title: Molecular epidemiology of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in the straw-colored fruit bat (Eidolon helvum) migrating to Zambia from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
abstract: The role played by bats as a potential source of transmission of Leptospira spp. to humans is poorly understood, despite various pathogenic Leptospira spp. being identified in these mammals. Here, we investigated the prevalence and diversity of pathogenic Leptospira spp. that infect the straw-colored fruit bat (Eidolon helvum). We captured this bat species, which is widely distributed in Africa, in Zambia during 2008-2013. We detected the flagellin B gene (flaB) from pathogenic Leptospira spp. in kidney samples from 79 of 529 E. helvum (14.9%) bats. Phylogenetic analysis of 70 flaB fragments amplified from E. helvum samples and previously reported sequences, revealed that 12 of the fragments grouped with Leptospira borgpetersenii and Leptospira kirschneri; however, the remaining 58 flaB fragments appeared not to be associated with any reported species. Additionally, the 16S ribosomal RNA gene (rrs) amplified from 27 randomly chosen flaB-positive samples was compared with previously reported sequences, including bat-derived Leptospira spp. All 27 rrs fragments clustered into a pathogenic group. Eight fragments were located in unique branches, the other 19 fragments were closely related to Leptospira spp. detected in bats. These results show that rrs sequences in bats are genetically related to each other without regional variation, suggesting that Leptospira are evolutionarily well-adapted to bats and have uniquely evolved in the bat population. Our study indicates that pathogenic Leptospira spp. in E. helvum in Zambia have unique genotypes.
authors: Hokudai Center for Zoonosis Control in Zambia, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia; Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia.
authors: Hirohito
authors: H
authors: Ogawa
authors: Department of Bacteriology I, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.
authors: Nobuo
authors: N
authors: Koizumi
authors: Hokkaido University Research Center for Zoonosis Control, Kita-20, Nishi-10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan.
authors: Aiko
authors: A
authors: Ohnuma
authors: Copperbelt Provincial Veterinary Office, Ndola, Zambia.
authors: Alisheke
authors: A
authors: Mutemwa
authors: Department of Paraclinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia.
authors: Bernard M
authors: BM
authors: Hang'ombe
authors: Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia.
authors: Aaron S
authors: AS
authors: Mweene
authors: Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia; Division of Global Epidemiology, Hokkaido University Research Center for Zoonosis Control, Kita-20, Nishi-10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan; Global Station for Zoonosis Control, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education, Hokkaido University, Kita-20, Nishi-10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan.
authors: Ayato
authors: A
authors: Takada
authors: Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia; Global Station for Zoonosis Control, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education, Hokkaido University, Kita-20, Nishi-10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan; Division of Collaboration and Education, Hokkaido University Research Center for Zoonosis Control, Kita-20, Nishi-10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan.
authors: Chihiro
authors: C
authors: Sugimoto
authors: Global Station for Zoonosis Control, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education, Hokkaido University, Kita-20, Nishi-10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan; Division of Bioresources, Hokkaido University Research Center for Zoonosis Control, Kita-20, Nishi-10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan.
authors: Yasuhiko
authors: Y
authors: Suzuki
authors: Hokkaido University Research Center for Zoonosis Control, Kita-20, Nishi-10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan; Global Station for Zoonosis Control, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education, Hokkaido University, Kita-20, Nishi-10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan.
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Kida
authors: Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia; Global Station for Zoonosis Control, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education, Hokkaido University, Kita-20, Nishi-10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan; Division of Molecular Pathobiology, Hokkaido University Research Center for Zoonosis Control, Kita-20, Nishi-10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan; Global Virus Network, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. Electronic address: h-sawa@czc.hokudai.ac.jp.
authors: Hirofumi
authors: H
authors: Sawa
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D007919:Leptospira / Q000235:genetics*; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D015024:Zambia / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Eidolon helvum; Fruit bat; Leptospira; Pathogenic; Zambia