TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence of Leptospira spp. and Seoul hantavirus in brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) in four regions in the Netherlands, 2011-2015
AU - Maas, Miriam
AU - de Vries, Ankje
AU - Reusken, Chantal
AU - Buijs, Jan
AU - Goris, Marga
AU - Hartskeerl, Rudy
AU - Ahmed, Ahmed
AU - van Tulden, Peter
AU - Swart, Arno
AU - Pijnacker, Roan
AU - Koene, Miriam
AU - Lundkvist, Åke
AU - Heyman, Paul
AU - Rockx, Barry
AU - van der Giessen, Joke
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Background: Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) may carry pathogens that can be a risk for public health. Brown rats in the Netherlands were tested for the zoonotic pathogens Leptospira spp. and Seoul hantavirus (SEOV), in order to obtain insight in their prevalence. Methods and results: Cross-sectional studies were performed at four locations from 2011 to 2015. The rats were tested for Leptospira spp. using real-time PCR and/or culture resulting in a prevalence ranging between 33–57%. Testing for SEOV was done through an adapted human Seoul hantavirus ELISA and real-time RT-PCR. Although at several locations the ELISA indicated presence of SEOV antibodies, none could be confirmed by focus reduction neutralization testing. Conclusion: The results indicate a widespread presence of Leptospira spp. in brown rats in the Netherlands, including areas with a low leptospirosis incidence in humans. No evidence for circulation of SEOV was found in this study.
AB - Background: Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) may carry pathogens that can be a risk for public health. Brown rats in the Netherlands were tested for the zoonotic pathogens Leptospira spp. and Seoul hantavirus (SEOV), in order to obtain insight in their prevalence. Methods and results: Cross-sectional studies were performed at four locations from 2011 to 2015. The rats were tested for Leptospira spp. using real-time PCR and/or culture resulting in a prevalence ranging between 33–57%. Testing for SEOV was done through an adapted human Seoul hantavirus ELISA and real-time RT-PCR. Although at several locations the ELISA indicated presence of SEOV antibodies, none could be confirmed by focus reduction neutralization testing. Conclusion: The results indicate a widespread presence of Leptospira spp. in brown rats in the Netherlands, including areas with a low leptospirosis incidence in humans. No evidence for circulation of SEOV was found in this study.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85052126971&origin=inward
UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29963297
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1080/20008686.2018.1490135
DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/20008686.2018.1490135
M3 - Article
C2 - 29963297
SN - 2000-8686
VL - 8
JO - Infection Ecology and Epidemiology
JF - Infection Ecology and Epidemiology
IS - 1
M1 - 1490135
ER -