The Contribution of Bats to Leptospirosis Transmission in Sao Paulo City, Brazil

The biodiversity of potential leptospiral reservoir hosts is lower in urban than in rural environments. Previous data indicate the potential for bats to act as carriers of Leptospira in regions such as the Amazon of South America and in Australia. Yet, little is known about the contribution of bats...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 2010-02, Vol.82 (2), p.315-317
Main Authors: Franco Bessa, Thirsa Alvares, Spichler, Anne, Berardis Chapola, Erica G, Husch, Alfred Christian, Fernandes de Almeida, Marilene, Sodre, Miriam Martos, Mouriz Savani, Elisa S. M, Veiga Sacramento, Debora R, Vinetz, Joseph M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bacterial diseases
Biological and medical sciences
Brazil - epidemiology
Chiroptera - microbiology
Disease Reservoirs
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Kidney - microbiology
Leptospira - classification
Leptospira - isolation & purification
Leptospirosis - epidemiology
Leptospirosis - transmission
Leptospirosis - veterinary
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Zoonoses
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Summary:The biodiversity of potential leptospiral reservoir hosts is lower in urban than in rural environments. Previous data indicate the potential for bats to act as carriers of Leptospira in regions such as the Amazon of South America and in Australia. Yet, little is known about the contribution of bats to leptospirosis in urban environments in South America. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that bats infected with Leptospira are sources of leptospirosis transmission to humans in São Paulo City, Brazil. Six of 343 bats caught in different districts within the city of Sao Paulo (182 insectivorous, 161 frugivorous or nectarivorous) were polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive for pathogenic Leptospira; no seropositive bats were found. That few renal carriers of Leptospira were found in the city of Sao Paulo suggests that bats are not important in the transmission of leptospirosis to humans in this, and possibly other urban settings.
ISSN:0002-9637
1476-1645
DOI:10.4269/ajtmh.2010.09-0227