A NEW SEROVAR IN THE GRIPPOTYPHOSA SEROGROUP COMPRISING LEPTOSPIRAL ISOLATES FROM DIFFERENT REGIONS

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) studies performed with leptosp iral isolates led us to suspect the existence of a new serovar in the Grippotyphosa serogroup. The results obtained with reference serologic al techniques used in leptospiral identification, including cross-aggl utination absorption and monoclonal antibody techniques, confirmed the existence of a new serovar exemplified by strain Dadas I. Four other isolates from different regions of the world were submitted for identi fication by PFGE and produced Not I restriction patterns similar to th at of strain Dadas I. Our data demonstrate the power of PFGE for ident ifying leptospiral isolates. The name dadas is proposed for the new se rovar.