Viability of Leptospira Isolates from a Human Outbreak in Thailand in Various Water Types, pH, and Temperature Conditions

Leptospira spp. isolated from patients during a multiyear outbreak in Thailand were genotyped using multilocus sequence typing and a majority were identified as ST34, especially in earlier years. We tested whether ST34 isolates were better adapted to survive in various pH levels, temperatures, and water sources. Motility and growth were monitored over a 12-week period. Early year ST34 isolates did not appear to have a significant fitness advantage over non-ST34, however, this may have been because a majority of the isolates survived to the termination of the study, with the exception being at high temperature (37°C) and/or basic pH (8.65). Failure to detect a significant fitness advantage of ST34 may be a result of the length of the study or the small sample size. Lengthening the study and looking at virulence and maintenance in the host could yield additional information about this outbreak.