Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T08:50:10.207Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Prevalence and transmission of Toxoplasma gondii in wild brown rats, Rattus norvegicus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

J. P. Webster
J. P. Webster
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii within 6 UK farmstead wild rat populations, and 1 population maintained within a captivecat-free environment for 2·5 years, was examined. The mean prevalence found was 35% (n = 235), which is more than 3 times as high as all other wild rat prevalence levels previously reported in the UK. There were no significant age, sexor site differences in prevalence between or within populations irrespective of habitat type or presence of cats. Toxoplasma was also maintained within the captive rat population in the absence of cats at a prevalence, intensity, age and sexdistribution similar to that of the farmstead rat populations. These results suggest, firstly, that Toxoplasma can beperpetuated within wild rat populations without the sympatric presence of cats and secondly, that the congenital route isthe predominant route of transmission in wild rats. This study concludes that wild rats represent a significant and persistent wildlife intermediate host reservoir for toxoplasmosis.

Keywords

wild ratsToxoplasma gondiiprevalencecatscongenital transmission
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 108 , Issue 4 , May 1994 , pp. 407 - 411
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Barbier, D., Ancelle, T. & Martin-Bouyer, G. (1983). Sero-epidemiological survey of toxoplasmosis in La Guadeloupe, French West Indies. American Journal ofTropical Medicine and Hygiene 32, 935–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berdoy, M. E. & MacDonald, D. W. (1991). Factors affecting feeding in wild rats. Acta Oecologica 12, 261–79.Google Scholar
Beverley, J. K. A. (1959). Congenital transmission of toxoplasmosis through successive generations of mice. Nature, London 183, 1348–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beverley, J. K. A. (1976). Toxoplasmosis in animals. Veterinary Record 99, 123–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blewett, D. A., Teale, A. J., Miller, J. K., Scott, G. R. & Buxton, D. (1982). Toxoplasmosis in rams: possible significance of venereal transmission. Veterinary Record 111, 73–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calhoun, J. B. (1962). The ecology and sociology of the Norway rat. US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, P.H.S. no. 1008. Bethesda, Maryland.Google Scholar
Dubey, J. P. & Beattie, C. P. (1988). Toxoplasmosis of Animals and Man. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, Inc.Google Scholar
Frenkel, J. K., Ruiz, A. & Chinchilla, M. (1975). Soil survival of Toxoplasma oocysts in Kansas and Costa Rica. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 24, 439–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hay, J., Hutchison, W. M., Jackson, M. H. & Sum, J. C. (1983). Prevalence of Toxoplasma infection in a wild rodent population from central Scotland. Short communication. Annals of Tropical Medicine andParasitology 77, 653–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, M. H., Hutchison, W. M. & Siim, J. C. (1986). Toxoplasmosis in a wild rodent population of central Scotland and a possible explanation of the mode of transmission. Journal of Zoology 209, 549–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lainson, R. (1957). The demonstration of Toxoplasma in animals, with particular reference to members of the Mustelidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 51, 111–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MacDonald, D. W., Apps, P. J., Carr, G. M. & Kerby, G. (1987). Social dynamics, nursing coalitions and infanticide among farm cats, Felis catus. Advances in Ethology 28, 5–65.Google Scholar
Meehan, A. P. (1984). Rats and Mice. Their Biology and Control. The Rentokil Library, Rentokil Ltd. Brown Knight and Truscott Ltd., Tonbridge, Kent.Google Scholar
Rifaat, M. A., Mahdi, A. H., Arafa, M. S., Nasrr, N. T. & Sadek, M. S. M. (1971). Isolation of Toxoplasma from Rattus norvegicus in Egypt. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 61, 788–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rogatykh, N. A. (1976). Rasprostranennost' toksoplazm v nekotorykh raionakh Sibiri v zavisimosti ot chislennosti definitivnogo khosyaina. Materialy I, Vsesoyuznogo S'ezda Protozoologov., Chast'2, Meditisinskaya Protozoologiya, pp. 44–5. Naukova Dumka, Kiev.Google Scholar
Tsubota, N., Hiraoka, K., Sawada, Y., Ohshima, S. & Ohshima, M. (1977). Studies on latex agglutination test for toxoplasmosis. Evaluation of the microliter test as a serologic test for toxoplasmosis in some animals. Japanese Journal of Parasitology 26, 291.Google Scholar
Twigg, G. I., Cuerden, C. M. & Hughes, D. M. (1968). Leptospirosis in British wild mammals. Symposium of the Zoological Society of London 24, 75–8.Google Scholar
Voller, A., Bidwell, D. E. & Bartlett, A. (1976). Enzyme immunosorbent assay in diagnostic medicine, theory and practice. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 53, 55–65.Google Scholar
Wallace, G. D. (1981). Re: ‘Association of cats and toxoplasmosis’. American Journal of Epidemiology 113, 198–201.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weinman, D. & Chandler, A. H. (1956). Toxoplasmosis in man and swine. An investigation into the possible relationship. Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association 161, 229–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed