Detection of Leptospira spp. in wildlife reservoir hosts in Ontario through comparison of immunohistochemical and polymerase chain reaction genotyping methods |
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| Authors: | Karen E Shearer Michael J Harte Davor Ojkic Josepha DeLay Douglas Campbell |
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| Institution: | Fleming College School of Environmental & Natural and Resource Sciences, Fish & Wildlife Program, 200 Albert St. South, Lindsay, Ontario K9V 5E6 (Shearer, Harte); Animal Health Laboratory (Ojkic, DeLay), Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre, Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1 (Campbell). |
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| Abstract: | A total of 460 kidney samples from wildlife (beavers, coyotes, deer, foxes, opossums, otters, raccoons, skunks) were obtained from road-kill and hunter/trapper donations in Ontario between January 2010 and November 2012. The objectives of the study were to detect Leptospira spp. by immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), to map presence of leptospires in wildlife relative to livestock and human populations, and to characterize positive samples by sequencing and comparison to leptospires known to affect domestic animals and humans. The proportion of samples that tested positive ranged from 0% to 42%, with the highest rates in skunks and raccoons. Leptospira spp. were present in kidneys of wildlife across Ontario, particularly in areas of high human density, and areas in which livestock populations are abundant. The PCR was too weak in most samples to permit genotyping and examination of the relationship between the leptospires found in this study and those affecting domestic animals and humans. |
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