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Prevalence of Pathogenic Leptospira spp. in Non-Volant Small Mammals of Hutan Lipur Sekayu, Terengganu, Malaysia

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  • Nur Juliani Shafie
  • Najma Syahmin Abdul Halim
  • Adedayo Michael Awoniyi
  • Mohamed Nor Zalipah
  • Shukor Md-Nor
  • Mohd Ulul Ilmie Ahmad Nazri
  • Federico Costa
  • Bernard Davoust (Editor)
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Article number1300
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>5/11/2022
<mark>Journal</mark>Pathogens
Issue number11
Volume11
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date5/11/22
<mark>Original language</mark>English
Externally publishedYes

Abstract

Leptospirosis is an important zoonotic disease that is transmitted worldwide through infected small mammals such as rodents. In Malaysia, there is a paucity of information on the animal reservoirs that are responsible for leptospirosis transmission, with only a few studies focusing on leptospirosis risk in recreational areas. Therefore, in this study we characterized the species composition and the prevalence of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in non-volant small mammals of Hutan Lipur Sekayu, Terengganu. We performed ten trapping sessions totaling 3000 trappings between September 2019 and October 2020. Kidney samples from captured individuals were extracted for the PCR detection of pathogenic Leptospira spp. Overall, we captured 45 individuals from 8 species (1.56% successful trapping effort), with 9 individuals testing positive for pathogenic Leptospira, that is, a 20% (n = 9/45) prevalence rate. Rattus tiomanicus (n = 22) was the most dominant captured species and had the highest positive individual with pathogenic Leptospira (44.4%, n = 4/9). Despite the low successful trapping effort in this study, the results show the high diversity of non-volant small mammals in Hutan Lipur Sekayu, and that they could also maintain and transmit pathogenic Leptospira.