Prevalence of in wild rats ( and ) in Zaria, Nigeria.

Leptospirosis is a neglected disease of zoonotic importance and rodents have a known role in epidemiology of globally. Paucity of information on the prevalence of leptospirosis in wild rats used as games in Zaria, Nigeria informed the study. The study aimed to detect in wild rats in Zaria, Nigeria. A total of 71 wild rats comprising 57 and 14 were sampled over a period of 3 months (April-June 2019). Fisher exact test was used with confidence interval set at 0.05 to ascertain associations between positive cases and species. Blood was collected from 56 rats and harvested sera screened for antibody using rat IgG competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA). Following humane euthanasia of rats, 71 samples (62 kidney tissues and 9 urine samples) were collected in sterile labeled tubes and cultured using Ellinghausen Mc-cullough Johnson Harris (EMJH) enrichment and basal medium. Results indicated over all spp antibody detection of 73.2 % (41/56) in (60.7 %) and (12.5 %). No significant difference (P > 0.05) existed for the prevalence of antibody in the species of wild rats. Over all occurrence of were 74.2 % (46/62) in kidneys and 55.6 % (5/9) in urine samples. Based on species of rats, recorded prevalence of 76.9 % (40/52) and 40.0 % (2/5) in kidney and urine samples respectively. Prevalence of 60.0 % (6/10) and 75.0 % (3/4) in kidney and urine samples respectively were recorded for . There was significant difference (P < 0.05) in the prevalence of in kidney samples of both wild rats. These species of rats could be reservoirs of . The result showed high prevalence of spp in the wild rats and the possibility of domestic animals and humans contracting the disease. This study is the first documentation of evidence of pathogenic species in wildlife used as games in Zaria, Nigeria.