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1 May 2018 LEPTOSPIRA ANTIBODIES DETECTED IN WILDLIFE IN THE USA AND THE US VIRGIN ISLANDS
Kerri Pedersen, Theodore D. Anderson, Rachel M. Maison, Gerald W. Wiscomb, Michael J. Pipas, David R. Sinnett, John A. Baroch,, Thomas Gidlewski
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Abstract

From 2011 to 2017, 4,534 serum samples from 13 wildlife species collected across the US and in one territory (US Virgin Islands) were tested for exposure to Leptospira serovars Bratislava, Canicola, Grippotyphosa, Hardjo, Icterohaemorrhagiae, and Pomona. Of 1,759 canids, 1,043 cervids, 23 small Indian mongooses (Herpestes auropunctatus), 1,704 raccoons (Procyon lotor), and five striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), 27.0, 44.4, 30.4, 40.8, and 60%, respectively, were antibody positive for any of the six serovars. The most commonly detected serovars across all species were Bratislava and Grippotyphosa. Our results indicate that Leptospira titers are very common in a wide variety of wildlife species. These species may act as important reservoirs in the epidemiological cycle of the pathogen. Additional studies to determine the relationship between serologic evidence and shedding of the pathogen by wildlife are necessary to better understand the risk.

© Wildlife Disease Association 2018
Kerri Pedersen, Theodore D. Anderson, Rachel M. Maison, Gerald W. Wiscomb, Michael J. Pipas, David R. Sinnett, John A. Baroch,, and Thomas Gidlewski "LEPTOSPIRA ANTIBODIES DETECTED IN WILDLIFE IN THE USA AND THE US VIRGIN ISLANDS," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 54(3), 450-459, (1 May 2018). https://doi.org/10.7589/2017-10-269
Received: 31 October 2017; Accepted: 1 February 2018; Published: 1 May 2018
KEYWORDS
canids
cervids
coyote
disease
Leptospira
leptospirosis
raccoon
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