preprints.org > biology and life sciences > animal science, veterinary science and zoology > doi: 10.20944/preprints202210.0111.v1

Preprint Brief Report Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Version 1 : Received: 8 October 2022 / Approved: 10 October 2022 / Online: 10 October 2022 (02:56:52 CEST)

Leptospirosis is an important zoonotic disease that is transmitted worldwide through infected small mammals such as rodents. In Malaysia, there is paucity of information on the animal reservoirs that are responsible for leptospirosis transmission, with only few studies focusing on leptospirosis risk in recreational areas. Therefore, in this study, we characterized the species composition and the prevalence of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in non-volant small mammals of Hutan Lipur Sekayu, Terengganu. We performed ten trapping sessions totaling 3,000 trapping efforts between September 2019 and October 2020. Kidney samples from captured individuals were extracted for the PCR detection of pathogenic Leptospira spp. Overall, we captured 45 individuals from 8 species (1.56% successful trapping effort), with 9 individuals testing positive for pathogenic Leptospira, that is 20% (n = 9/45) prevalence rate. Rattus tiomanicus (n = 22) was the most dominant captured species and was found to harbour the highest positive individual with pathogenic Leptospira (44.4%, n = 4/9). Despite the low successful trapping effort in this study, the result shows that the non-volant small mammals of Hutan Lipur Sekayu are capable of maintaining and transmitting pathogenic Leptospira, thus making this recreational area a potential infestation ground for leptospirosis.

Animal reservoirs; Leptospirosis; recreational area; rodents; Malaysia

Biology and Life Sciences, Animal Science, Veterinary Science and Zoology

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