Leptospira sp. is an important waterborne zoonotic bacterium, known to cause infection in animals and humans worldwide. The role of reptiles in the transmission of this microorganism is poorly understood and historically neglected. This study aimed to investigate the presence of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies and leptospiral DNA in captive Caiman latirostris (broad-snouted caiman). Of the 23 reptiles studied by microscopic agglutination test (MAT), 22/23 (95.65%) were considered reactive (titers ≥ 100) and 1/23 (4.35%) non-reactive (titer < 100). The serogroup with highest occurrence was Grippotyphosa (68.18%, n = 15/22) followed by serogroup Djasiman (18.18%, n = 4/22). Specific amplification of Leptospira spp. gene lipL32 was observed in six (26.09%, n = 6/23) blood samples. Five of six samples, previously detected as pathogenic leptospira by PCR, were amplified and sequenced. All the samples corresponded to the pathogenic species Leptospira interrogans (presented 100% of identity) using the PCR targeting to secY gene. We demonstrated high detection of DNA of L. interrogans in crocodilians, and the authors suggest that further research is needed to elucidate the impact of Leptospira spp. infection in health broad-snouted caimans as well as the pathophysiology of leptospirosis in crocodilians.

中文翻译：

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钩端螺旋体的检测。在俘虏的宽鼻凯门鳄（Caiman latirostris）

钩端螺旋体菌。是一种重要的水生人畜共患细菌，已知会导致全世界动物和人类感染。爬行动物在这种微生物的传播中的作用知之甚少，历史上一直被忽略。这项研究旨在调查抗钩端螺旋体的存在。圈养的凯门鳄（宽头凯门鳄）中的抗体和钩端螺旋体DNA 。在通过显微镜凝集试验（MAT）研究的23种爬行动物中，22/23（95.65％）被认为是反应性的（效价≥100）和1/23（反应性的效价≤4.35％）被视为反应性（效价<100）。发生率最高的血清群是灰褐线虫（68.18％，n  = 15/22），其次是杰西曼血清群（18.18％，n  = 4/22）。钩端螺旋体的特异性扩增spp。在六个（26.09％，n  = 6/23）血液样本中观察到lipL32基因。先前已通过PCR检测为致病性钩端螺旋体的六个样本中的五个被扩增并测序。使用靶向secY基因的PCR，所有样品对应于致病物种问号钩端螺旋体（呈现100％的同一性）。我们证明了在鳄鱼中对人乳杆菌的DNA的高检测，作者建议需要进一步的研究来阐明钩端螺旋体的影响。健康的宽阔的凯门鳄感染以及鳄鱼的钩端螺旋体病的病理生理学。