No evidence of DNA of pathogenic Leptospira in roadkill wildlife from the Yucatan Peninsula, Neotropics of Mexico

Leptospirosis in wildlife has not been fully described; however, there are countless records of pathogenic Leptospira species in these animals, mainly rodents and bats, which are natural reservoirs and hosts, respectively, in the transmission cycle. Roadkilled wildlife is used in biomedical research and epidemiological surveillance to determine the potential host status of etiological agents important for public and animal health without further impacting their populations. The aim of the study was to evaluate the presence of pathogenic Leptospira genetic material in roadkilled wildlife from the Yucatan Peninsula (YP). Carcasses were collected on different roads in YP. Necropsy was performed, and kidney or lung fragments were taken to be used in the extraction of genomic DNA. Two endpoint polymerase chain reactions targeted the SecY and Lipl32 genes to identify pathogenic Leptospira. Thirty-two specimens belonging to 12 species (Sciurus yucatanensis, Nasua narica, Procyon lotor, Urocyon cinereoargenteus, Dasypus novemcinctus, Didelphis virginiana, Galictis vittata, Leopardus pardalis, Spilogale yucatanensis, Tamandua mexicana, Philander opossum and Potos flavus) were evaluated. No evidence of pathogenic Leptospira was found in the organs studied (0%, 0/32). This work evaluated the greatest diversity of wild animals in the neotropics of Mexico to identify them as hosts of pathogenic Leptospira. The results suggest that these bacteria have a very low prevalence in these animals; however, serological tests are necessary to determine the prevalence of seroexposure to pathogenic Leptospira in wildlife YP.