Dataset Information

Small Mammals as Carriers/Hosts of Leptospira spp. in the Western Amazon Forest.

ABSTRACT: Leptospira is a bacteria that causes leptospirosis and is transmitted through water, soil, or mud that is contaminated by the urine of infected animals. Although it is mainly associated with the urban environment, Leptospires also circulate in rural and wild environments. This study aimed to investigate the role of small mammals in leptospirosis epidemiology in the western Amazon, Brazil. In total, 103 animals from 23 species belonging to the orders Didelphimorphia and Rodentia were captured. Blood, kidney, and urine samples were collected and Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT), lipL32 PCR, secY sequencing, and culturing were conducted. MAT was reactive on 1/15 sera, and no bacterial isolate was obtained. PCR yielded 44.7% positive samples from 16 species. Twenty samples were genetically characterized and identified as L. interrogans (n = 12), L. noguchii (n = 4), and L. santarosai (n = 4). No statistical association was found between the prevalence of infection by Leptospira spp. in small mammals within carrier/hosts species, orders, study area, and forest strata. Our results indicate a high prevalence of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in several rodent and marsupial species and report the first evidence of Leptospira spp. carrier/hosts in the Brazilian Western Amazon.

SUBMITTER: Medeiros LDS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7738340 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Small Mammals as Carriers/Hosts of <i>Leptospira spp</i>. in the Western Amazon Forest.

Medeiros Luciana Dos Santos LDS Braga Domingos Susan Christina SC Azevedo Maria Isabel Nogueira Di MIND Peruquetti Rui Carlos RC de Albuquerque Narianne Ferreira NF D'Andrea Paulo Sérgio PS Botelho André Luis de Moura ALM Crisóstomo Charle Ferreira CF Vieira Anahi Souto AS Martins Gabriel G Teixeira Bernardo Rodrigues BR Carvalho-Costa Filipe Anibal FA Lilenbaum Walter W

Frontiers in veterinary science 20201202

<i>Leptospira</i> is a bacteria that causes leptospirosis and is transmitted through water, soil, or mud that is contaminated by the urine of infected animals. Although it is mainly associated with the urban environment, Leptospires also circulate in rural and wild environments. This study aimed to investigate the role of small mammals in leptospirosis epidemiology in the western Amazon, Brazil. In total, 103 animals from 23 species belonging to the orders Didelphimorphia and Rodentia were captu ...[more]

PMID: 33344523

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Project description:BackgroundSmall mammals (rodents and marsupials) have been poorly explored for the occurrence of apicomplexan (genus Hepatozoon and genera of the order Piroplasmorida) and Anaplasmataceae agents in Brazil. Thus, this study investigated the occurrence of Hepatozoon spp., Piroplasmorida, and Anaplasmataceae agents in small mammals in seven forest fragments in Brazil.MethodsDuring 2015-2018, small mammals were captured in six forest fragments in the State of São Paulo (Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes) and one fragment in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul (Pantanal biome). Mammal blood, liver, spleen, and lung samples were tested molecularly for the presence of DNA of Hepatozoon, Piroplasmorida, and Anaplasmataceae agents.ResultsA total of 524 mammals were captured, comprising seven species of marsupials, 14 rodents, two carnivores, and one Cingulata. Four novel haplotypes (1, 2, 3, 4) of Hepatozoon spp. were detected in small mammals from different biomes. In São Paulo state, haplotype 1 was detected in rodents from Cerrado and a transition area of Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes, whereas haplotype 2 was detected in rodents from the Atlantic Forest biome. On the other hand, haplotypes 3 and 4 were restricted to rodents and marsupials, respectively, from the Pantanal biome of Mato Grosso do Sul. No host species shared more than one haplotype. Despite these distinct geographical and host associations, our phylogenetic analyses indicated that the four Hepatozoon haplotypes belonged to the same clade that contained nearly all haplotypes previously reported on rodents and marsupials, in addition to several reptile-associated haplotypes from different parts of the world. No mammal samples yielded detectable DNA of Piroplasmorida agents. On the other hand, the Anaplasmataceae-targeted polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay amplified a sequence 100% identical to the Wolbachia pipientis endosymbiont of the rodent filarid Litomosoides galizai.ConclusionsWe report a variety of Hepatozoon haplotypes associated with small mammals in three Brazilian biomes: Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, and Pantanal. Through phylogenetic analyses, the Hepatozoon agents grouped in the rodent-marsupial-reptile large clade of Hepatozoon spp. from the world. The detection of a W. pipientis associated with the rodent filarid L. galizai indicates that the rodent was infected by filarial nematodes.

Dataset Information

Small Mammals as Carriers/Hosts of Leptospira spp. in the Western Amazon Forest.

Publications

Small Mammals as Carriers/Hosts of <i>Leptospira spp</i>. in the Western Amazon Forest.

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