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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 1998

M. K. CHO ,
S. H. KEE ,
H. J. SONG ,
K. H. KIM ,
K. J. SONG ,
L. J. BAEK ,
H. H. KIM ,
H. B. OH ,
Y. W. KIM  and
W. H. CHANG
M. K. CHO
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Hallym University Chuncheon, Kangwon-do 200-702, Korea (South)
S. H. KEE
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Hallym University Chuncheon, Kangwon-do 200-702, Korea (South)
H. J. SONG
Affiliation:
Health and Environment Institute of Chollanamdo, Kwangju
K. H. KIM
Affiliation:
Health and Environment Institute of Chollanamdo, Kwangju
K. J. SONG
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul
L. J. BAEK
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul
H. H. KIM
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, National Institute of Health, Seoul, Korea
H. B. OH
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, National Institute of Health, Seoul, Korea
Y. W. KIM
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Hallym University Chuncheon, Kangwon-do 200-702, Korea (South)
W. H. CHANG
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Hallym University Chuncheon, Kangwon-do 200-702, Korea (South)
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Abstract

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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.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 121 , Issue 3 , December 1998 , pp. 685 - 690
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press