Author Identifier
Jarrad McKercher: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1416-5677
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Animals
Volume
14
Issue
19
Publisher
MDPI
School
Centre for People, Place and Planet
Funders
Body Shop Woden Plaza / Winifred Violet Scott Trust / Wildlife Disease Association / Cradle Coast Natural Resource Management, Tasmanian Alkaloids / Central North Field Naturalists / Taronga Foundation / Forest Practices Authority / Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (CAG 11-00128) / National Geographic Society (C217-12) / Charles Sturt University (OPA4188)
Abstract
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is an amphibious, egg-laying mammal of high conservation value that is found only in Australia. The zoonotic bacterium Leptospira interrogans serovar Hardjo was discovered in platypuses in prior studies, but little is known about its epidemiology. Samples in the Platypus Serum Bank were tested in 2023 and the results were combined with historical records. Antibodies against L. interrogans serovar Hardjo were found in 50% of 464 serum samples from 411 platypuses collected from 14 river basins in southeastern Australia between 1981 and 2012; prevalence remained high over three decades in the Shoalhaven River population. Seroprevalence increased with age, suggesting environmental exposure. Individual platypuses had persistent titres, some for six years. Seropositive females lactated, juveniles were recruited into the population, and there were no reports of clinical leptospirosis. Three necropsied platypuses were seropositive and had mild nephritis with leptospires in the renal tubules. The high seroprevalence, persistent titres, lack of disease, mild renal lesions, and renal colonisation suggest the platypus may be a maintenance host. Sympatric cattle had L. interrogans serovar Hardjo titres, but the spatial association with seropositive platypuses was statistically weak. Other mammalian wildlife species and sheep also have L. interrogans serovar Hardjo titres; therefore, a complex ecological network must be considered. A landscape-wide study is recommended to properly assess transmission pathways and confirm who is infecting whom.
DOI
10.3390/ani14192834
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Whittington, R. J., Grant, T. R., McKercher, J., Suann, M., Hart, K., Handasyde, K. A., Macgregor, J., Westman, M. E., & Connolly, J. H. (2024). Leptospirosis in the platypus (ornithorhynchus anatinus) in Australia: Who is infecting whom? Animals, 14(19), 2834 https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14192834