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1. Prevalence of Seoul hantavirus in UK wild rats: an emerging public health problem?

Author

Jacqueline M. Duggan

Subjects
Paper, Orthohantavirus, Farms, Seoul, Swine, wildlife, viruses, infectious diseases, Asymptomatic, Virus, Prevalence, Sore throat, medicine, Animals, Risk factor, Feces, Seoul virus, Hantavirus, General Veterinary, business.industry, virus diseases, General Medicine, Virology, United Kingdom, Rats, virology, zoonoses, respiratory tract diseases, England, epidemiology, Public Health, disease surveillance, medicine.symptom, Hantavirus Infection, business
Abstract

Introduction Hantaviruses are maintained by mammalian hosts, such as rodents, and are shed in their excretions. Clinical disease can occur in humans from spillover infection. Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) are the globally distributed reservoir host of Seoul virus (SEOV). Human cases of SEOV-associated haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (SEOV-HFRS)have been reported in Great Britain (GB) since 1977. Methods Brown rats (n=68) were trapped from a variety of peridomestic locations, with a focus on pig farms. Kidney and lung tissues were tested for viral RNA using a pan-hantavirus RT-PCR assay followed by Sanger sequencing and analysis. Results SEOV RNA was detected in 19 per cent (13/68, 95% CI 11 to 30) of rats and all sequences fell within SEOV lineage 9. Twelve sequences were highly similar to each other and to the previously reported GB Humber strain of SEOV (98 per cent). One rat SEOV sequence was more distant. The SEOV prevalence in rats from pig farms was significantly greater (p=0.047) than other sites sampled. No significant sex or age differences were observed among positive and negative rats. Discussion The results from this study suggest that SEOV could be widespread in wild rats in GB and therefore pose a potential risk to public health.

Published
2019
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2. Infectious keratoconjunctivitis and occurrence of Mycoplasma conjunctivae and Chlamydiaceae in small domestic ruminants from Central Karakoram, Pakistan

Author

Joachim Frey, Oscar Cabezón, Isis Victoriano Llopis, Xavier Fernández-Aguilar, Andrea Giorgino, Luca Rossi, and Jorge Ramón López-Olvera

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Male, Veterinary medicine, Mycoplasma conjunctivae, Keratoconjunctivitis, Chlamydophila pecorum, Keywords, coinfection, goat, infectious keratoconjunctivitis, sheep, wildlife livestock interface, Animals, Case-Control Studies, Chlamydiaceae, Chlamydiaceae Infections, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Goat Diseases, Goats, Keratoconjunctivitis, Infectious, Mycoplasma Infections, Pakistan, Sheep, Sheep Diseases, biology, Transmission (medicine), National park, Coinfection, Infectious, General Medicine, Goat, Livestock, Paper, 030106 microbiology, Wildlife, Disease cluster, 03 medical and health sciences, Infectious keratoconjunctivitis, medicine, General Veterinary, business.industry, medicine.disease, biology.organism_classification, Wildlife livestock interface, eye diseases, sense organs, business
Abstract

Infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) is a contagious eye disease primarily caused by Mycoplasma conjunctivae in domestic and wild Caprinae. Chlamydophila species have also been detected in ruminants with IKC. The objectives of this study are to investigate the ocular infection of M. conjunctivae and Chlamydiaceae and assess its interaction in relation to IKC in sheep and goats from remote communities around the Central Karakoram National Park in Pakistan, performing a combination of cross-sectional and case-control study design. Mostly asymptomatic and endemic infections of M. conjunctivae and Chlamydiaceae were found in sheep (19.3 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively) and goats (9.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively) from all communities, assessed by qPCR. Prevalence significantly differed between species only for M. conjunctivae (P=0.0184), which was also more prevalent in younger sheep (P

Published
2017