USC 1233-RS2GP, VetAgro Sup, University of Lyon, Marcy l'Etoile, France.
Biology of Spirochetes Unit, National Reference Center for Leptospirosis, Institut Pasteur, University of Paris Cité, Paris, France.
PLoS One. 2024 Apr 10;19(4):e0300523. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300523. eCollection 2024.
Rodents are recognized as the main reservoirs of Leptospira spp. Rats, in particular, serve as hosts for the widely predominant Leptospira interrogans serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae, found worldwide. Several studies have shown the importance of other reservoirs, such as mice or hedgehogs, which harbor other leptospires' serovars. Nevertheless, our knowledge of circulating Leptospira spp. in reservoirs other than rats remains limited. In this context, we proposed an eco-health approach to assess the health hazard associated with leptospires in urban green spaces, where contacts between human/small mammals and domestic animals are likely. We studied the prevalence, the diversity of circulating strains, and epidemiology of pathogenic Leptospira species in small terrestrial mammal communities (rodents and shrews), between 2020-2022, in two parks in Lyon metropolis, France. Our study showed a significant carriage of Leptospira spp. in small terrestrial mammals in these parks and unveiled a global prevalence rate of 11.4%. Significant variations of prevalence were observed among the small mammal species (from 0 to 26.1%), with Rattus norvegicus exhibiting the highest infection levels (26.1%). We also observed strong spatio-temporal variations in Leptospira spp. circulation in its reservoirs. Prevalence seems to be higher in the peri-urban park and in autumn in 2021 and 2022. This is potentially due to differences in landscape, abiotic conditions and small mammal communities' composition. Our study suggests an important public health relevance of rats and in a lesser extent of other rodents (Apodemus spp., Clethrionomys glareolus and Mus musculus) as reservoirs of L. interrogans, with rodent species carrying specific serogroups/serovars. We also emphasize the potential hazard associated between the shrew Crocidura russula and L. kirschneri. Altogether, these results improve our knowledge about the prevalence of leptospirosis in an urban environment, which is an essential prerequisite for the implementation of prevention of associated risks.
啮齿动物被认为是钩端螺旋体属的主要宿主。特别是，老鼠作为世界范围内广泛存在的主要血清型伊氏钩端螺旋体的宿主。有几项研究表明，其他宿主（如老鼠或刺猬）的重要性，这些宿主携带其他钩端螺旋体的血清型。然而，我们对除老鼠以外的其他宿主中循环钩端螺旋体属的了解仍然有限。在这种情况下，我们提出了一种生态健康方法来评估城市绿地中钩端螺旋体相关的健康危害，因为人类/小型哺乳动物和家畜在这些地方可能会接触到。我们研究了 2020 年至 2022 年期间，法国里昂大都市的两个公园中小型陆生哺乳动物（啮齿动物和鼩鼱）群落中致病性钩端螺旋体的流行程度、多样性和流行病学。我们的研究表明，这些公园中小型陆生哺乳动物中携带钩端螺旋体的情况显著，并揭示了全球流行率为 11.4%。在小型哺乳动物物种中观察到流行率存在显著差异（从 0 到 26.1%），其中挪威鼠表现出最高的感染水平（26.1%）。我们还观察到其宿主中钩端螺旋体的传播存在强烈的时空变化。在 2021 年和 2022 年的城郊公园和秋季，流行率似乎更高。这可能是由于景观、非生物条件和小型哺乳动物群落组成的差异造成的。我们的研究表明，老鼠以及其他啮齿动物（阿普多姆斯属、光滑田鼠和小家鼠）作为伊氏钩端螺旋体的宿主具有重要的公共卫生相关性，并且不同的啮齿动物携带特定的血清群/血清型。我们还强调了刺猬 Crocidura russula 和 L. kirschneri 之间潜在的危险关联。总之，这些结果提高了我们对城市环境中钩端螺旋体病流行的认识，这是实施相关风险预防的必要前提。
