Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva (DMVP), Programa de Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária (PPGMV), Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Centro de Ciências Rurais (CCR), Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 97105-900, Brasil.
Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia (DMIP), Laboratório de Diagnóstico e Pesquisa em Leptospirose (LabLepto), Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Centro de Ciências da Saúde (CCS), Santa Maria, CEP 97105-900, Brasil.
Braz J Microbiol. 2024 Jun;55(2):1941-1948. doi: 10.1007/s42770-024-01348-4. Epub 2024 Apr 30.
Leptospira spp. are bacteria responsible for leptospirosis, a zoonotic disease with considerable impacts on the economy, animal health, and public health. This disease has a global distribution and is particularly prevalent in Brazil. Both rural and urban environments are habitats for Leptospira spp., which are primarily transmitted through contact with the urine of infected animals. Consequently, domestic and wild species can harbor these prokaryotes and serve as infection sources for other hosts. In the context of wild animals, there is a dearth of molecular studies elucidating the roles of various animal and bacterial species in the epidemiology of leptospirosis. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the presence of Leptospira spp. DNA in different species of free-living and captive wild animals and to assess the phylogenetic relationships of the identified microorganisms in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The samples were evaluated for the presence of the gene lipL32 by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing of the amplified fragment after which phylogenetic analyzes were carried out. DNA from Leptospira spp. was extracted from kidney tissue from wild animals (Mammalia class). Pathogenic Leptospira spp. DNA was detected in 9.6% (11/114) of the samples, originating from nine species of wild animals, including the white-eared opossum (Didelphis albiventris), skunk (Conepatus chinga), geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi), margay (Leopardus wiedii), pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus), capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), neotropical river otter (Lontra longicaudis), and european hare (Lepus europaeus). Phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of Leptospira borgpetersenii and Leptospira interrogans in these animals. This research is the first study contributing to the epidemiology of leptospirosis by identifying L. borgpetersenii and L. interrogans in free-living and captive wild animals in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, potentially acting as bacterial reservoirs. Additionally, our findings can inform sanitary measures for controlling and preventing the disease, thereby safeguarding public health.
钩端螺旋体属细菌是钩端螺旋体病的病原体，该疾病具有明显的经济、动物健康和公共卫生影响，呈全球性分布，在巴西尤为流行。钩端螺旋体属细菌存在于农村和城市环境中，主要通过接触感染动物的尿液传播。因此，家养和野生动物都可能携带这些原核生物，并成为其他宿主的感染源。在野生动物方面，分子研究缺乏对各种动物和细菌物种在钩端螺旋体病流行病学中的作用的阐明。因此，本研究旨在评估巴西南里奥格兰德州自由生活和圈养野生动物不同物种中钩端螺旋体属细菌 DNA 的存在情况，并评估鉴定微生物的系统发育关系。通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）评估样本中 lipL32 基因的存在情况，并对扩增片段进行测序，然后进行系统发育分析。从野生动物（哺乳纲）的肾脏组织中提取钩端螺旋体属细菌 DNA。在 9.6%（11/114）的样本中检测到致病性钩端螺旋体属细菌 DNA，源自 9 种野生动物，包括白耳负鼠（Didelphis albiventris）、臭鼬（Conepatus chinga）、南美林猫（Leopardus geoffroyi）、虎猫（Leopardus wiedii）、草原犬鼠（Lycalopex gymnocercus）、大水獭（Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris）、普通狨猴（Callithrix jacchus）、大水獭（Lontra longicaudis）和欧洲野兔（Lepus europaeus）。系统发育分析显示，这些动物中存在博氏钩端螺旋体和问号钩端螺旋体。本研究首次在巴西南里奥格兰德州自由生活和圈养野生动物中发现了博氏钩端螺旋体和问号钩端螺旋体，这些动物可能是细菌的储存库，为钩端螺旋体病的流行病学研究做出了贡献。此外，我们的研究结果可以为控制和预防疾病的卫生措施提供信息，从而保障公共卫生。
