Prevalence and Genotype Allocation of Pathogenic Leptospira Species in Small Mammals from Various Habitat Types in Germany

Small mammals serve as most important reservoirs for Leptospira spp., the causative agents of Leptospirosis, which is one of the most neglected and widespread zoonotic diseases worldwide. The knowledge about Leptospira spp. occurring in small mammals from Germany is scarce. Thus, this study's objectives were to investigate the occurrence of Leptospira spp. and the inherent sequence types in small mammals from three different study sites: a forest in southern Germany (site B1);a National Park in south-eastern Germany (site B2) and a renaturalised area, in eastern Germany (site S) where small mammals were captured. DNA was extracted from kidneys of small mammals and tested for Leptospira spp. by real-time PCR. Positive samples were further analysed by duplex and conventional PCRs. For 14 positive samples, multi locus sequence typing (MLST) was performed. Altogether, 1213 small mammals were captured: 216 at site B1, 456 at site B2 and 541 at site S belonging to following species: Sorex (S.) araneus, S. coronatus, Apodemus (A.) flavicollis, Myodes glareolus, Microtus (Mi.) arvalis, Crocidura russula, Arvicola terrestris, A. agrarius, Mustela nivalis, Talpa europaea, and Mi. agrestis. DNA of Leptospira spp. was detected in 6% of all small mammals. At site B1, 25 small mammals (11.6%), at site B2, 15 small mammals (3.3%) and at site S, 33 small mammals (6.1%) were positive for Leptospira spp. Overall, 54 of the positive samples were further determined as L. kirschneri, nine as L. interrogans and four as L. borgpetersenii while five real-time PCR-positive samples could not be further determined by conventional PCR. MLST results revealed focal occurrence of L. interrogans and L. kirschneri sequence type (ST) 117 while L. kirschneri ST 110 was present in small mammals at all three sites. Further, this study provides evidence for a particular host association of L. borgpetersenii to mice of the genus Apodemus

Statistics of polarization dependent loss in an installed long-haul WDM system.

We have made continual, multiple-day measurements of the polarization dependent loss of multiple C-band channels in an installed 1800 km terrestrial link. The PDLs of individual channels varied on the time-scale of hours, while the temporal variations of the PDLs of adjacent channels often tracked. The probability densities of the field measurements of PDL were not Maxwellian and instead were truncated, consistent with the limited number of elements in the link having appreciable PDL. A new model for the statistics of PDL in systems with few PDL elements is proposed, where a lower bound of the distribution exists if there is a dominant PDL element. The probability distributions from measurement and theory show good agreement

Identification of factors influencing the Puumala virus seroprevalence within its reservoir in aMontane Forest Environment.

Puumala virus (PUUV) is a major cause of mild to moderate haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and is transmitted by the bank vole (Myodes glareolus). There has been a high cumulative incidence of recorded human cases in South-eastern Germany since 2004 when the region was first recognized as being endemic for PUUV. As the area is well known for outdoor recreation and the Bavarian Forest National Park (BFNP) is located in the region, the increasing numbers of recorded cases are of concern. To understand the population and environmental effects on the seroprevalence of PUUV in bank voles we trapped small mammals at 23 sites along an elevation gradient from 317 to 1420m above sea level. Generalized linear mixed effects models(GLMEM) were used to explore associations between the seroprevalence of PUUV in bank voles and climate and biotic factors. We found that the seroprevalence of PUUV was low (6%-7%) in 2008 and 2009, and reached 29% in 2010. PUUV seroprevalence was positively associated with the local species diversity and deadwood layer, and negatively associated with mean annual temperature, mean annual solar radiation, and herb layer. Based on these findings, an illustrative risk map for PUUV seroprevalence prediction in bank voles was created for an area of the national park. The map will help when planning infrastructure in the national park (e.g., huts, shelters, and trails)

Nagetier-übertragene Zoonosen: Beispiele aus Untersuchungen in Süd- und Westdeutschland

Zusammenfassung Nagetiere und andere Kleinsäuger können eine Vielzahl von Krankheitserregern, RNA- und DNA-Viren, Bakterien und Parasiten, auf den Menschen übertragen, die teilweise lebensbedrohliche Erkrankungen hervorrufen. In der folgenden Übersicht soll erstmals ein Überblick über Ergebnisse aus drei Untersuchungen in Deutschland gegeben werden: eine Studie in drei Landkreisen Bayerns von 2001-2004, Untersuchungen in einem Freilandgehege im Rahmen eines Tularämieausbruchs in Niedersachsen im Jahr 2005, und schließlich im Jahr 2007 eine Untersuchung an einem Truppenübungsplatz in Baden-Württemberg. Es wurde dabei exemplarisch die Verbreitung von Zoonoseerregern in Nagetieren und anderen Kleinsäugern näher untersucht, von drei Viren (Hantaviren, Kuhpockenvirus, Frühsommer- Meningo-Enzephalitis-Virus) und vier Bakterien (Leptospiren, Francisellen, Borrelien und Rickettsien). Die hier zusammengefassten Erkenntnisse sind ein erster wichtiger Schritt auf dem Weg zur Erstellung von Verbreitungskarten für die genannten humanpathogenen Zoonoseerreger in ihren Reservoirwirten und der Definition von entsprechenden Risikogebieten. Diese Arbeit soll zudem einen Beitrag leisten, einen Anstoß zu verstärkter Zusammenarbeit von Zoologen, Ökologen, Virologen, Human- und Veterinärmedizinern, Mikrobiologen, Parasitologen, Genetikern, Epidemiologen, Forstwissenschaftlern und Klimaforschern zu geben