Molecular Epidemiological Survey of Leptospira Infection of Wild Rodents in the Urban Settlement of Cambodia.
INTRODUCTION
Leptospirosis remains a major public health threat in Cambodia. In this study, we aimed at facilitating the development of preventive strategies against leptospirosis in Cambodia by conducting molecular epidemiological surveys of Leptospira infection among wild rodents.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
One hundred sixty-three wild rodents were captured in the capital Phnom Penh and surrounding areas, and their kidneys and bladders were collected for analysis. Identification of wild rodent species was determined by using the cytochrome c oxidase I gene. TaqMan PCR of the flagellin B gene (flaB) was performed to detect Leptospira, and species of the isolates were identified by flaB sequencing analysis.


RESULTS
The species and respective number of rodents collected were as follows: Rattus norvegicus, 80 (49.1%); Rattus argentiventer, 53 (32.5%); Rattus exulans, 6 (3.7%); Rattus indica, 15 (9.2%); Maxomys surifer, 3 (1.8%); and Rattus sp., 6 (3.7%). Leptospira was detected in 20 out of the 163 rodents (12.3%) and was categorized as either Leptospira interrogans or Leptospira noguchii. R. norvegicus had the highest prevalence of Leptospira (17.5%), and R. argentiventer and Rattus sp. showed infection rates of 9.4% and 16.7%, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Based on these results, wild rodents living in urban areas of Cambodia were found to be important reservoirs of highly virulent Leptospira. The flaB sequence results of our study provided information regarding the prevalence of Leptospira species, which was dependent on the rodent species. This study is the first study on leptospirosis in wild rodents in the urban areas of Cambodia, where there is limited information on leptospirosis.
['Kudo|Yoshiko|Y|', 'Vansith|Ket|K|', 'Rin|En|E|', 'Uchida|Kohdai|K|', 'Kodama|Sumika|S|', 'Fukui|Takashi|T|', 'Masuda|Sho|S|', 'Masuzawa|Toshiyuki|T|']
D000818:Animals D002160:Cambodia D002947:Cities D007919:Leptospira D007922:Leptospirosis D017720:Molecular Epidemiology D051189:Murinae D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction D015995:Prevalence D051381:Rats D012376:Rodent Diseases
Leptospira cytochrome c oxidase flagellin B disease reservoir infectious disease