Journal Article

Hedgehogs and mustelid species: major carriers of pathogenic Leptospira, a survey in 28 animal species in France (2012 - 2015)

Ayral, Florence, Baurier, Florence, Fédération Nationale des Chasseurs (FNC), Faure, Eva, Gasqui, Patrick, Unité de Recherche d'Épidémiologie Animale (UR EpiA) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Rongeurs Sauvages, Risques Sanitaires et Gestion des Populations - UR 1233 (RS2GP) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS), Zilber, Anne-Laure, Djelouadji, Zouheira, Entente for the Control of Zoonose ; Partenaires INRAE, Université de Lyon, Raton, Vincent, Combès, Benoit, Vourc’h, Gwenaël, Laboratoire Départemental d'Analyses du Cher ; Partenaires INRAE

2016

Overview

Human leptospirosis is a zoonotic and potentially fatal disease that has increasingly been reported in both developing and developed countries, including France. However, our understanding of the basic aspects of the epidemiology of this disease, including the source of Leptospira serogroup Australis infections in humans and domestic animals, remains incomplete. We investigated the genetic diversity of Leptospira in 28 species of wildlife other than rats using variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) and multispacer sequence typing (MST). The DNA of pathogenic Leptospira was detected in the kidney tissues of 201 individuals out of 3,738 tested individuals. A wide diversity, including 50 VNTR profiles and 8 MST profiles, was observed. Hedgehogs and mustelid species had the highest risk of being infected (logistic regression, OR = 66.8, CI95% = 30.9-144 and OR = 16.7, CI95% = 8.7-31.8, respectively). Almost all genetic profiles obtained from the hedgehogs were related to Leptospira interrogans Australis, suggesting the latter as a host-adapted bacterium, whereas mustelid species were infected by various genotypes, suggesting their interaction with Leptospira was different. By providing an inventory of the circulating strains of Leptospira and by pointing to hedgehogs as a potential reservoir of L. interrogans Australis, our study advances current knowledge on Leptospira animal carriers, and this information could serve to enhance epidemiological investigations in the future.

• Publisher: HAL CCSD,Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Animal species / Animal tissues / Animals / Biodiversity / Biology and Life Sciences / Deoxyribonucleic acid / Developed countries / DNA / Domestic animals / Epidemiology / Erinaceinae / Genetic diversity / Genotypes / Gram-negative bacteria / Health aspects / Health risks / Infection / Infections / Kidneys / Laboratories / Leptospira / Leptospira interrogans / Leptospirosis / Life Sciences / Medical research / Medicine and Health Sciences / Mustelidae / Nucleotide sequence / Polymerase chain reaction / Population / Small mammals / Species / Species diversity / Surveys / Urine / Wildlife / Zoonoses
• ISBN: 0003841714000