Presence of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies in captive yellow-spotted river turtles (Podocnemis unifilis) in the Eastern Amazon

ABSTRACT: We describe anti-Leptospira spp. agglutinin in yellow-spotted river turtles (Podocnemis unifilis)in the Amazon region. Ninety-eight serum samples from individuals housed at the Bosque Rodrigues Alves Zoobotanical Garden of Amazonia, Belém, PA, Brazil, were subject to the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) using 19 different Leptospira spp. antigen serogroups. Thirty-four of the 98 samples (35%) were reactive, with titers ranging from 100 to 3200, and eight 8 reactive samples (23.5%) co-agglutinated under two or more serovars.The most common serogroup was Hebdomadis (26.9%, 7/26), followed by Semaranga (23%, 6/26), Shermani (19.2%, 5/26), Djasiman (11.5%, 3/26), and Australis (7.7%, 2/26); Bataviae, Javanica, and Sejroewere represented by a single sample each (3.9%). The presence of turtles reactive to anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies implies exposure to the pathogen.

摘要：我们对亚马逊地区黄斑侧颈龟（Podocnemis unifilis）体内的抗钩端螺旋体属（Leptospira spp.）凝集素进行了研究阐述。研究采集了巴西帕拉州贝伦市亚马逊博斯克·罗德里格斯·阿尔维斯动植物园饲养的98份龟类血清样本，使用19种不同的钩端螺旋体属抗原血清群，开展显微凝集试验（microscopic agglutination test, MAT）。结果显示，98份样本中共34份（35%）呈阳性反应，抗体滴度介于100至3200之间；其中8份阳性样本（23.5%）可与2种及以上血清型发生交叉凝集。最常见的血清群为赫布莫迪斯（Hebdomadis）血清群（26.9%，7/26），其次为塞马兰加（Semaranga）（23%，6/26）、谢尔曼（Shermani）（19.2%，5/26）、贾西曼（Djasiman）（11.5%，3/26）以及澳洲（Australis）（7.7%，2/26）；巴达维亚（Bataviae）、爪哇（Javanica）和塞伊罗（Sejroe）血清群各仅对应1份阳性样本（3.9%）。检测到可产生抗钩端螺旋体属抗体反应的龟类个体，提示该物种已接触该病原体。