Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Grupo de Investigación en Sanidad Animal y Zoonosis (GISAZ), UIC Zoonosis y Enfermedades Emergentes ENZOEM, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba 14014, Spain; Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Regional "Campus Mare Nostrum", Universidad de Murcia, Murcia 30100, Spain.
Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Grupo de Investigación en Sanidad Animal y Zoonosis (GISAZ), UIC Zoonosis y Enfermedades Emergentes ENZOEM, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba 14014, Spain; CIBERINFEC, ISCIII CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid 28029, Spain.
Vet Microbiol. 2024 Nov;298:110222. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2024.110222. Epub 2024 Aug 15.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease of worldwide distribution with relevant implications for animal and human health. Different large wild carnivore species can act as reservoirs of this zoonotic pathogen. This study aimed to evaluate the circulation of Leptospira spp. in free-ranging wolves (Canis lupus) from southern Europe. A total of 281 kidney samples of wolves from Spain and Italy were collected between 2017 and 2023. The presence of Leptospira DNA was analysed by real-time PCR and phylogenetic analyses were carried out using a Bayesian approach. The overall prevalence was 3.2 % (9/281; 95 %CI: 1.1-5.3). Leptospira DNA was detected in nine of the 180 wolves from Spain (5.0 %; 95 %CI: 1.8-8.2), but not in the Italian wolf population (0 %; 0/101). Molecular analyses revealed high homology between the sequences obtained in the present study and isolates of Leptospira interrogans and Leptospira borgpetersenii from different rodent and domestic ungulate species. Our results provide evidence of a low and spatially heterogeneous circulation of this pathogen in wolf populations of southern Europe. The detection of zoonotic Leptospira species in this survey supports the need to consider wolf populations in monitoring programs for leptospirosis with a One Health approach.
钩端螺旋体病是一种分布广泛的细菌性疾病，对动物和人类健康具有重要意义。不同的大型野生食肉动物物种可能是这种人畜共患病病原体的储存宿主。本研究旨在评估游离放养的欧洲南部狼（Canis lupus）中钩端螺旋体属（Leptospira spp.）的流行情况。在 2017 年至 2023 年间，共采集了来自西班牙和意大利的 281 份狼肾样本。采用实时 PCR 分析钩端螺旋体 DNA 的存在，并采用贝叶斯方法进行系统发育分析。总体流行率为 3.2%（9/281；95%CI：1.1-5.3）。在来自西班牙的 180 只狼中，有 9 只（5.0%；95%CI：1.8-8.2）检测到了钩端螺旋体 DNA，但在意大利的狼种群中未检测到（0%；0/101）。分子分析显示，本研究中获得的序列与来自不同啮齿动物和家养有蹄动物的钩端螺旋体 interrogans 和 Leptospira borgpetersenii 的分离株具有高度同源性。我们的研究结果为欧洲南部狼种群中该病原体的低水平和空间异质性流行提供了证据。本研究中检测到的人畜共患钩端螺旋体物种支持需要采用一种大健康方法，将狼种群纳入监测钩端螺旋体病的监测计划中。
