Diversity of Leptospira spp. in Rats and Environment from Urban Areas of Sarawak, Malaysia
Various prevalence studies on Leptospira in animals and humans, as well as environmental samples, had been conducted worldwide, includingMalaysia. However, limited studies have been documented on the presence of pathogenic, intermediate, and saprophytic Leptospira in selected animals and environme...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Hindawi Limited
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/15613/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/15613/1/Diversity%20of%20Leptospira%20spp.%20in%20Rats%20%28abstract%29.pdf |
| Summary: | Various prevalence studies on Leptospira in animals and humans, as well as environmental samples, had been conducted worldwide,
includingMalaysia. However, limited studies have been documented on the presence of pathogenic, intermediate, and saprophytic
Leptospira in selected animals and environments. This study was therefore conducted to detect Leptospira spp. in rats, soil, and
water from urban areas of Sarawak using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. A total of 107 rats, 292 soil samples, and
324 water samples were collected fromApril 2014 to February 2015. Pathogenic Leptospira was present in 5.6% (6/107) of rats, 11.6%
(34/292) of soil samples, and 1.9% (6/324) of water samples. Intermediate Leptospira was present in 2.7% (8/292) of soil samples and
1.9% (6/324) of water samples. Saprophytic Leptospira was present in 10.3% (11/107) of rats, 1.4% (4/292) of soil samples, and 0.3%
(1/324) of water samples. From this study, 76 Leptospira spp. were isolated. Based on DNA sequencing, the dominant Leptospira
spp. circulating in urban areas of Sarawak are pathogenic Leptospira noguchii, intermediate Leptospira wolffii serovar Khorat, and
saprophytic Leptospirameyeri, respectively.Overall, this study provided important surveillance data on the prevalence of Leptospira
spp. from rats and the environment, with dominant local serovars in urban areas of Sarawak. |
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