Rattus Norvegicus Acting as Reservoir of Leptospira interrogans in the Middle Black Sea Region of Turkey, as Evidenced by PCR and Presence of Serum Antibodies to Leptospira Strain

Leptospirosis, a common form of zoonosis, especially in rainy countries, is caused by Leptospira interrogans. In our region of Turkey this type of disease has often been encountered in connection with rice harvesting and we therefore attempted to evaluate the prevalence of L. interrogans in wild rat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scandinavian journal of infectious diseases 2001, Vol.33 (12), p.896-898
Main Author: Mustafa Sunbul, Saban Esen, Hakan Leblebicioglu, Murat Hokelek, Ayhan Pekbay, Cafer Eroglu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agglutination Tests
Animals
Antibodies, Bacterial - blood
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial diseases of the urinary system
Biological and medical sciences
Brain - microbiology
Disease Reservoirs
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Kidney - microbiology
Leptospira interrogans
Leptospira interrogans - immunology
Leptospira interrogans - isolation & purification
Leptospira interrogans - pathogenicity
Medical sciences
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Prevalence
Rats - microbiology
Rattus norvegicus
Tropical medicine
Turkey
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Summary:Leptospirosis, a common form of zoonosis, especially in rainy countries, is caused by Leptospira interrogans. In our region of Turkey this type of disease has often been encountered in connection with rice harvesting and we therefore attempted to evaluate the prevalence of L. interrogans in wild rats in our region. Fifty-nine Rattus norvegicus rats were trapped alive in different areas of an ≈ 100 km stretch of seashore in the Middle Black Sea region of Turkey. L. interrogans was determined by PCR in sera, kidney and brain tissue. Sixteen (27.1%) kidney samples and 10 brain tissue samples (16.9%) were positive for L. interrogans. No PCR positivity was seen in sera samples. Five sera were positive by microagglutination test. A large proportion of wild rats in our region were found to be carriers of L. interrogans. We conclude that people who are exposed to rat urine in their daily life are at risk of acquiring L. interrogans.
ISSN:0036-5548
1651-1980
DOI:10.1080/00365540110076796