Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36112668›Full record

ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2022

Ecology and distribution of Leptospira spp., reservoir hosts and environmental interaction in Sri Lanka, with identification of a new strain.

Vincent Sluydts, Siriwardana Rampalage Sarathchandra, Anna Pia Piscitelli, Natalie Van Houtte, Sophie Gryseels, Anne Mayer-Scholl, Nadja Seyhan Bier, Nyo Me Htwe, Jens Jacob

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 28% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. A systematic review ofOne health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2026
    Article
  2. Environmental Detection of PathogenicPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Molecular epidemiology of rodent-borneJournal of medical microbiology · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Vincent SluydtsJulius Kühn-Institute, Federal Research Institute for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Plant Protection in Horticulture and Forests, Vertebrate Research, Münster, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-5213-851X
Siriwardana Rampalage SarathchandraRice Research and Development Institute, Batalagoda, Ibbagamuwa, Kurunegala, Sri Lanka.
Anna Pia PiscitelliUniversity of Antwerp, Department of Biology, Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Natalie Van HoutteUniversity of Antwerp, Department of Biology, Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Sophie GryseelsUniversity of Antwerp, Department of Biology, Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Anne Mayer-SchollFederal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety, Berlin, Germany.
Nadja Seyhan BierFederal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety, Berlin, Germany.
Nyo Me HtweUniversity of Antwerp, Department of Biology, Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Jens JacobJulius Kühn-Institute, Federal Research Institute for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Plant Protection in Horticulture and Forests, Vertebrate Research, Münster, Germany.
University of Antwerp · BEFederal Institute for Risk Assessment · DEJulius Kühn-Institut · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonotic disease and one of the leading causes of zoonotic morbidity and mortality, particularly in resource-poor settings. Sri Lanka has one of the highest disease burdens worldwide, with occasional endemic leptospirosis outbreaks (2008, 2011). Rodents are considered the main wildlife reservoir, but due to a scarcity of studies it is unclear which particular species contributes to bacterial transmission and reservoir maintenance in this multi-host multi-parasite system. Several rodent species act as agricultural pests both in rice fields and in food storage facilities. To unravel the interactions among the small mammal communities, pathogenic Leptospira spp. and human transmission pathways, we collected animals from smallholder food storage facilities, where contact between humans and small mammals is most likely, and screened kidney tissue samples for Leptospira spp. using PCR. Samples were collected in three climatic zones along a rainfall gradient. Pathogenic Leptospira spp. were detected in small mammal communities in 37 (74%) out of 50 sampled farms and 61 (12%) out of 500 collected individuals were infected. The small mammal community was comprised of Rattus rattus (87.6%), Suncus shrews (8.8%), Bandicota spp. (2.8%) and Mus booduga (0.8%). Three pathogenic Leptospira spp. were identified, L. borgpetersenii (n = 34), L. interrogans (n = 15), and L. kirschneri (n = 1). Suncus shrews were commonly infected (32%), followed by B. indica (23%) and R. rattus (10%). L. borgpetersenii strains similar to strains previously extracted from human clinal samples in Sri Lanka were detected in R. rattus and Suncus shrews. L. interrogans was observed in R. rattus only. A single L. kirschneri infection was found in M. booduga. The presence of human pathogenic Leptospira species in an agricultural pest rodent (R. rattus) and in commensal shrews (Suncus) calls for management of these species in commensal settings. Further investigation of the interplay between pathogen and reservoir population dynamics, overlap in geographic range and the extent of spill-over to humans in and around rural settlements is required to identify optimal management approaches.

Indexed as

LeptospiraLeptospirosisAnimalsHumansMiceRatsRodentiaShrewsSri Lanka

Identifiers

PMID36112668
PMCPMC9518908
OpenAlexW4296077850

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.