{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T02:25:00Z","timestamp":1788143100876,"version":"build-2803163510"},"update-to":[{"DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0010757","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,28]],"date-time":"2022-09-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1664323200000}}],"reference-count":53,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,16]],"date-time":"2022-09-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1663286400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002347","name":"Bundesministerium f\u00fcr Bildung und Forschung","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["FKZ 01DP17063"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FKZ 01DP17063"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002347","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosntds.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Negl Trop Dis"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonotic disease and one of the leading causes of zoonotic morbidity and mortality, particularly in resource-poor settings. Sri Lanka has one of the highest disease burdens worldwide, with occasional endemic leptospirosis outbreaks (2008, 2011). Rodents are considered the main wildlife reservoir, but due to a scarcity of studies it is unclear which particular species contributes to bacterial transmission and reservoir maintenance in this multi-host multi-parasite system. Several rodent species act as agricultural pests both in rice fields and in food storage facilities. To unravel the interactions among the small mammal communities, pathogenic <jats:italic>Leptospira<\/jats:italic> spp. and human transmission pathways, we collected animals from smallholder food storage facilities, where contact between humans and small mammals is most likely, and screened kidney tissue samples for <jats:italic>Leptospira<\/jats:italic> spp. using PCR. Samples were collected in three climatic zones along a rainfall gradient. Pathogenic <jats:italic>Leptospira<\/jats:italic> spp. were detected in small mammal communities in 37 (74%) out of 50 sampled farms and 61 (12%) out of 500 collected individuals were infected. The small mammal community was comprised of <jats:italic>Rattus rattus<\/jats:italic> (87.6%), <jats:italic>Suncus<\/jats:italic> shrews (8.8%), <jats:italic>Bandicota<\/jats:italic> spp. (2.8%) and <jats:italic>Mus booduga<\/jats:italic> (0.8%). Three pathogenic <jats:italic>Leptospira<\/jats:italic> spp. were identified, <jats:italic>L<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>borgpetersenii<\/jats:italic> (n = 34), <jats:italic>L<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>interrogans<\/jats:italic> (n = 15), and <jats:italic>L<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>kirschneri<\/jats:italic> (n = 1). <jats:italic>Suncus<\/jats:italic> shrews were commonly infected (32%), followed by <jats:italic>B<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>indica<\/jats:italic> (23%) and <jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>rattus<\/jats:italic> (10%). <jats:italic>L<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>borgpetersenii<\/jats:italic> strains similar to strains previously extracted from human clinal samples in Sri Lanka were detected in <jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>rattus<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Suncus<\/jats:italic> shrews. <jats:italic>L<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>interrogans<\/jats:italic> was observed in <jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>rattus<\/jats:italic> only. A single <jats:italic>L<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>kirschneri<\/jats:italic> infection was found in <jats:italic>M<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>booduga<\/jats:italic>. The presence of human pathogenic <jats:italic>Leptospira<\/jats:italic> species in an agricultural pest rodent (<jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>rattus<\/jats:italic>) and in commensal shrews (<jats:italic>Suncus<\/jats:italic>) calls for management of these species in commensal settings. Further investigation of the interplay between pathogen and reservoir population dynamics, overlap in geographic range and the extent of spill-over to humans in and around rural settlements is required to identify optimal management approaches.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0010757","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,16]],"date-time":"2022-09-16T17:55:31Z","timestamp":1663350931000},"page":"e0010757","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Ecology and distribution of Leptospira spp., reservoir hosts and environmental interaction in Sri Lanka, with identification of a new strain"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5213-851X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Vincent","family":"Sluydts","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Siriwardana Rampalage","family":"Sarathchandra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna Pia","family":"Piscitelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Natalie","family":"Van Houtte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sophie","family":"Gryseels","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anne","family":"Mayer-Scholl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nadja Seyhan","family":"Bier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nyo Me","family":"Htwe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jens","family":"Jacob","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"pntd.0010757.ref001","article-title":"Rodent-borne diseases and their risks for public health Rodent-borne diseases and their risks for public health","author":"BG Meerburg","year":"2009","journal-title":"Crit. 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