Abstract: Understanding the pathogenic status of leptospires, the causative agents of leptospirosis, is important for successful laboratory diagnosis and control programmes of this zoonosis. Leptospires are difficult to differentiate morphologically; therefore, their pathogenic, intermediate or saprophytic status is currently determined based on both phenotypic tests like growth response in medium containing 8‑azaguanine and growth at low temperature (13°C), and genotypic methods. The present study reports on the pathogenic versus saprophytic characterization of nine Leptospira isolates from animal hosts (rodents and dogs) and humans, with specific interest on a canine isolate coded “Dog109”, which showed an ambiguous or intermediate status according to conventional (phenotypic) and molecular (genotypic) tests. The results strongly indicate the need of a polyvalent analytical approach for improving the differentiation of the pathogenic status of circulating serovars, particularly of fresh Leptospira isolates with an intermediate or controversial taxonomic position.
Abstract: Borrelia lusitaniae was isolated from an Ixodes ricinus tick in Portugal in 1993 for the first time. Further, this borrelia genospecies has been found in ixodid ticks collected around the coasts of southern Portugal and North Africa. Its reservoir has not been defined yet. B. lusitaniae was isolated once until now from a patient with a long standing and expanding skin disorder.
Abstract: The first human isolate of Borrelia lusitaniae recovered from a Portuguese patient with suspected Lyme borreliosis is described. This isolate, from a chronic skin lesion, is also the first human isolate of Borrelia in Portugal. Different phenotypic and molecular methods are used to characterize it.
