Studies of Leptospirosis in Natural Host Populations I. Small Mammals of Waipio Valley, Island of Hawaii
The small Indian mongoose, Herpestes auropunctalus (Carnivora: Viverridae), and the roof rat, Rattus rattus, and the Polynesian rat, Rattus exulans (both Rodentia: Muridae), are abundant in Waipio Valley, island of Hawaii. Two other murid rodents, the house· mouse, Mus musculus, and the Norway rat,...
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ftunivhawaiimano:oai:scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu:10125/1477 2023-05-15T18:05:36+02:00 Studies of Leptospirosis in Natural Host Populations I. Small Mammals of Waipio Valley, Island of Hawaii Tomich, P. Quentin 1979-07 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10125/1477 en-US eng University of Hawaii Press Tomich PQ. 1979. Studies of leptospirosis in natural host populations I. Small mammals of Waipio Valley, Island of Hawaii. Pac Sci 33(3): 257-279. 0030-8870 http://hdl.handle.net/10125/1477 Article Text 1979 ftunivhawaiimano 2022-07-17T13:14:11Z The small Indian mongoose, Herpestes auropunctalus (Carnivora: Viverridae), and the roof rat, Rattus rattus, and the Polynesian rat, Rattus exulans (both Rodentia: Muridae), are abundant in Waipio Valley, island of Hawaii. Two other murid rodents, the house· mouse, Mus musculus, and the Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus, are sporadic or rare in occurrence. As carriers of serotypes of the bacterium Leptospira interrogans (Spirochaetales: Treponemataceae), which is transmissible to humans, this assemblage of introduced mammals is of public health significance, for numerous cases of leptospirosis, or Weil's disease, have been traced to the valley. Population density of the mongoose was estimated at 2.3 per acre; for rats, it fluctuated seasonally from I to 11 per acre. The serotypes icterohemorrhagiae and sejroe were found in the mongoose in a 40:60 ratio by the kidney culture method. Combined kidney culture and serological tests on 180 mongooses showed a high of 34 percent overall infection in winter and a summer low of 9.4 percent. Of 33 house mice tested by culture only, ballum was isolated from 21 and icterohemorrhagiae from two. One isolation of icterohemorrhagiae was made from four Norway rats examined. For 126 roof rats tested by serology and kidney culture, 68 percent of adults and 26 percent of young were infected; and for 175 Polynesian rats, 34 percent of adults and 26 percent of young were infected. The Polynesian rat demonstrated a lesser persistence of the serum titer phase of the disease than did the roof rat. Icterohemorrhagiae made up 95 percent and ballum the remaining 5 percent of infections in the roof rat. For the Polynesian rat the ratio was 75: 25. Free-ranging rats under observation for as long as 8 months acquired or lost infections, as determined by repeated serological tests. The wet subtropical climate of Waipio Valley supports conditions for transmission of leptospirosis among small mammals, and possibly to humans, even in times of drought. No prominent differences were observed in the ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Rattus rattus ScholarSpace at University of Hawaii at Manoa Indian Norway |
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ScholarSpace at University of Hawaii at Manoa |
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ftunivhawaiimano |
language |
English |
description |
The small Indian mongoose, Herpestes auropunctalus (Carnivora: Viverridae), and the roof rat, Rattus rattus, and the Polynesian rat, Rattus exulans (both Rodentia: Muridae), are abundant in Waipio Valley, island of Hawaii. Two other murid rodents, the house· mouse, Mus musculus, and the Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus, are sporadic or rare in occurrence. As carriers of serotypes of the bacterium Leptospira interrogans (Spirochaetales: Treponemataceae), which is transmissible to humans, this assemblage of introduced mammals is of public health significance, for numerous cases of leptospirosis, or Weil's disease, have been traced to the valley. Population density of the mongoose was estimated at 2.3 per acre; for rats, it fluctuated seasonally from I to 11 per acre. The serotypes icterohemorrhagiae and sejroe were found in the mongoose in a 40:60 ratio by the kidney culture method. Combined kidney culture and serological tests on 180 mongooses showed a high of 34 percent overall infection in winter and a summer low of 9.4 percent. Of 33 house mice tested by culture only, ballum was isolated from 21 and icterohemorrhagiae from two. One isolation of icterohemorrhagiae was made from four Norway rats examined. For 126 roof rats tested by serology and kidney culture, 68 percent of adults and 26 percent of young were infected; and for 175 Polynesian rats, 34 percent of adults and 26 percent of young were infected. The Polynesian rat demonstrated a lesser persistence of the serum titer phase of the disease than did the roof rat. Icterohemorrhagiae made up 95 percent and ballum the remaining 5 percent of infections in the roof rat. For the Polynesian rat the ratio was 75: 25. Free-ranging rats under observation for as long as 8 months acquired or lost infections, as determined by repeated serological tests. The wet subtropical climate of Waipio Valley supports conditions for transmission of leptospirosis among small mammals, and possibly to humans, even in times of drought. No prominent differences were observed in the ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Tomich, P. Quentin |
spellingShingle |
Tomich, P. Quentin Studies of Leptospirosis in Natural Host Populations I. Small Mammals of Waipio Valley, Island of Hawaii |
author_facet |
Tomich, P. Quentin |
author_sort |
Tomich, P. Quentin |
title |
Studies of Leptospirosis in Natural Host Populations I. Small Mammals of Waipio Valley, Island of Hawaii |
title_short |
Studies of Leptospirosis in Natural Host Populations I. Small Mammals of Waipio Valley, Island of Hawaii |
title_full |
Studies of Leptospirosis in Natural Host Populations I. Small Mammals of Waipio Valley, Island of Hawaii |
title_fullStr |
Studies of Leptospirosis in Natural Host Populations I. Small Mammals of Waipio Valley, Island of Hawaii |
title_full_unstemmed |
Studies of Leptospirosis in Natural Host Populations I. Small Mammals of Waipio Valley, Island of Hawaii |
title_sort |
studies of leptospirosis in natural host populations i. small mammals of waipio valley, island of hawaii |
publisher |
University of Hawaii Press |
publishDate |
1979 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10125/1477 |
geographic |
Indian Norway |
geographic_facet |
Indian Norway |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_relation |
Tomich PQ. 1979. Studies of leptospirosis in natural host populations I. Small mammals of Waipio Valley, Island of Hawaii. Pac Sci 33(3): 257-279. 0030-8870 http://hdl.handle.net/10125/1477 |
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1766177099960287232 |