Background: Leptospirosis is a water-related zoonotic disease. The disease is primarily transmitted from animals to humans through pathogenic bacteria in contaminated water and soil. Rivers have a critical role in transmissions, while co-infection potentials with other waterborne bacteria might increase the severity and death risk of the disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZoonoses Public Health
November 2023
Leptospirosis is a major zoonotic disease, especially in the tropics, and rodents were known to be carriers of this bacterium. There was established information on Leptospira prevalence among animal reservoirs in human-dominated landscapes from previous literature. However, there was very little focus given comparing the prevalence of Leptospira in a wide range of habitats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany human clinical cases attributed to vector-borne pathogens are underreported in Malaysia, especially in rural localities where healthcare infrastructures are lacking. Here, 217 small mammals, consisting of rodents and tree shrews, were trapped in oil palm plantations in the Peninsular Malaysia states of Johor and Perak. Species identification was performed using morphological and DNA barcoding analyses, and 203 small mammals were included in the detection of selected vector-borne bacteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChigger mites are vectors of the bacterial disease scrub typhus, caused by spp. The bacterium is vertically transmitted in the vector and horizontally transmitted to terrestrial vertebrates (primarily wild small mammals), with humans as incidental hosts. Previous studies have shown that the size of the chigger populations is correlated with the density of small mammals in scrub typhus-endemic regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRat bocavirus (RBoV) and rodent bocavirus (RoBoV) have previously been detected in Rattus norvegicus; however, these viruses have not been reported in rodent populations in Malaysia. We investigated the presence of RBoV and RoBoV in archived rodent specimens. DNA barcoding of the rodent cytochrome c oxidase gene identified five different species: Rattus tanezumi R3 mitotype, Rattus tiomanicus, Rattus exulans, Rattus argentiventer, and Rattus tanezumi sensu stricto.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by bacteria of the genus that affects both humans and animals worldwide. Early detection of the pathogen in humans is crucial for early intervention and control of the progression of the disease to a severe state. It is also vitally important to be able to detect the presence of the pathogen in carrier animals to control the spread of the disease from the environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
September 2021
Pathogenic is the causative agent of leptospirosis, an emerging zoonotic disease affecting animals and humans worldwide. The risk of host infection following interaction with environmental sources depends on the ability of to persist, survive, and infect the new host to continue the transmission chain. may coexist with other pathogens, thus providing a suitable condition for the development of other pathogens, resulting in multi-pathogen infection in humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeptospirosis, a widespread zoonotic disease, is a public health problem, especially in major urban centres, and is mainly reported to be associated with rats. In Malaysia, focus has been primarily given to the Leptospira prevalence in rodents per se, but there is lack of information on the microhabitat structure of the outbreak areas. We aimed to determine the diversity of small mammal species, microhabitat types, and their prevalence of pathogenic Leptospira spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHere, we investigated an outbreak of leptospirosis among reserve military recruits that occurred following a survival exercise in the Hulu Perdik forest within the Hulu Langat district, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Blood samples from the 12 patients that presented symptoms for febrile illness on clinical examination were subjected to laboratory investigation, comprising Lepto IgM rapid test, IgM ELISA, and microscopic agglutination test (MAT). All these patients were interviewed for possible risk factors for leptospirosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActa Trop
December 2018
Leptospirosis is caused by the spirochetal bacterium Leptospira of which rodents are considered the most important reservoir. This study aims to determine and characterize virulent Leptospira species among rodents and small mammals found in human settlements and recreational spots within the Hulu Langat and Gombak districts of Selangor, Malaysia; regions that frequently report probable human leptospirosis cases. Molecular analysis revealed an overall Leptospira detection rate of 14.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Borrelia genus consists of spirochete bacteria known to cause Lyme disease (LD) and relapsing fever in humans. Borrelia pathogens are commonly transmitted via arthropod vectors such as ticks, mites, or lice. Here, we report the molecular screening of LD group Borrelia sp.
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