First Isolates of Leptospira spp., from Rodents Captured in Angola

• Published in: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
• Main Authors: Fortes-Gabriel, Elsa, Carreira, Teresa, Vieira, Maria Luísa
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2016
• Subjects: Articles; Rattus rattus
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4856626/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26928840; https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.15-0027

Rodents play an important role in the transmission of pathogenic Leptospira spp. However, in Angola, neither the natural reservoirs of these spirochetes nor leptospirosis diagnosis has been considered. Regarding this gap, we captured rodents in Luanda and Huambo provinces to identify circulating Leptospira spp. Rodent kidney tissue was cultured and DNA amplified and sequenced. Culture isolates were evaluated for pathogenic status and typing with rabbit antisera; polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing were also performed. A total of 37 rodents were captured: Rattus rattus (15, 40.5%), Rattus norvegicus (9, 24.3%), and Mus musculus (13, 35.2%). Leptospiral DNA was amplified in eight (21.6%) kidney samples. From the cultures, we obtained four (10.8%) Leptospira isolates belonging to the Icterohaemorrhagiae and Ballum serogroups of Leptospira interrogans and Leptospira borgpetersenii genospecies, respectively. This study provides information about circulating leptospires spread by rats and mice in Angola.