Surveillance of Emerging Rodent-Borne Pathogens in Wastewater in Taiwan: A One Health Approach
Journal
Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
Journal Volume
9
Journal Issue
11
Start Page
282
ISSN
2414-6366
Date Issued
2024-11-18
Author(s)
Tsai-Ying Yen
Amy Ho
Yang-Ta Chien
Chung-Yu Wang
Shu-Wei Kang
Ning-Ning Juan
Fang-Ling Lin
DOI
10.3390/tropicalmed9110282
Abstract
Leptospirosis and hantavirus syndrome are two major rodent-borne diseases in Taiwan. Rocahepevirus ratii (RHEV), a virus closely related to hepatitis E virus (HEV, Paslahepevirus balayani), is emerging and has been reported to cause hepatitis in humans. We employed wastewater-based epidemiology to actively monitor rodent-borne pathogens, and the correlations with human cases were evaluated. Wastewater was collected using grab sampling at 11 sites along a sewer system including influents and effluents at a wastewater treatment plant in Tamsui, New Taipei City, Taiwan, monthly during June 2023 to May 2024. The presence of pathogens was examined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The result showed an overall positivity rate of 38.2% (50/131). Leptospira was detected most often (48/131, 36.6%), and RHEV and hantaviruses were found once each during the study period. Sequencing identified Leptospira interrogans close to isolates from rodents and human cases, while sequences of hantavirus and RHEV were most similar to isolates from rodents. No significant correlation was found with human cases or positive samples for rodent DNA. Here, we present an example of a One Health approach applying wastewater to environmental surveillance for the early detection and prevention of emerging diseases.
Subjects
hantaviruses
Leptospira interrogans
One Health
Rattus norvegicus
RHEV
wastewater-based epidemiology
Publisher
MDPI AG
Type
journal article