Pathogenic Leptospira Species Are Present in Urban Rats in Sydney, Australia
Leptospirosis is an emerging disease among people and dogs in Sydney, Australia. However, the routes of Leptospira transmission in these cases, and in particular the possible role of rats as reservoirs of infection in Sydney, are unknown. Rats were collected within the City of Sydney Council area an...
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2076-2607/11/7/1731/ 2023-08-20T04:09:25+02:00 Pathogenic Leptospira Species Are Present in Urban Rats in Sydney, Australia Miguel A. Bedoya-Pérez Mark E. Westman Max Loomes Nga Yee Natalie Chung Benjamin Knobel Michael P. Ward agris 2023-07-01 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11071731 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Public Health Microbiology https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11071731 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Microorganisms; Volume 11; Issue 7; Pages: 1731 antibodies diagnosis leptospirosis One Health Rattus rattus Rattus norvegicus urban rodents veterinary science Text 2023 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11071731 2023-08-01T10:42:38Z Leptospirosis is an emerging disease among people and dogs in Sydney, Australia. However, the routes of Leptospira transmission in these cases, and in particular the possible role of rats as reservoirs of infection in Sydney, are unknown. Rats were collected within the City of Sydney Council area and their kidneys were tested for pathogenic Leptospira DNA by real-time (q)PCR. A subset of rats also had qPCR testing performed on whole blood and urine, and Microscopic Agglutination Testing (MAT) that included a panel of 10 Leptospira serovars from nine different Leptospira serogroups was performed on a subset of serum samples. Based on qPCR testing, the proportion of rats with Leptospira DNA in their kidneys was 9/111 (8.1%). qPCR testing of blood samples (n = 9) and urine (n = 4) was negative. None of the 10 serum samples tested MAT positive. A primary cluster of qPCR-positive locations was detected based on six infected rats, which partially overlapped with a previously identified cluster of canine leptospirosis cases in Sydney. These findings suggest that rats in Sydney might play a role in the transmission of leptospirosis to dogs and people. Further testing of rats in Sydney and investigation into other possible wildlife reservoirs of infection and environmental sources of leptospires are needed. Text Rattus rattus MDPI Open Access Publishing Microorganisms 11 7 1731 |
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MDPI Open Access Publishing |
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antibodies diagnosis leptospirosis One Health Rattus rattus Rattus norvegicus urban rodents veterinary science |
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antibodies diagnosis leptospirosis One Health Rattus rattus Rattus norvegicus urban rodents veterinary science Miguel A. Bedoya-Pérez Mark E. Westman Max Loomes Nga Yee Natalie Chung Benjamin Knobel Michael P. Ward Pathogenic Leptospira Species Are Present in Urban Rats in Sydney, Australia |
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antibodies diagnosis leptospirosis One Health Rattus rattus Rattus norvegicus urban rodents veterinary science |
description |
Leptospirosis is an emerging disease among people and dogs in Sydney, Australia. However, the routes of Leptospira transmission in these cases, and in particular the possible role of rats as reservoirs of infection in Sydney, are unknown. Rats were collected within the City of Sydney Council area and their kidneys were tested for pathogenic Leptospira DNA by real-time (q)PCR. A subset of rats also had qPCR testing performed on whole blood and urine, and Microscopic Agglutination Testing (MAT) that included a panel of 10 Leptospira serovars from nine different Leptospira serogroups was performed on a subset of serum samples. Based on qPCR testing, the proportion of rats with Leptospira DNA in their kidneys was 9/111 (8.1%). qPCR testing of blood samples (n = 9) and urine (n = 4) was negative. None of the 10 serum samples tested MAT positive. A primary cluster of qPCR-positive locations was detected based on six infected rats, which partially overlapped with a previously identified cluster of canine leptospirosis cases in Sydney. These findings suggest that rats in Sydney might play a role in the transmission of leptospirosis to dogs and people. Further testing of rats in Sydney and investigation into other possible wildlife reservoirs of infection and environmental sources of leptospires are needed. |
format |
Text |
author |
Miguel A. Bedoya-Pérez Mark E. Westman Max Loomes Nga Yee Natalie Chung Benjamin Knobel Michael P. Ward |
author_facet |
Miguel A. Bedoya-Pérez Mark E. Westman Max Loomes Nga Yee Natalie Chung Benjamin Knobel Michael P. Ward |
author_sort |
Miguel A. Bedoya-Pérez |
title |
Pathogenic Leptospira Species Are Present in Urban Rats in Sydney, Australia |
title_short |
Pathogenic Leptospira Species Are Present in Urban Rats in Sydney, Australia |
title_full |
Pathogenic Leptospira Species Are Present in Urban Rats in Sydney, Australia |
title_fullStr |
Pathogenic Leptospira Species Are Present in Urban Rats in Sydney, Australia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pathogenic Leptospira Species Are Present in Urban Rats in Sydney, Australia |
title_sort |
pathogenic leptospira species are present in urban rats in sydney, australia |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11071731 |
op_coverage |
agris |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_source |
Microorganisms; Volume 11; Issue 7; Pages: 1731 |
op_relation |
Public Health Microbiology https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11071731 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11071731 |
container_title |
Microorganisms |
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11 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
1731 |
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1774722356039647232 |