Prevalence of Renal Lesions in the Small Indian Mongoose ( Herpestes auropunctatus) Inhabiting the Caribbean Island of Saint Kitts

Leptospira Infection in African Green Monkeys in an Endemic Area: An Opportunity for Comparative Studies in a Natural Environment

This study was performed to investigate the potential asymptomatic Leptospira reservoir status among African green monkeys (AGMs) in the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts, and whether there is any renal pathology associated with Leptospira exposure. Forty-eight percent of AGMs tested were positive for Leptospira antibodies by the microscopic agglutination test. Leptospira DNA was detected in 4% of kidney samples tested using a lipl32 gene based PCR. We observed minimal to severe microscopic renal lesions in 85% of the AGM kidneys evaluated. The majority of the AGMs (n = 26) had only minimal to mild interstitial nephritis and a few (n = 3) had moderate to severe lesions. The presence of interstitial nephritis was not significantly associated with Leptospira exposure. The presence of infected AGMs in a small surface limited geographic region may pose zoonotic threat to humans and animals. The impact of Leptospira infection in renal pathology in AGMs warrants further investigation. AGMs residing in a natural setting in an insular, surface limited Leptospira endemic geographic region may offer opportunities for comparative studies to advance the field of leptospirosis. Due to their similarity to humans, such studies in AGMs may also provide translational opportunities to advance Leptospira research.

Peridomestic small Indian mongoose: An invasive species posing as potential zoonotic risk for leptospirosis in the Caribbean

In this study, we investigated Leptospira infection and exposure in small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus), an invasive animal species, in two different sites in the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts. Overall a low seroprevalence (12/148; 8.1%: 95%CI: 3.7-12.5) was observed. Agglutinating antibodies to serovars Mankarso (3.4%), Copenhageni (2.7%), Icterohemorrhagiae (1.4%), Bratislava (1.4%), Canicola (1.4%), Autumnalis (0.7%), Alexi (0.7%), Pomona (0.7%) and Grippotyphosa (0.7%) was observed on the microscopic agglutination test. The seroprevalence observed in mongooses trapped from peridomestic sites was significantly higher compared to the arid and less inhabited site (p = 0.0268). The real time PCR targeting lipL32 gene was positive for 9 out of 146 mongooses. Bacterial culture of kidneys resulted in two Leptospira isolates. Whole genome sequencing and analysis suggested that these isolates are closely related to L. interrogans serovar Copenhageni. We observed mild to severe chronic renal lesions in 20.2% of mongooses in the absence of an antibody response or active infection. Our findings emphasize the need to investigate other infectious etiologies or atypical outcomes and potential chronic long-term impact of Leptospira infection in animals and people living in an endemic area. In addition, our data reinforces the need for including locally prevalent Leptospira isolates rather than representative members of a serogroup in the microscopic agglutination test panel in epidemiologic and diagnostic investigations. In conclusion, mongoose inhabiting the island are exposed to and harbor pathogenic Leptospira and hence may play a role in the transmission. The invasive nature of the species highlights their presence as a potential risk factor for this widespread zoonotic disease.