Backyard Livestock Guinea Pigs Are Reservoirs for Leptospira Shedding in Rural Households from Ecuador

Guinea pigs (<i>Cavia porcellus</i>) are bred as livestock in South American countries from the Andean region, including Ecuador. Despite their importance for the local rural economy, no public health management guidelines have ever been implemented for guinea pig farming. Moreover, several reports have shown the carriage of diverse zoonotic pathogens in livestock guinea pigs, including respiratory and enteric pathogens, or <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i>. Leptospirosis, a zoonotic disease caused by bacteria from <i>Leptospira</i> genus, is endemic in Ecuador and has multiple animal reservoirs, with rodents considered to be the main vector for transmission to humans. However, the role of livestock guinea pigs in the epidemiology of leptospirosis is poorly understood. In this study, the prevalence of antibodies against <i>Leptospira</i> in guinea pigs from Ecuador was analyzed with the Microaglutiantion Test (MAT). Moreover, the shedding of Leptospira by backyard livestock guinea pigs was also addressed, analyzing fecal and urine samples by qPCR for <i>lipL32</i>, <i>secY</i> and <i>rrs</i> genes. From the 118 guinea pigs analyzed by MAT, 61.9% were positive for 19 different pathogenic serovars, with Icterohaemorrhagiae, Pomona, Castellonis and Bataviae being the most prevalent ones. From the 231 urine samples and 225 fecal samples collected, 27.7% and 78.7% were positive for <i>Leptospira</i> by qPCR, respectively. Our results highlight the role of livestock guinea pigs as a reservoir for leptospirosis. Moreover, this study underscores the zoonotic threat associated with the shedding of <i>Leptospira</i> within households in rural communities where guinea pigs are bred as livestock. Animal and public health guidelines from a One Health perspective must be implemented to prevent leptospirosis transmission from guinea pigs in Ecuador and other countries in the Andean Region where the breeding of backyard livestock guinea pigs is common.