Detection and genotyping of Leptospira spp. from the kidneys of a seemingly healthy pig slaughtered for human consumption.

INTRODUCTION

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp.  Leptospirosis is maintained in an environment due to chronic kidney infection of a wide variety of domestic, peridomestic and wild reservoir mammals. In this study the role of pigs in maintenance of leptospires on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts was investigated.

METHODOLOGY: The condemned kidneys of 60 pigs slaughtered at a St. Kitts abattoir were screened by a quantitative-PCR for the presence of Leptospira spp. Positive samples were genotyped using a six-gene based multilocus sequence typing scheme.

RESULTS

Leptospiral DNA was detected in the kidneys of one of the 60 pigs. Multilocus sequence typing identified the infecting species to be L. interrogans.

CONCLUSIONS

Detection of this zoonotic pathogen in the kidneys of a seemingly healthy pig raises concerns regarding the subclinical carriers of the disease among the island's swine population.