School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, 2206 E Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada.
Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, Animal Health Centre, 1767 Angus Campbell Rd., Abbotsford, BC V3G 2M3, Canada.
J Wildl Dis. 2021 Jan 6;57(1):157-161. doi: 10.7589/2019-09-233.
Leptospira interrogans is one of the most important zoonotic pathogens globally. In urban settings, Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) are important reservoirs of L. interrogans, but it is unclear how this bacterium is transmitted among rats. Both environmental features and rat population density may determine the prevalence of this pathogen in rat populations as well as the spillover risk to people. While these factors could play an important role in transmission between rats, it is unknown whether such factors influence prevalence among rats at a fine scale. Our objective was to determine if carriage of L. interrogans by rats could be explained by variation in the environment or in rat population density. Rats were live-trapped in a single neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada during two study periods (2011-12; 2016-17) and were tested for L. interrogans. The physical environment of each city block was recorded using a comprehensive, in-person environmental survey. Using generalized linear mixed modelling, we found no evidence of an association between carriage of L. interrogans and environmental features or rat population density, suggesting that these were not the primary drivers of its distribution among rats within this neighborhood. Understanding factors that promote L. interrogans transmission can be used to inform management approaches to minimize public health risks.
问号钩端螺旋体是全球最重要的人畜共患病病原体之一。在城市环境中，挪威鼠（Rattus norvegicus）是问号钩端螺旋体的重要宿主，但该细菌在鼠群中的传播方式尚不清楚。环境特征和鼠群密度都可能决定该病原体在鼠群中的流行程度以及向人类溢出的风险。虽然这些因素可能在鼠间传播中起重要作用，但尚不清楚这些因素是否会在精细尺度上影响鼠群中的流行程度。我们的目的是确定问号钩端螺旋体在鼠群中的携带情况是否可以用环境或鼠群密度的变化来解释。在加拿大温哥华的一个单一社区，我们在两个研究期间（2011-12 年；2016-17 年）使用活捕法对老鼠进行了抽样，并对它们进行了问号钩端螺旋体检测。使用全面的实地环境调查记录每个城市街区的物理环境。使用广义线性混合模型，我们没有发现问号钩端螺旋体携带情况与环境特征或鼠群密度之间存在关联的证据，这表明这些因素不是该病原体在该社区内鼠群中分布的主要驱动因素。了解促进问号钩端螺旋体传播的因素可以用于指导管理方法，以最大限度地降低公共卫生风险。
