Author: Miladin Kostovic

# bataviae

- `Genus:............ Leptospira`
- `Species:.......... interrogans`
- `Serogroup:........ Bataviae`
- `Serovar:.......... bataviae`
- `Strain:........... Swart`
- `Year:............. 1926`
- `Origin:........... Human`
- `Country:.......... Indonesia`

### History of serovar:

Strain Swart was isolated in 1925 by WWalch in Weltevreden near Jakarta, Indonesia, from the flood of a patient (Walch, 1926). Walch and Soesilo (1927) described the first serological experiments which distinguished th strain from "Icterohaemorrhagiae and Baerman2 (Pyrogenes). At that time no investigations were carried out with hebdomadis and automnalis strains. The strain was named L. bataviaeby Esseveld and Collier (1938). In 1932 another strain named van TGienen was isolated from a patient in Indonesia (Dinger, 1933). This strain was examined serologically by the MAT against strains "Icterohaemorrhagiae, Bindjei (Canicola), Bangkinang (Autamnalis) and Swart". Hith cross-agglutination reactions were noted only against Swart (Diner, 1943).

Wolf (1954) belived that the original strian Swart (Walch) was lost. Consequently strain van Tienen became the reference strain and is first mentioned in the list of Wolf and Broom (1954). However at that time it was not realised that Mochtar had forwarded the strain Swart (Walch) on May 19, 1942, to Prof. Yamamoto, who kept it for many years. In 1976 he sent the strain to the Amsterdam laboratory. Investigations subsequerntly performed, confirmed the serological identity of the strains Swart and van Tinen (personal communication, Dikken).

Beeing earlier isolated and published, strain Swart takes priority over strain van Tienen. Durign the TSC meeting in Boston (1982) it was decided that strain Swart should replace strain van Tienen as the reference strain of serovar bataviae.

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