title: Cross-sectional study of Leptospira seroprevalence in humans, rats, mice, and dogs in a main tropical sea-port city.
abstract: Samples were collected from 128 symptomatic humans, 83 dogs, 49 mice, and 20 rats (Rattus rattus: 16; Rattus norvegicus: 4) in neighborhoods where human leptospirosis have been reported within the principal sea-port city of Colombia. Seroprevalences were assessed against 19 pathogenic, 1 intermediate pathogenic, and 1 saprophytic Leptospira serogroups. Pathogenic Leptospira were confirmed using conventional Leptospira-specific polymerase chain-reaction and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis was used for serovar identification. Seroprevalences of 20.4%, 12.5%, 25.0%, 22.9%, and 12.4% were obtained against one to seven different serogroups in mice, R. rattus, R. norvegicus, dogs, and humans, respectively. The DNA was confirmed to be from pathogenic Leptospira by detecting the lipL32 gene in 12.5%, 3.7%, and 0.03% of the R. rattus, dog, and human samples, respectively. The first genetically typed Colombian isolate was obtained from a rat and identified as Leptospira interrogans serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae/Copenhageni.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigaciones en Enfermedades Tropicales, Departamento de Medicina, División Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia. clromero@uninorte.edu.co
authors.forename: Claudia M E
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Romero-Vivas
authors.forename: Margarett
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cuello-Pérez
authors.forename: Piedad
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Agudelo-Flórez
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thiry
authors.forename: Paul N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Levett
authors.forename: Andrew K I
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Falconar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017931:DNA Primers; D004285:Dogs; D006801:Humans; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D051379:Mice; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D051381:Rats; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014329:Tropical Climate
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers