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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #65942
Title: TWO NEW LEPTOSPIRAL SEROVARS IN THE HEBDOMADIS SEROGROUP ISOLATED FROM ZIMBABWE CATTLE

Author
item FERESU, S - UNIV. OF ZIMBABWE
item Bolin, Carole
item KORVER, H - ROYAL TROPICAL INSTITUTE
item RIQUELME, N - INSTITUT PASTUER
item BARANTON, G - INSTITUT PASTUER

Submitted to: International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/17/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonotic disease caused by infection with one of many serovars of Leptospira interrogans. Leptospirosis causes abortions and stillbirths in many species of livestock. The disease is usually prevented by vaccination with products containing the serovars of Leptospira within a given region. Epidemiologic surveys must be done in each country to determine which serovars are prevalent. This study describes isolation and characterization of two new and unique leptospiral serotypes from cattle in Zimbabwe. This information will be used to formulate vaccines for protection of cattle in Zimbabwe from leptospirosis.

Technical Abstract: Four strains belonging to the genus Leptospira serogroup Hebdomadis were isolated from Zimbabwe cattle at slaughter. The isolates were subjected to cross-agglutinin absorption tests; and to restriction fragment length polymorphism and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analyses of their genomic DNA. One strain represents a new serovar for which the name mhou is proposed with strain SBF 40 as its type strain. Three strains belong to a second new serovar for which the name marondera with reference strain SBF 5 is proposed. The three strains of marondera could be differentiated by their restriction fragment polymorphism and pulsed-field gel electrophoretic patterns.