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Journal of Medical Microbiology logo Journal of Medical Microbiology

Volume 75, Issue 3

Molecular epidemiology of rodent-borne spp. in Sri Lanka: identification of novel sequence types and previously unrecognized reservoir animals Open Access

Abstract

Leptospirosis is an important zoonotic disease globally, which is most prevalent in tropical regions. This disease is endemic in Sri Lanka, where the complex ecology of spp., reservoir animals and environmental and occupational factors has resulted in a public health problem.

Although genomic analysis of isolates has recently revealed the diversity of spp. in Sri Lanka, the genetic relationship between human patients and reservoir animals remains unclear.

This study investigated the genetic diversity of spp. circulating in rodent populations in three districts of Sri Lanka: Kurunegala, Anuradhapura and Badulla.

DNA was detected from rodent kidney tissue samples by real-time PCR, from which positive samples were subjected to sequencing and multilocus sequencing typing (MLST).

Pathogenic DNA was detected by real-time PCR in 33 of 257 kidney tissue samples (12.8%) from 4 rodent species: , , and sp. MLST and partial sequencing of real-time PCR-positive samples identified , , and in the rodent population. Five sequence types (STs), including two novel STs, ST389 and ST392, were identified. The novel STs of and were genetically distinct from other STs detected in Sri Lanka. and were newly identified as the source of ST49 and of ST144 and infections in humans, respectively.

This study identified the genetic diversity of spp. in rodent populations and reservoir animals for human infections in Sri Lanka.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): rodent , Leptospira spp. , leptospirosis , MLST and Sri Lanka
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Mitsubishi Foundation
    • Principal Award Recipient: ShuzoUrata
  • Heiwa Nakajima Foundation
    • Principal Award Recipient: ShuzoUrata
  • Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (Award JP25fk0108683)
    • Principal Award Recipient: NobuoKoizumi
© 2026 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author’s institution.
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2026-03-06
2026-04-21

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Molecular epidemiology of rodent-borne Leptospira spp. in Sri Lanka: identification of novel sequence types and previously unrecognized reservoir animals
J. Med. Microbiol. 75, 002133 (2026); https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.002133
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.002133
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.002133
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