{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,24]],"date-time":"2026-10-24T00:38:15Z","timestamp":1792802295828,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,15]],"date-time":"2021-11-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1636934400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists","award":["Cooperative Agreement 1 NU1ROT00003-01-00"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Cooperative Agreement 1 NU1ROT00003-01-00"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03ax9j741","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosntds.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Negl Trop Dis"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    During 2019\u20132020, the Virgin Islands Department of Health investigated potential animal reservoirs of\n                    <jats:italic>Leptospira<\/jats:italic>\n                    spp., the bacteria that cause leptospirosis. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated\n                    <jats:italic>Leptospira<\/jats:italic>\n                    spp. exposure and carriage in the small Indian mongoose (\n                    <jats:italic>Urva auropunctata<\/jats:italic>\n                    , syn:\n                    <jats:italic>Herpestes auropunctatus<\/jats:italic>\n                    ), an invasive animal species. This study was conducted across the three main islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), which are St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John. We used the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), fluorescent antibody test (FAT), real-time polymerase chain reaction (\n                    <jats:italic>lipl32<\/jats:italic>\n                    rt-PCR), and bacterial culture to evaluate serum and kidney specimens and compared the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of these laboratory methods. Mongooses (n = 274) were live-trapped at 31 field sites in ten regions across USVI and humanely euthanized for\n                    <jats:italic>Leptospira<\/jats:italic>\n                    spp. testing. Bacterial isolates were sequenced and evaluated for species and phylogenetic analysis using the\n                    <jats:italic>ppk<\/jats:italic>\n                    gene. Anti-\n                    <jats:italic>Leptospira<\/jats:italic>\n                    spp. antibodies were detected in 34% (87\/256) of mongooses. Reactions were observed with the following serogroups: Sejroe, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Pyrogenes, Mini, Cynopteri, Australis, Hebdomadis, Autumnalis, Mankarso, Pomona, and Ballum. Of the kidney specimens examined, 5.8% (16\/270) were FAT-positive, 10% (27\/274) were culture-positive, and 12.4% (34\/274) were positive by rt-PCR. Of the\n                    <jats:italic>Leptospira<\/jats:italic>\n                    spp. isolated from mongooses, 25 were\n                    <jats:italic>L<\/jats:italic>\n                    .\n                    <jats:italic>borgpetersenii<\/jats:italic>\n                    , one was\n                    <jats:italic>L<\/jats:italic>\n                    .\n                    <jats:italic>interrogans<\/jats:italic>\n                    , and one was\n                    <jats:italic>L<\/jats:italic>\n                    .\n                    <jats:italic>kirschneri<\/jats:italic>\n                    . Positive predictive values of FAT and rt-PCR testing for predicting successful isolation of\n                    <jats:italic>Leptospira<\/jats:italic>\n                    by culture were 88% and 65%, respectively. The isolation and identification of\n                    <jats:italic>Leptospira<\/jats:italic>\n                    spp. in mongooses highlights the potential role of mongooses as a wildlife reservoir of leptospirosis; mongooses could be a source of\n                    <jats:italic>Leptospira<\/jats:italic>\n                    spp. infections for other wildlife, domestic animals, and humans.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0009859","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,15]],"date-time":"2021-11-15T13:41:21Z","timestamp":1636983681000},"page":"e0009859","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":21,"title":["Mongooses (Urva auropunctata) as reservoir hosts of Leptospira species in the United States Virgin Islands, 2019\u20132020"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9502-2864","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Hannah M.","family":"Cranford","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0532-3832","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"A. 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