Isolation and molecular characterization of pathogenic Leptospira species from cattle in Zaria and its environs, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic serovars of Leptospira spp. The paucity of information on the status of leptospirosis in cattle in the study area led to this study. A cross-sectional study was carried out with a total of 130 kidney samples from cattle which were cultured using Ellinghausen Mc-Cullough Johnson Harris enrichment and examined on dark field microscope after 8 weeks of culture. DNA was extracted directly from 6 kidney tissues to confirm the presence of pathogenic Leptospira spp. and further sequenced to determine the species of Leptospira spp. Result of the culture indicated that the overall occurrence of Leptospira spp.was 32.30 %. Phylogenetic analysis of lipL32 sequences showed Leptospira interrogans isolates from cattle nucleotide homology ranging from 99.40 % to 99.73 % with a query cover of 100 % when compared with sequence from gene bank. In conclusion, this study established that cattle may act as a significant reservoir of leptospirosis in the study area and pose a potential risk to abattoir workers, veterinarians and local communities. •Results of the culture indicated that the overall occurrence of Leptospira spp. was 32.30 %.•Expected band size of 423 bp have fully confirmed the circulation of Leptospira spp.•Phylogenetic analysis of lipL32 sequences showed Leptospira interrogans isolates from cattle.•These results suggest that these cattle may act as a significant reservoir of leptospirosis.