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Background: Leptospirosis is the world's most common zoonotic disease. Mitigation and control rely on pathogen identification and understanding the roles of potential reservoirs in cycling and transmission. Underreporting and misdiagnosis obscure the magnitude of the problem and confound efforts to understand key epidemiological components. Difficulties in culturing hamper the use of serological diagnostics and delay the development of DNA detection methods. As a result, especially in complex ecosystems, we know very little about the importance of different mammalian host species in cycling and transmission to humans. Methodology/principal findings: We sampled dogs from five indigenous Kichwa communities living in the Yasuní National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon basin. Blood and urine samples from domestic dogs were collected to assess the exposure of these animals to Leptospira and to identify the circulating species. Microscopic Agglutination Tests with a panel of 22 different serovars showed anti-leptospira antibodies in 36 sampled dogs (75%), and 7 serogroups were detected. Two DNA-based detection assays revealed pathogenic Leptospira DNA in 18 of 19 dog urine samples (94.7%). Amplicon sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA and SecY genes from 15 urine samples revealed genetic diversity within two of three different Leptospira species: noguchii (n = 7), santarosai (n = 7), and interrogans (n = 1). Conclusions/significance: The high prevalence of antibodies and Leptospira DNA provides strong evidence for high rates of past and current infections. Such high prevalence has not been previously reported for dogs. These dogs live in the peridomestic environment in close contact with humans, yet they are free-ranging animals that interact with wildlife. This complex web of interactions may explain the diverse types of pathogenic Leptospira observed in this study. Our results suggest that domestic dogs are likely to play an important role in the cycling and transmission of Leptospira. Future studies in areas with complex ecoepidemiology will enable better parsing of the significance of genotypic, environmental, and host characteristics. Author summary: People around the world interact with a wide range of animals, but one of the closest is the domestic dog. Dogs can be reservoirs of several zoonotic infectious diseases, including leptospirosis. The frequent ecological interactions between people, dogs, and wildlife in indigenous communities living in the Amazon basin might increase the complexity of leptospirosis transmission, in comparison with what has been described for other settings. In the Amazon basin, wild animals and domestic animals may act as reservoirs of the pathogen, excreting the bacteria through their urine. In this work, we analyzed serum and urine samples from dogs living within Kichwa communities from the Yasuní National Park in Ecuador. Serum samples were analyzed with MAT and urine samples with qPCR assays that detect the presence of pathogenic Leptospira. Our results suggest that a high percentage of dogs have been exposed to Leptospira. We identified the presence of ten serovars and three different Leptospira species. These findings provide important insights into the epidemiology of leptospirosis in this ecosystem, showing that dogs are a common reservoir and thus likely to play a critical role in the transmission of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Leptospirosis causes significant economic losses and is an occupational risk in the swine industry, especially in developing tropical regions where social and geoclimatic conditions are favorable for the transmission of this disease. Although vaccination can reduce infection risk, efficacy is diminished if local genetic and antigenic variants of the pathogen are not accounted for in the vaccine. Identifying and characterizing strains hosts, and potential mechanisms of transmission is therefore critical for public health mitigation practices. Methodology/Principal findings: Our study was conducted on a rural breeding farm in Ecuador, where we used a PCR assay that targets lipL32 to detect Leptospira spp. and targeted gene sequencing to identify Leptospira santarosai in the kidneys, testicles, and ejaculate of a vaccinated boar. MAT results showed low titers against serovars found in the vaccine, but the MAT panel did not include serovars of L. santarosai. The boar showed no symptoms of leptospirosis but did show blood in the semen. However, no postmortem histopathological lesions were observed tissue samples. Vaccinated sows that were artificially inseminated with the semen from this boar had reproductive problems, suggesting that transmission had occurred. This is the first documented case of Leptospira santarosai in the reproductive tract of a boar. Conclusions/Significance: As L. santarosai is pathogenic in other livestock species and humans, our finding highlights the need to evaluate the prevalence and epidemiological significance of this pathogen in livestock and consider the possibility of venereal transmission. In addition, further studies are needed to identify and characterize local serovars that may impact diagnosis and vaccination programs to better control leptospirosis in livestock and spillover into the human population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease responsible for high morbidity around the world, especially in tropical and low income countries. Rats are thought to be the main vector of human leptospirosis in urban settings. However, differences between urban and low-income rural communities provide additional insights into the epidemiology of the disease. Methodology/Principal findings: Our study was conducted in two low-income rural communities near the coast of Ecuador. We detected and characterized infectious leptospira DNA in a wide variety of samples using new real time quantitative PCR assays and amplicon sequencing. We detected infectious leptospira in a high percentage of febrile patients (14.7%). In contrast to previous studies on leptospirosis risk factors, higher positivity was not found in rats (3.0%) but rather in cows (35.8%) and pigs (21.1%). Six leptospira species were identified (L. borgpetersenii, L kirschnerii, L santarosai, L. interrogans, L noguchii, and an intermediate species within the L. licerasiae and L. wolffii clade) and no significant differences in the species of leptospira present in each animal species was detected (χ2 = 9.89, adj.p-value = 0.27). Conclusions/Significance: A large portion of the world’s human population lives in low-income, rural communities, however, there is limited information about leptospirosis transmission dynamics in these settings. In these areas, exposure to peridomestic livestock is particularly common and high prevalence of infectious leptospira in cows and pigs suggest that they may be the most important reservoir for human transmission. Genotyping clinical samples show that multiple species of leptospira are involved in human disease. As these genotypes were also detected in samples from a variety of animals, genotype data must be used in conjunction with epidemiological data to provide evidence of transmission and the importance of different potential leptospirosis reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]