Abstract
A survey of the distribution of Leptospira spp. among small mammals and of the anti-leptospiral antibody in wild boars was performed with the aim of evaluating the present state of leptospiral reservoir animals in Okinawa Prefecture. Nine leptospires were isolated from the 219 small mammals studied in this survey (3 from Rattus rattus, 3 from Mus caroli, 1 from Rattus norvegicus, and 2 from Suncus murinus) for a prevalence of 4.1%. The serovars of the isolates were estimated as javianica (7), hebdomadis (1), and castellonis (1). In the survey of the anti-leptospiral antibody in the wild boar (Sus scrofa riukivanus), 51%(67/131) of the sera demonstrated a positive reaction to 7 leptospiral serovars. Thus the wild boar is a significant leptospiral reservoir on Okinawa. The predominant serovar among the positive wild-boar sera was hebdomadis, which was the dominant serovar among the sera of inhabitants of the same region according to surveys conducted in 1998 and 2000.
