Open AccessIsolation of Leptospira serovar Pomona from a crested porcupine ( Hystrix cristata , L., 1758)
Author(s) -
Cilia Giovanni,
Bertelloni Fabrizio,
Coppola Francesca,
Turchi Barbara,
Biliotti Claudia,
Poli Alessandro,
Parisi Francesca,
Felicioli Antonio,
Cerri Domenico,
Fratini Filippo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
veterinary medicine and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.485
H-Index - 11
ISSN - 2053-1095
DOI - 10.1002/vms3.308
Subject(s) - leptospira , porcupine , serotype , biology , isolation (microbiology) , leptospirosis , leptospira interrogans , veterinary medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , host (biology) , virology , zoology , ecology , medicine
Abstract Pathogenic Leptospira is widespread in rodents, the most studied reservoir and the main hosts involved in its transmission. In Italy, among rodents, Hystrix cristata (crested porcupine) is the largest species and it is distributed all over the country. In this paper, the isolation and characterization of pathogenic Leptospira spp. from the kidney of H. cristata is reported for the first time. During Autumn 2018, Leptospira detection by real‐time PCR and isolation were performed from kidneys of two died female porcupines (an adult and a porcupette). Only for porcupette kidney sample, real‐time PCR for pathogenic Leptospira tested positive. The isolated strain was identified as Leptospira interrogans serogroup Pomona serovar Pomona, using the three schemes of multilocus sequence typing. The results show that H. cristata could be a Leptospira host. The infection of serovars Pomona could be related to the habitat shared with wild boar, a typical reservoir host for this serovar.