Critical Knowledge Gaps in Our Understanding of Environmental Cycling and Transmission of Leptospira spp.

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ABSTRACT

Exposure to soil or water contaminated with the urine of Leptospira-infected animals is the most common way in which humans contract leptospirosis. Entire populations can be at high risk of leptospirosis while working in inundated fields, when engaging in aquatic sports, or after periods of heavy rainfall. The risk of infection after contact with these environmental sources depends on the ability of Leptospira bacteria to survive, persist, and infect new hosts. Multiple variables such as soil and water pH, temperature, and even environmental microbial communities are likely to shape the environmental conditions needed by the pathogen to persist. Here we review what is known about the environmental phase of the infectious Leptospira transmission cycle and identify knowledge gaps that will serve as a guide for future research.

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Leptospira: the dawn of the molecular genetics era for an emerging zoonotic pathogen.

Albert Ko, Cyrille Goarant, Mathieu Picardeau (2009)

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that has emerged as an important cause of morbidity and mortality among impoverished populations. One hundred years after the discovery of the causative spirochaetal agent, little is understood about Leptospira spp. pathogenesis, which in turn has hampered the development of new intervention strategies to address this neglected disease. However, the recent availability of complete genome sequences for Leptospira spp. and the discovery of genetic tools for their transformation have led to important insights into the biology of these pathogens and their pathogenesis. We discuss the life cycle of the bacterium, the recent advances in our understanding and the implications for the future prevention of leptospirosis.

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Climate variability and change in the United States: potential impacts on vector- and rodent-borne diseases.

D J Gubler, M. P. Reiter, K L Ebi … (2001)

Diseases such as plague, typhus, malaria, yellow fever, and dengue fever, transmitted between humans by blood-feeding arthropods, were once common in the United States. Many of these diseases are no longer present, mainly because of changes in land use, agricultural methods, residential patterns, human behavior, and vector control. However, diseases that may be transmitted to humans from wild birds or mammals (zoonoses) continue to circulate in nature in many parts of the country. Most vector-borne diseases exhibit a distinct seasonal pattern, which clearly suggests that they are weather sensitive. Rainfall, temperature, and other weather variables affect in many ways both the vectors and the pathogens they transmit. For example, high temperatures can increase or reduce survival rate, depending on the vector, its behavior, ecology, and many other factors. Thus, the probability of transmission may or may not be increased by higher temperatures. The tremendous growth in international travel increases the risk of importation of vector-borne diseases, some of which can be transmitted locally under suitable circumstances at the right time of the year. But demographic and sociologic factors also play a critical role in determining disease incidence, and it is unlikely that these diseases will cause major epidemics in the United States if the public health infrastructure is maintained and improved.

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Environmental and Behavioural Determinants of Leptospirosis Transmission: A Systematic Review

Mwanajaa Abdalla Mwachui, Lisa Crump, Rudy Hartskeerl … (2015)

Background Leptospirosis is one of the most widespread zoonotic diseases, which is of global medical and veterinary importance, and also a re-emerging infectious disease. The main tracks of transmission are known; however, the relative importance of each of the components and the respective environmental risk factors are unclear. We aimed to assess and specify quantitative evidence of environmental risks of leptospirosis transmission. Methods/findings A database of pre-selected studies, with publication dates from 1970 until 2008, was provided by an expert group. The database has been updated until 2015 using a text mining algorithm. Study selection was based on stringent quality criteria. A descriptive data analysis was performed to calculate the medians of the log transformed odds ratios. From a selection of 2723 unique publications containing information on leptospirosis, 428 papers dealing with risk factors were identified. Of these, 53 fulfilled the quality criteria, allowing us to identify trends in different geo-climatic regions. Water associated exposures were, with few exceptions, associated with an increased leptospirosis risk. In resource poor countries, floods and rainfall were of particular importance, whereas recreational water activities were more relevant in developed countries. Rodents were associated with increased leptospirosis risk, but the variation among studies was high, which might be partly explained by differences in exposure definition. Livestock contact was commonly associated with increased risk; however, several studies found no association. The median odds ratios associated with dog and cat contacts were close to unity. Sanitation and behavioural risk factors were almost always strongly associated with leptospirosis, although their impact was rarely investigated in Europe or North America. Conclusion This review confirms the complex environmental transmission pathways of leptospirosis, as previously established. Although, floods appeared to be among the most important drivers on islands and in Asia, the consistent pattern observed for exposure to rodents and behavioural and sanitation related risk factors indicate potential areas for intervention.

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Contributors

Donald W. Schaffner: Role: Editor

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Appl Environ Microbiol

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Appl. Environ. Microbiol

Journal ID (hwp): aem

Journal ID (pmc): aem

Journal ID (publisher-id): AEM

Title: Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Publisher: American Society for Microbiology (1752 N St., N.W., Washington, DC )

ISSN (Print): 0099-2240

ISSN (Electronic): 1098-5336

Publication date (Electronic preprint): 28 July 2017

Publication date (Electronic): 15 September 2017

Publication date Collection: 1 October 2017

Publication date PMC-release: 15 September 2017

Volume: 83

Issue: 19

Electronic Location Identifier: e01190-17

Affiliations

[a ]The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

[b ]Instituto de Microbiologia, Colegio de Ciencias Biologicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Author notes

Address correspondence to Veronica Barragan, vbarragan@ 123456usfq.edu.ec , or Talima Pearson, talima.pearson@ 123456nau.edu .

Citation Barragan V, Olivas S, Keim P, Pearson T. 2017. Critical knowledge gaps in our understanding of environmental cycling and transmission of Leptospira spp. Appl Environ Microbiol 83:e01190-17. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01190-17.

Author information

Veronica Barragan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2205-3010

Paul Keim http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0089-5820

Talima Pearson http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3696-041X

Article

Publisher ID: 01190-17

DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01190-17

PMC ID: 5601346

PubMed ID: 28754706

SO-VID: 8ca25b20-069e-41e9-b538-8d850551b3f8

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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

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Figures: 1, Tables: 1, Equations: 0, References: 85, Pages: 10, Words: 7551

Funding

Funded by: Secretaria Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (SENESCYT)

Award Recipient : Veronica A. Barragan

Funded by: Universidad San Francisco de Quito

Award Recipient : Veronica A. Barragan

Funded by: Cowden Endowment Northern Arizona University

Award Recipient : Paul Keim

Funded by: HHS | National Institutes of Health (NIH) https://doi.org/10.13039/100000002

Award ID: R15AI101913

Award Recipient : Talima Pearson

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cover-date October 2017

ScienceOpen disciplines: Microbiology & Virology

Keywords: leptospira,leptospirosis,environment,water,soil,transmission,survival

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Microbiology & Virology

Keywords: leptospira, leptospirosis, environment, water, soil, transmission, survival

Critical Knowledge Gaps in Our Understanding of Environmental Cycling and Transmission of Leptospira spp.

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ABSTRACT

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Decoding Infection and Transmission

Most cited references 80

Leptospira: the dawn of the molecular genetics era for an emerging zoonotic pathogen.

Climate variability and change in the United States: potential impacts on vector- and rodent-borne diseases.

Environmental and Behavioural Determinants of Leptospirosis Transmission: A Systematic Review

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