Sains Malaysiana 50(1)(2021): 35-43

http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2021-5001-04

Pengesanan dan Pencirian Leptospira spp. pada Haiwan Liar dan Persekitaran di Pusat Pemuliharaan ex situ

(Detection and Characterization of Leptospira spp. in Wildlife and the Environment at the ex situ Conservation Centre)

NADIA AQILLA SHAMSUSAH¹, BADRUL MUNIR MD ZAIN², SABAPATHY DHARMALINGAM³, FAIRUZ AMRAN⁴ & HANI-KARTINI AGUSTAR¹*

¹Pusat Sains Bumi dan Alam Sekitar, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

²Pusat Integratif Biologi, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

³Yayasan Pulau Orang Utan Bukit Merah, 34400 Semanggol, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia

⁴Jabatan Bakteriologi, Institut Penyelidikan Perubatan, 50588 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

Received: 18 July 2019/Accepted: 24 June 2020

ABSTRAK

Leptospirosis ialah penyakit berjangkit yang disebabkan oleh bakteria Leptospira yang boleh menjangkiti manusia dan haiwan. Kajian ini dijalankan bagi mengenal pasti jangkitan leptospirosis yang berkitar antara orang utan, roden dan persekitaran di Pulau Orang Utan Bukit Merah (BMOUI) dan Zoo Taiping, Perak. Sampel haiwan serta persekitaran yang diperoleh dari kedua-dua kawasan kajian diinokulasi dalam media Ellinghausen-Mccullough-Johnson-Harris (EMJH) untuk pengkulturanLeptospira. Pengesanan dan pencirian mudah spesies Leptospira melalui PCR dilakukan ke atas kultur serta sampel haiwan yang positif. Pencirian spesies yang lebih mendalam sehingga peringkat serovar menggunakan penjenisan jujukan multi-lokus (MLST) hanya dilakukan ke atas kultur patogenik sahaja. Sebanyak 8/14 kultur daripada sampel persekitaran BMOUI merupakan spesies saprofit (L. yanagawae, L. meyeri dan L. idonii), 4/14 adalah spesies perantaraan (L. wolffii) dan 2/14 (dilabel sebagai ‘Soil2’ dan ‘BJ3 soil’) adalah spesies patogenik. Hasil MLST menunjukkan kultur ‘Soil2’ telah dikenal pasti sebagai L. interrogans serovar Lai Langkawi dengan nilai penjenisan jujukan, ST: 236. ‘BJ3 soil’ pula telah diberikan profil alel baharu yang menjana nilai ST baharu iaitu 262 di bawah spesies L. kmetyi. Kesemua 15/15 kultur daripada sampel persekitaran Zoo Taiping merupakan spesies saprofit (L. yanagawae dan L. meyeri). Leptospira yang dikesan secara langsung dalam sampel orang utan dan tikus dari BMOUI berkait rapat dengan spesies L. wolffii. Sampel orang utan dari Zoo Taiping pula berkait rapat dengan spesies L. kmetyi dan L. wolffii. Kajian ini berjaya membuktikan bahawa berlakunya transmisi leptospirosis di BMOUI dan Zoo Taiping yang sememangnya amat penting dalam menambahbaik strategi pencegahan penyakit ini sekaligus membantu dalam usaha pemuliharaan orang utan.

Kata kunci: Leptospira; leptospirosis; orang utan; pencirian; roden

ABSTRACT

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease caused by Leptospira that infects human and animals. This study was carried out to determine the presence of Leptospira that circulates among orang utans, rodents, and environment in Bukit Merah Orang Utan Island (BMOUI) and Taiping Zoo, Perak. Animal and environmental samples obtained from both study sites were inoculated into Ellinghausen-Mccullough-Johnson-Harris (EMJH) media for leptospiral culturing. Simple detection and characterization of leptospiral species through PCR were conducted on positive cultures and animal samples. Further characterization of leptospiral species up to serovar level via multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) was conducted on pathogenic cultures only.  8/14 isolates from BMOUI environmental samples were known as saprophytic species (L. yanagawae, L. meyeri and L. idonii), 4/14 as intermediate species (L. wolffii) and 2/14 (labelled as ‘Soil2’ and ‘BJ3 soil’) as pathogenic leptospires. Through MLST, ‘Soil2’ was characterized as L. interrogans serovar Lai Langkawi with sequence typing, ST number: 236. Isolate ‘BJ3 soil’ was given a new set of allelic profiles and ST number of 262 (L. kmetyi). 15/15 environmental cultures from Taiping Zoo were identified as L. yanagawae and L. meyeri. Leptospira in orang utan and rodent samples from BMOUI have shown to be closely related to L. wolffii. Strains detected in orang utan samples from Taiping Zoo were closely related to L. kmetyi and L. wolffii. This study provides evidence on leptospirosis transmission in both locations which can be important for improving strategies in prevention of the disease thus helping in conservation of the orang utans.

Keywords: Characterization; Leptospira; leptospirosis; orang utans; rodents

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*Corresponding author; email: hani_ag@ukm.edu.my