A survey of zoonotic pathogens carried by Norway rats in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

• Autores: Easterbrook, J. D.; Kaplan, J. B.; Vanasco, Bibiana N.; Reeves, W. K.; Purcell, R. H.; Kosoy, M. Y.; Glass, G. E.; Watson, J.; Klein, S. L.
• Año de publicación: 2007
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Epidemiology and Infection, 2007, 135(7), 1192–1199.
• Materia: Ratas; Virus Seoul; Virus de la Hepatitis E; Leptospira interrogans; Bartonella; Rickettsia typhi; Salud Pública; Baltimore; Maryland
• Institución: Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán"

Fil: Easterbrook, J. D. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Estados Unidos.
Fil: Kaplan, J. B. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Estados Unidos.
Fil: Vanasco, N. B. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias Dr. Emilio Coni; Argentina.
Fil: Reeves, W. K. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados Unidos.
Fil: Purcell, R. H. National Institutes of Health. Hepatitis Viruses Section; Estados Unidos.
Fil: Kosoy, M. Y. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases; Estados Unidos.
Fil: Glass, G. E. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Estados Unidos.
Fil: Watson, J. The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology; Estados Unidos.
Fil: Klein, S. L. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Estados Unidos.
Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) carry several zoonotic pathogens and because rats and humans live in close proximity in urban environments, there exists potential for transmission. To identify zoonotic agents carried by rats in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, we live-trapped 201 rats during 2005–2006 and screened them for a panel of viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Antibodies against Seoul virus (57.7%), hepatitis E virus (HEV, 73.5%), Leptospira interrogans (65.3%), Bartonella elizabethae (34.1%), and Rickettsia typhi (7.0%) were detected in Norway rats. Endoparasites, including Calodium hepatica (87.9%) and Hymenolepis sp. (34.4%), and ectoparasites (13.9%, primarily Laelaps echidninus) also were present. The risk of human exposure to these pathogens is a significant public health concern. Because these pathogens cause non-specific and often self-limiting symptoms in humans, infection in human populations is probably underdiagnosed.