Evidence of orthohantavirus and leptospira infections in small mammals in an endemic area of Gampaha district in Sri Lanka

One Health Outlook

Research

Lwande Olivia Wesula¹  M. V. M. L. Jayasundara²  Shantha Waidyarathna²  N. P. Sunil-Chandra³  Åsa Fahlman⁴  Jonas Näslund⁵  Göran Bucht⁶ 

[1] Department of Clinical Microbiology, Section for Virology, Umeå University, SE-901 85, Umeå, Sweden;Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka;Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka;Sri Lanka Institute of Biotechnology, Homagama, Sri Lanka;Swedish Biodiversity Centre, Department of Rural and Urban Development, Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7016, SE-750 07, Uppsala, Sweden;Swedish Defence Research Agency, CBRN Defence and Security, Umeå, Sweden;Swedish Defence Research Agency, CBRN Defence and Security, Umeå, Sweden;Department of Clinical Microbiology, Section for Virology, Umeå University, SE-901 85, Umeå, Sweden;

关键词: Sri Lanka;    Orthohantavirus;    Leptospira;    Rodents;    Shrews;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s42522-022-00073-y

 received in 2022-08-23, accepted in 2022-11-22,  发布年份 2022

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundOrthohantaviruses and leptospira are emerging zoonotic pathogens of high public health significance. The epidemiology of orthohantavirus infections and leptospirosis is similar and presents related clinical pictures in humans. However, a paucity of data on actual reservoir hosts for orthohantaviruses and leptospira exists. Therefore, this study aimed at determining the occurrence of orthohantaviruses and leptospira in small mammals captured in an endemic region of Sri Lanka.MethodsRodents and shrews were morphologically and/or genetically identified using morphological keys and DNA barcoding techniques targeting the cytochrome oxidase b subunit gene (Cytb). Lung tissues and sera were subsequently analyzed for the presence of orthohantavirus RNA using qRT-PCR. Sera of rats were tested for IgG antibodies against orthohantaviruses and leptospira.ResultsForty-three (43) small mammals representing: Rattus (R.) rattus (black rat) or R. tanezumi (Asian rat), Suncus murinus (Asian house shrew), R. norvegicus (brown rat) and Mus musculus (house mouse) were investigated. No orthohantavirus RNA was detected from the lung tissue or serum samples of these animals. Elevated levels of IgG antibodies against Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) and/or Seoul orthohantavirus (SEOV) antigens were detected in sera of 28 (72%) out of the 39 rats analysed. Interestingly, 36 (92%) of the 39 rats also showed presence of anti leptospira-IgG antibodies in their serum, representing dual infection or dual exposure in 26/39 (66.7%) of examined rats.ConclusionsThis project targets important public health questions concerning the occupational risk of orthohantavirus infections and/or leptospirosis in an endemic region of Sri Lanka. Most rats (72%) in our study displayed antibodies reacting to orthohantavirus NP antigens, related to PUUV and/or SEOV. No correlation between the orthohantavirus and leptospira IgG antibody levels were noticed. Finally, a combination of both morphological and DNA barcoding approaches revealed that several species of rats may play a role in the maintenance and transmission of orthohantavirus and leptospira in Sri Lanka.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2022

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