leptospira species into two clades using clade-specific probes targeting the secY gene 28,2928…”

Seroprevalence of Leptospira infection in bats roosting in human settlements in Morogoro municipality in Tanzania

“…Recent studies from the African region shows high prevalence of leptospirosis in villagers engaged with gold-panning in Gabon (Bertherat et al, 1999), in small mammals in Benin (Houemenou et al, 2013) and in rodents in urban settlements in Kenya (Halliday et al, 2013). A study from Uganda also shows high prevalence of leptospirosis in buffalos (42.39%) and cattle (29.35%) (Atherstone et al, 2013).…”