The Contribution of Bats to Leptospirosis Transmission in São Paulo City, Brazil

Abstract

Abstract. The biodiversity of potential leptospiral reservoir hosts is lower in urban than in rural environments. Previous data indicate the potential for bats to act as carriers of Leptospira in regions such as the Amazon of South America and in Australia. Yet, little is known about the contribution of bats to leptospirosis in urban environments in South America. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that bats infected with Leptospira are sources of leptospirosis transmission to humans in São Paulo City, Brazil. Six of 343 bats caught in different districts within the city of Sao Paulo (182 insectivorous, 161 frugivorous or nectarivorous) were polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive for pathogenic Leptospira; no seropositive bats were found. That few renal carriers of Leptospira were found in the city of Sao Paulo suggests that bats are not important in the transmission of leptospirosis to humans in this, and possibly other urban settings .

Pathogenic Leptospira spp. in bats: Molecular investigation in Southern Brazil

“…carriers. The data showed higher frequency than previous Brazilian studies -39.1% vs 7.8% and 1.75% in Botucatu and São Paulo, respectively [25,26]. This may be related to the environment in which the bats live, as in the present study bats from South Brazilian areas, most of them distant from urban centers, were evaluated.…”

“…In Brazil, more than 60,000 human leptospirosis cases were confirmed between 2000 and 2016 and the regions with higher frequency of confirmed cases are the southern and southeastern regions [3]. The higher incidences occur in low-income populations of most populous cities, such as São Paulo or in regions with poor sanitation system [4]. Besides public health issues, leptospirosis is responsible for economic losses for the animal production sector.…”

“…In Brazil, 178 bat species have been recorded [16], of which 40 are settled in Rio Grande do Sul state, the Brazilian southern region [17]. Despite this wide range of bat species and high rates of leptospirosis, there are few Brazilian studies on this subject showing low bat leptospiral infection rates [4,18]; however, they were performed in urban areas of Southeast region. Thus, in the present study, we sought to investigate the frequency of pathogenic Leptospira strains in bats from different areas of Rio Grande do Sul, the southern Brazilian state, which has a different ecosystem.…”

Presence of Leptospire spp. in urban bats from Sincelejo, Sucre, Colombia

“…In contrast, Matthias et al 22 reported a prevalence of 3.4% in insectivorous bats in the city of Iquitos, a percentage very similar to that described in Brazil 23 , which was 2%. This suggests that bats are not important in the transmission of leptospirosis in this area and possibly in other urban areas with similar characteristics, but could play a role in the maintenance of Leptospira in the environment.…”

NEW WILDLIFE HOSTS OF Leptospira interrogans IN CAMPECHE, MEXICO

“…Leptospira interrogans has mainly been identified in domestic mammals because they have direct contact with humans 4 , 5 , 6 . However, in Neotropical areas, such as Panama 21 , the Peruvian Amazon 6 , 8 and the city of São Paulo 16 , some wild mammals (bats, carnivores, marsupials and rodents) have been identified as hosts of L . interrogans .…”