Infection rate of Leptospira interrogans in the field rodent, Apodemus agrarius, in Korea

Leptospirosis has significantly decreased in Korea since 1988, following the leptospiral vaccination programme initiated in 1988. Whether this wholly explains the decreased incidence is uncertain. As an initial step to answer this question, infection rates of Leptospira interrogans in field rodents,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Epidemiology and infection 1998-12, Vol.121 (3), p.685-690
Main Authors: CHO, M. K., KEE, S. H., SONG, H. J., KIM, K. H., SONG, K. J., BAEK, L. J., KIM, H. H., OH, H. B., KIM, Y. W., CHANG, W. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agglutination tests
Animal bacterial diseases
Animals
Bacterial diseases
Biological and medical sciences
Humans
Infections
Infectious diseases
Korea
Korean culture
Leptospira
Leptospira interrogans
Leptospira interrogans - classification
Leptospira interrogans - isolation & purification
Leptospirosis
Medical sciences
Monoclonal antibodies
Muridae - microbiology
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Rodents
Serotyping
Vaccination
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Summary:Leptospirosis has significantly decreased in Korea since 1988, following the leptospiral vaccination programme initiated in 1988. Whether this wholly explains the decreased incidence is uncertain. As an initial step to answer this question, infection rates of Leptospira interrogans in field rodents, Apodemis agrarius, were examined and compared with previous data. Two hundred and twenty-two A. agrarius were captured during October–December 1996. Spirochaetes were isolated from 22 (9·9%) and leptospiral DNA was detected in an additional 6 rodents (12·6%). Subsequent microscopic agglutination tests (MAT) classified all these isolates as L. interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae serovar lai. The above data did not significantly differ from previous surveys in 1984–7. There was no significant change of L. interrogans infection in field rodents following the introduction of the vaccination programme in Korea. Further studies are needed to determine the role of human vaccination in reducing incidence.
ISSN:0950-2688
1469-4409
DOI:10.1017/S0950268898001691