Prevalence of rickettsia typhi, rickettsia conorii and leptospiral infections among rodents in Alexandria

ABSTRACT

The rickettsial and leptospiral diseases of man are widely, though variably distributed throughout the world. They constitute a very significant, but unrecognized fraction of the acute febrile disease burden in many populations, especially in developing countries. This study was designed to detect evidence of rickettsial and leptospiral infection among 996 rodents trapped in Alexandria as risk factors for human infection by such pathogens. Rattus norvegicus showed prevalence of 39%, 38.9% and 38.3% to Rickettsia typhi, Rickettsia conorii and leptospira respectively. Rattus rattus showed prevalence of 10.1%, 33.8% and 30.5% to the same pathogens. Suncus murinus and Mus musculus were seronegative to all pathogens. No statistically significant association was found between seropositivity to these pathogens and sex or age of the rodents. Statistically significant associations were found between seropositivity to Rickettsia typhi and Leptospira and indoor trapping in Rattus norvegicus, while statistically significant associations were found between seropositivity to Rickettsia typhi and Leptospira and outdoor trapping in Rattus rattus