Leptospira in Bats from Hubei Province, China, 2018

Abstract

To understand the potential role of bats in the epidemiology of <i>Leptospira</i>, we investigated the frequency of <i>Leptospira</i> in bats from Central China in 2018. Sixty bats belonging to four species of two families were captured from rural areas of Xianning City, Hubei Province, China. We extracted DNA from the kidneys of bats, and <i>Leptospira</i> spp. were determined by PCR amplification of the <i>rrs2</i>, <i>flaB</i>, <i>lipL32</i>, and <i>secY</i> genes. We found that 57% (34/60) of bats were positive for <i>Leptospira</i> with at least one of the four genes, and the positive rate of <i>Leptospira</i> in bats was 45% (27/60) with <i>rrs2</i>, 50% (30/60) with <i>flaB</i>, 15% (9/60) with <i>lipL32</i>, and 27% (16/60) with <i>secY</i>. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that bats were infected with two species of <i>Leptospira</i>, including <i>Leptospira interrogans</i> and <i>Leptospira borgpetersenii</i>. A high prevalence of <i>Leptospira</i> spp. in bats suggested that bats were important carriers of <i>Leptospira</i> in China.