{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,28]],"date-time":"2026-03-28T00:56:58Z","timestamp":1774659418451,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,20]],"date-time":"2020-10-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1603152000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100009168","name":"Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["G00012580"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["G00012580"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100009168","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Leptospirosis is a widespread zoonosis and has been recognized as a re-emerging infectious disease in humans and a variety of wild and domestic animal species. In order to understand the prevalence and diversity of Leptospira spp. in feral pig populations of Alabama, we trapped 315 feral pigs in Bullock County east-central Alabama, and collected 97 environmental samples from riparian areas in Bullock County and Macon County east-central Alabama. Two previously published PCRs followed by DNA sequencing and BLASTn were performed to identify pathogenic Leptospira species in the kidney of feral pigs (3.2%, 10\/315) as well as environmental samples collected from the habitats of feral pigs (2.1%, 2\/97), but not in the whole blood samples (n = 276) or spleen (n = 51). An ELISA determined that 44.2% of serum samples (122\/276) were antibody-positive for Leptospira. The identification of two pathogenic Leptospira species from environmental samples and the high sero-positivity in feral pigs suggests potential pathogen shedding from feral pigs to environments, and to humans and domestic animals. In order to better understand the risk to human health associated with feral swine presence, further studies are warranted to explore the interrelationship between Leptospira spp. shedding in the urine of feral pigs and bacterial culture to explore pathogenicity. Multi-locus sequencing typing (MLST) and microscopic agglutination tests (MAT) should be performed in future studies to make a definite determination of pathogenic Leptospira in feral pigs in Alabama.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens9100857","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,20]],"date-time":"2020-10-20T20:50:07Z","timestamp":1603227007000},"page":"857","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Molecular and Serological Prevalence of Leptospira spp. in Feral Pigs (Sus scrofa) and their Habitats in Alabama, USA"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Anil","family":"Poudel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3458-8212","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Md Monirul","family":"Hoque","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Steven","family":"Madere","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36830, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3779-0029","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sara","family":"Bolds","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36830, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Stuart","family":"Price","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Subarna","family":"Barua","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Folasade","family":"Adekanmbi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anwar","family":"Kalalah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Steven","family":"Kitchens","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Vienna","family":"Brown","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"USDA\/APHIS\/Wildlife Services, National Feral Swine Damage Management Program, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7874-8340","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chengming","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"B. Graeme","family":"Lockaby","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36830, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cimid.2013.12.002","article-title":"Human leptospirosis: An emerging risk in Europe?","volume":"37","author":"Dupouey","year":"2014","journal-title":"Comp. Immunol. Microbiol. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1128\/AEM.01190-17","article-title":"Critical knowledge gaps in our understanding of environmental cycling and transmission of Leptospira spp.","volume":"83","author":"Barragan","year":"2017","journal-title":"Appl. Environ. 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