Leptospira detection in flood-prone environment of Jakarta, Indonesia

The study about Leptospira, particularly pathogenic strain, was conducted in the flood-prone area in the Special Capital Region of Jakarta. The aim of this study was to discover and identify the serovars of pathogenic Leptospira in the environment, which might infect human during flooding. Seventy-three samples, consisted of 36 samples of environmental water and 37 samples of soil, were collected from 5 districts of Jakarta. Their pH was measured, and the samples were then cultured in a modified Korthof's medium with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) addition. Polymerase chain reaction, targeted on 23S rDNA (rrl), FlaB and LipL32 genes, was performed to identify Leptospira genus and differentiate the pathogenic. Identification of the pathogenic Leptospira was done utilising DNA sequencing. Seven samples showed amplification of rrl-gene. flaB and lipl32-PCR assay indicated one positive amplification band, each. Confirmation of flaB and lipl32 amplicons by DNA sequencing and BLAST analysis showed flaB amplicon (G1B; GenBank accession number MK006031.1) had 94% similarity with L. licerasiae (LC005426.1), while lipl32 amplicon was not identified as lipl32 of Leptospira. Based on those results, one intermediate pathogenic and six saprophytic Leptospira were obtained from the environment in Jakarta.