Evidence of infection with Leptospira interrogans and spotted fever group rickettsiae among rodents in an urban area of Osaka City, Japan.
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ABSTRACT: We examined 33 rodents captured in an urban area of Osaka City, Japan for IgG antibodies against Seoul virus, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus, hepatitis E virus, Leptospira interrogans, Yersinia pestis, spotted fever, typhus and scrub typhus group rickettsiae. We found that 3 (9.1%) and 1 (3.0%) of the 33 rodents had antibodies against L. interrogans and spotted fever group rickettsiae, respectively. DNAs of leptospires were detected from 2 of the 3 seropositive rodents, but DNA of rickettsia was not detected. Phylogenetic analysis and multiple locus sequence typing revealed that the 2 leptospires were L. interrogans belonging to a novel sequence type. There is a potential risk for acquiring rodent-borne zoonotic pathogens even in cities in developed countries.
SUBMITTER: Shimizu K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5559374 | biostudies-other | 2017 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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