Prevalence of Leptospira Infection in Rodents from Bangladesh

Abstract

Worldwide, Leptospira infection poses an increasing public health problem. In 2008, leptospirosis was recognised as a re-emerging zoonosis of global importance with South-East Asia being one of the most significant centres of the disease. Rodents are thought to be the most important host for a variety of Leptospira serovars. Because Bangladesh offers a suitable humid climate for the survival of these pathogenic bacteria, the presence of rodents could be a serious risk for human infection, especially in peri-urban areas or locations where food is stored. In order to gain more understanding of the multi-host epidemiology, a prevalence study was conducted in Comilla, Bangladesh to determine the presence of pathogenic Leptospira species in rodents. Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) and sequencing showed that 13.1% (61/465) of the trapped rodents were infected with pathogenic Leptospira. Sequencing of the qPCR products identified the presence of three species: Leptospira interrogans, Leptospira borgpetersenii, and Leptospira kirschneri. Rodents of the genus, Bandicota, were significantly more likely to be positive than those of the genus, Rattus and Mus. Our results confirm the importance of rodents as hosts of pathogenic Leptospira and indicate that human exposure to pathogenic Leptospira may be considerable, also in places where food (rice) is stored for longer times. This study emphasizes the need to improve rodent management at such locations and to further quantify the public health impacts of this neglected emerging zoonosis in Bangladesh.

Comportamiento epidemiológico de la leptospirosis en México durante el periodo 2013-2019

“…Los animales de producción y de compañía juegan un papel muy importante en la epidemiología de la enfermedad, ya que pueden actuar como hospederos de Leptospira spp. Sin embargo, los roedores son uno de los reservorios más importantes para que esta bacteria permanezca en el medio ambiente (4). La principal vía de trasmisión a los humanos es a través del contacto con tejidos u orina de animales infectados, así como barro o agua contaminada con la orina de los animales infectados (5).…”

Evidence of Leptospiral Presence in the Cumberland Gap Region

“…L. interrogans and L. kirschneri are two of the most common leptospiral species present in rodents in Europe [32,33]. L. interrogans have also been reported from rodents in studies from Puerto Rico, Bangladesh and Thailand [21,34,35].…”

Detection ofLeptospira interrogansin Hedgehogs from Central China

“…The infection rates of Leptospira in wild and domesticated animals are varied in different places around the world. In Bangladesh, 13.1% (61/465) of trapped rodents were infected with pathogenic Leptospira (Krijger et al 2019); in Cambodia, the infection rate of Leptospira in rodents was 11.1% (n = 642) (Ivanova et al 2012); in Malaysia, the infection rate in rodents was 11.0% (n = 357) (Benacer et al 2016); in China, it was 56.7% (34/60) in bats (Zhao et al 2019) and 4.4% (3/69) in flying squirrels (Xiao et al 2019). Previously Leptospira has been isolated from hedgehogs in several European countries, including France, Italy, The Netherlands, and Scotland, Israel, and New Zealand (Vander Hoeden 1958, Broom and Coghlan 1960, Babudieri and Farina 1964, Wolff and Bohlander 1965, Brockie and Till 1977, Ayral et al 2016).…”

“…We found that the infection does not seem to harm adult hedgehogs as even animals with active infections appeared to be in good health, consistent with the report that Leptospira serovars usually do not cause disease in their natural host (Ko et al 2009). Hedgehogs are considered to be a tonic in traditional Chinese medicine, thus this species is frequently taken from the wild and eaten across Central China, and people may be infected in the process of capturing or slaughtering hedgehogs (Krijger et al 2019). Therefore, increased awareness and protective measures are needed to prevent Leptospira infections.…”