Study of Population Genetics of Leptospira in Hawai‘i

Abstract

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease commonly transmitted from animals to human. Diseases such as Leptospirosis, malaria, and West Nile, which are pervasive in underdeveloped countries, fall into the same category of disease known as zoonoses. Bacteria of the genus Leptospira cause infections in animals and humans. Serovars are specific types of Leptospira that differ in antigen expression. Previous studies of Leptospirosis in Hawai‘i noted that there may be a relationship between serovars of Leptospira and its host organisms such as mice, rats, and mongoose. Advanced molecular techniques are enabling in-depth analyses of the concept of host organism species-specific infection. The objective of this study is to use molecular tools to determine the genetic diversity of Leptospira in infected host animals and the environment. Urine, urine swabs, and genital swabs from mongoose, mice, and rats were analyzed to determine the genetic diversity of Leptospira present in these hosts. Samples from 42 individual hosts that tested positive for Leptospira were analyzed. These samples were initially tested for Leptospirosis using qPCR, or real-time polymerase chain reaction. Detailed genetic analyses of samples containing Leptospira employed Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST). This study will provide species-level genetic analyses of the Leptospira infection in host organisms which will enhance additional genetic analyses of the Leptospira in Hawai‘i. This study will also demonstrate the effectiveness of this experimental approach which can be applied to research of other zoonotic diseases in Hawai‘i such as Rat Lungworm disease.