Older urban rats are infected with the zoonotic nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis
Rats, being synanthropic, are hosts to agents of zoonotic diseases that pose a threat to human and domestic animal health. The nematode parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, commonly known as the rat lungworm, is no exception; it can cause potentially fatal neural disease in humans, dogs and other s...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:573058d218dd46878d65fcd0b5923921 2024-09-15T18:32:05+00:00 Older urban rats are infected with the zoonotic nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis Phoebe Rivory Miguel Bedoya-Pérez Michael P. Ward Jan Šlapeta 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpvbd.2024.100179 https://doaj.org/article/573058d218dd46878d65fcd0b5923921 EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667114X24000104 https://doaj.org/toc/2667-114X 2667-114X doi:10.1016/j.crpvbd.2024.100179 https://doaj.org/article/573058d218dd46878d65fcd0b5923921 Current Research in Parasitology and Vector-Borne Diseases, Vol 5, Iss , Pp 100179- (2024) Angiostrongyliasis Angiostrongylus cantonensis cox1 Rattus Sydney Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpvbd.2024.100179 2024-08-05T17:49:11Z Rats, being synanthropic, are hosts to agents of zoonotic diseases that pose a threat to human and domestic animal health. The nematode parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, commonly known as the rat lungworm, is no exception; it can cause potentially fatal neural disease in humans, dogs and other species. The distribution of A. cantonensis (haplotypes SYD.1 and Ac13) and its close relative, Angiostrongylus mackerrasae is not well understood in Australia. We investigated the prevalence of Angiostrongylus in rats in Sydney, Australia, primarily via faecal qPCR, and identified the species and haplotypes using partial cox1 sequencing. We found a moderate prevalence of infection (29%; 95% CI: 16.1–46.6%) in black (Rattus rattus) and brown (Rattus norvegicus) rats around public parks and residential areas. This study demonstrates that Sydney’s urban rat population is a reservoir for A. cantonensis. Modelling infection status as a function of rat species, sex, tibia length (as a proxy for age), and health index (a measure of weight by size) revealed that older rats are statistically more likely to be infected (χ21 = 5.331, P = 0.021). We observed a dominant presence of the A. cantonensis SYD.1 haplotype, for which the implications are not yet known. No A. mackerassae was detected, leading us to suspect it may have a more restricted host- and geographical range. Overall, this study illustrates the presence and potential risk of A. cantonensis infection in Sydney. Public education regarding transmission routes and preventative measures is crucial to safeguard human and animal health. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rattus rattus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Current Research in Parasitology & Vector-Borne Diseases 5 100179 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Angiostrongyliasis Angiostrongylus cantonensis cox1 Rattus Sydney Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
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Angiostrongyliasis Angiostrongylus cantonensis cox1 Rattus Sydney Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Phoebe Rivory Miguel Bedoya-Pérez Michael P. Ward Jan Šlapeta Older urban rats are infected with the zoonotic nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis |
topic_facet |
Angiostrongyliasis Angiostrongylus cantonensis cox1 Rattus Sydney Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
description |
Rats, being synanthropic, are hosts to agents of zoonotic diseases that pose a threat to human and domestic animal health. The nematode parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, commonly known as the rat lungworm, is no exception; it can cause potentially fatal neural disease in humans, dogs and other species. The distribution of A. cantonensis (haplotypes SYD.1 and Ac13) and its close relative, Angiostrongylus mackerrasae is not well understood in Australia. We investigated the prevalence of Angiostrongylus in rats in Sydney, Australia, primarily via faecal qPCR, and identified the species and haplotypes using partial cox1 sequencing. We found a moderate prevalence of infection (29%; 95% CI: 16.1–46.6%) in black (Rattus rattus) and brown (Rattus norvegicus) rats around public parks and residential areas. This study demonstrates that Sydney’s urban rat population is a reservoir for A. cantonensis. Modelling infection status as a function of rat species, sex, tibia length (as a proxy for age), and health index (a measure of weight by size) revealed that older rats are statistically more likely to be infected (χ21 = 5.331, P = 0.021). We observed a dominant presence of the A. cantonensis SYD.1 haplotype, for which the implications are not yet known. No A. mackerassae was detected, leading us to suspect it may have a more restricted host- and geographical range. Overall, this study illustrates the presence and potential risk of A. cantonensis infection in Sydney. Public education regarding transmission routes and preventative measures is crucial to safeguard human and animal health. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Phoebe Rivory Miguel Bedoya-Pérez Michael P. Ward Jan Šlapeta |
author_facet |
Phoebe Rivory Miguel Bedoya-Pérez Michael P. Ward Jan Šlapeta |
author_sort |
Phoebe Rivory |
title |
Older urban rats are infected with the zoonotic nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis |
title_short |
Older urban rats are infected with the zoonotic nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis |
title_full |
Older urban rats are infected with the zoonotic nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis |
title_fullStr |
Older urban rats are infected with the zoonotic nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis |
title_full_unstemmed |
Older urban rats are infected with the zoonotic nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis |
title_sort |
older urban rats are infected with the zoonotic nematode angiostrongylus cantonensis |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpvbd.2024.100179 https://doaj.org/article/573058d218dd46878d65fcd0b5923921 |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_source |
Current Research in Parasitology and Vector-Borne Diseases, Vol 5, Iss , Pp 100179- (2024) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667114X24000104 https://doaj.org/toc/2667-114X 2667-114X doi:10.1016/j.crpvbd.2024.100179 https://doaj.org/article/573058d218dd46878d65fcd0b5923921 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpvbd.2024.100179 |
container_title |
Current Research in Parasitology & Vector-Borne Diseases |
container_volume |
5 |
container_start_page |
100179 |
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1810473845136556032 |