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12 January 2021 LEPTOSPIRA SPECIES STATUS OF CAPTIVE NONHUMAN PRIMATES AND FREE-RANGING RODENTS AT THE BARRANQUILLA ZOO, COLOMBIA, 2013
Danielle Woolf, Carlos Sanchez, Viviana Gonzalez-Astudillo, Mauricio Navarro, Cristian Camilo Tapia, Mónica Franco, Javier Andrés Bustamante, Miryam Astudillo, Jean Mukherjee
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Abstract

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease with worldwide distribution caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp. Pathogenic Leptospira spp. are shed in urine of infected hosts and transmitted via ingestion of contaminated food or water, inoculation, inhalation of aerosolized urine, and absorption through mucous membranes. Leptospirosis is of particular concern in tropical and subtropical regions such as Barranquilla, Colombia. Recent reports indicate that in Barranquilla, rodents, dogs, and humans have a high leptospiral seroprevalence; and amongst zoo mammals, nonhuman primates have a high prevalence of Leptospira spp. infection. We therefore sought to determine whether primates in captivity at the Barranquilla Zoo were exposed to Leptospira spp. and whether there was a probable causal transmission link between the primates and peridomestic rodents. Samples were collected from 29 captive nonhuman primates, 15 free-ranging rats (Rattus rattus), and 10 free-ranging squirrels (Sciurus granatensis). Serum samples from primates, rats, and squirrels were evaluated via microagglutination test (MAT) vs 24 reference Leptospira serovars. Blood and urine from the primates and kidney tissue from the rats and squirrels were cultured in Ellinghausen-McCullough-Johnson-Harris (EMJH) medium and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of lipL32 was performed to determine whether active infection was present. Leptospiral seroprevalence was found to be 66.7% (10/15) in rats, 60% (6/10) in squirrels, and 6.9% (2/29) in neotropical primates. Ateles hybridus and Ateles fusciceps had positive titers to serogroups Cynopteri and Ictohaemorrhagiae, respectively. Of the rodents that had antibodies against Leptospira spp., 90% of the rats and 66.7% of the squirrels corresponded to the serovar australis. Interestingly, all animals were culture and PCR negative, indicating Leptospira spp. exposure in the absence of current infection. While their status as maintenance hosts needs to be investigated further, this is the first study to show leptospiral seropositivity in red-tailed squirrels (S. granatensis).

Copyright 2020 by American Association of Zoo Veterinarians
Danielle Woolf, Carlos Sanchez, Viviana Gonzalez-Astudillo, Mauricio Navarro, Cristian Camilo Tapia, Mónica Franco, Javier Andrés Bustamante, Miryam Astudillo, and Jean Mukherjee "LEPTOSPIRA SPECIES STATUS OF CAPTIVE NONHUMAN PRIMATES AND FREE-RANGING RODENTS AT THE BARRANQUILLA ZOO, COLOMBIA, 2013," Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 51(4), 780-788, (12 January 2021). https://doi.org/10.1638/2019-0192
Accepted: 9 September 2020; Published: 12 January 2021
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