Is it too cold for Leptospira interrrogans transmission on the Faroese Islands?

Abstract Leptospira interrogans is a bacterium that can infect most mammal species. Brown rats are considered to be one of the most important reservoirs of Leptospira because they frequently are infected and live in close proximity to humans. Past studies of prevalence of Leptospira in brown rats indicate that temperature – both high and low – may negatively affect the prevalence rate in rats, so that Leptospira is rare or even absent at temperatures below 7–8 °C. Here we investigated the prevalence of infection in brown rats on the Faroese Islands (mean temperature of 6.5 °C) and did not find any infected animals in a sample of 95 animals. We propose that prevalence rates of Leptospira are very low in rural brown rats in the cooler Scandinavian regions, even though urban/sewer rats might be highly infected in the same regions.

[1]  E. Magnussen,et al.  Occurrence of fleas (Siphonaptera) and lice (Phthiraptera) on Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) on the Faroes Islands , 2015 .

[2]  T. Kerr,et al.  Ecology of Leptospira interrogans in Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) in an Inner-City Neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada , 2013, PLoS neglected tropical diseases.

[3]  D. Patrick,et al.  Rats, cities, people, and pathogens: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of literature regarding the ecology of rat-associated zoonoses in urban centers. , 2013, Vector borne and zoonotic diseases.

[4]  C. Nilon,et al.  Urban landscape characteristics correlated with the synurbization of wildlife. , 2012 .

[5]  A. Michault,et al.  Animal leptospirosis in small tropical areas , 2010, Epidemiology and Infection.

[6]  H. Leirs,et al.  High prevalence of Leptospira spp. in sewer rats (Rattus norvegicus) , 2009, Epidemiology and Infection.

[7]  G. Pappas,et al.  The globalization of leptospirosis: worldwide incidence trends. , 2008, International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases.

[8]  M. Luniak.  Synurbization-adaptation of animal wildlife to urban development , 2004 .

[9]  M. Willig,et al.  Leptospirosis: a zoonotic disease of global importance. , 2003, The Lancet. Infectious diseases.

[10]  H. Klaasen,et al.  Duration of immunity in dogs vaccinated against leptospirosis with a bivalent inactivated vaccine. , 2003, Veterinary microbiology.

[11]  P. Puthavathana,et al.  Prevalence of antibodies to Leptospira serovars in rodents and shrews trapped in low and high endemic areas in Thailand. , 2003, Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand = Chotmaihet thangphaet.

[12]  L. H. Taylor,et al.  Identifying Reservoirs of Infection: A Conceptual and Practical Challenge , 2002, Emerging infectious diseases.

[13]  P. Wangroongsarb,et al.  Survey of Leptospirosis among Rodents in Epidemic Areas of Thailand , 2002 .

[14]  N. Gratz,et al.  Plague manual--epidemiology, distribution, surveillance and control. , 1999, Releve epidemiologique hebdomadaire.

[15]  D. Macdonald,et al.  Prevalence of Leptospira and other zoonoses in wild brown rats on UK farms , 1995 .

[16]  G. V. van Eys,et al.  Detection of seven species of pathogenic leptospires by PCR using two sets of primers. , 1993, Journal of general microbiology.

[17]  A. Katz,et al.  Rat-bite leptospirosis. , 1993, The Western journal of medicine.

[18]  N. Charon,et al.  Sensitivity of pathogenic and free-living Leptospira spp. to UV radiation and mitomycin C , 1988, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[19]  G. Rutherford.  The Physical Environment of the Faeroe Islands , 1982, Monographiae Biologicae.

[20]  D. Smith,et al.  Observations on the Survival of Leptospira Australis A in Soil and Water , 1955, Epidemiology and Infection.

[21]  S. L. Chang,et al.  Studies on Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae; survival in water and sewage; destruction in water by halogen compounds, synthetic detergents, and heat. , 1948, The Journal of infectious diseases.