TY - JOUR
T1 - Molecular Characterization of Leptospira Species among Patients with Acute Undifferentiated Febrile Illness from the Municipality of Villeta, Colombia
AU - Silva-Ramos, Carlos Ramiro
AU - Matiz-González, J. Manuel
AU - Gil-Mora, Juliana
AU - Martínez Díaz, Heidy C.
AU - Faccini-Martínez, Álvaro A.
AU - Cuervo, Claudia
AU - Melby, Peter C.
AU - Aguilar, Patricia V.
AU - Cabada, Miguel M.
AU - Rodas, Juan David
AU - Hidalgo, Marylin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the authors.
PY - 2024/8
Y1 - 2024/8
N2 - Leptospira is a bacterial genus that includes several pathogenic species related to leptospirosis. In Colombia, leptospirosis is a mandatorily reported disease, widely distributed across the country. In the Villeta municipality, leptospirosis has been identified as an important cause of febrile illness; however, to date, no studies have been performed to identify the circulating species. A genus-specific qualitative qPCR was performed on DNA extracted from febrile patients’ acute-phase whole-blood samples targeting a fragment of the rrs gene. Positive qPCR samples were further amplified for the adk, icdA, LipL32, LipL41, rrs, and secY genes through conventional PCR for sequencing. All high-quality obtained sequences were further assessed through concatenated phylogenetic analysis. A total of 25% (14/56) of febrile patients’ acute blood samples were positive for Leptospira spp. High-quality sequences were obtained for only five genes, and analysis through concatenated phylogeny identified that all sequences clustered within the P1/pathogenic clade; some of them formed a robustly supported clade with Leptospira santarosai, and others were closely related with other Leptospira species but exhibited considerable genetic divergence. We describe the presence of pathogenic Leptospira species among febrile patients from the Villeta municipality and identify L. santarosai and other Leptospira species as causative agents of leptospirosis in the region.
AB - Leptospira is a bacterial genus that includes several pathogenic species related to leptospirosis. In Colombia, leptospirosis is a mandatorily reported disease, widely distributed across the country. In the Villeta municipality, leptospirosis has been identified as an important cause of febrile illness; however, to date, no studies have been performed to identify the circulating species. A genus-specific qualitative qPCR was performed on DNA extracted from febrile patients’ acute-phase whole-blood samples targeting a fragment of the rrs gene. Positive qPCR samples were further amplified for the adk, icdA, LipL32, LipL41, rrs, and secY genes through conventional PCR for sequencing. All high-quality obtained sequences were further assessed through concatenated phylogenetic analysis. A total of 25% (14/56) of febrile patients’ acute blood samples were positive for Leptospira spp. High-quality sequences were obtained for only five genes, and analysis through concatenated phylogeny identified that all sequences clustered within the P1/pathogenic clade; some of them formed a robustly supported clade with Leptospira santarosai, and others were closely related with other Leptospira species but exhibited considerable genetic divergence. We describe the presence of pathogenic Leptospira species among febrile patients from the Villeta municipality and identify L. santarosai and other Leptospira species as causative agents of leptospirosis in the region.
KW - acute undifferentiated febrile illness
KW - Colombia
KW - febrile patients
KW - Leptospira
KW - leptospirosis
KW - molecular detection
KW - phylogeny
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85202458610&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/tropicalmed9080168
DO - 10.3390/tropicalmed9080168
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85202458610
SN - 2414-6366
VL - 9
JO - Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
JF - Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
IS - 8
M1 - 168
ER -