Older urban rats are infected with the zoonotic nematode <i>Angiostrongylus cantonensis</i>

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Abstract

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 ( χ ² ₁ = 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.

Graphical abstract

Highlights

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Angiostrongylus cantonensis found in 29% of urban rats in Sydney, Australia.
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Infected rats were older, and trapped around parks, gardens and residential areas.
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Only the A. cantonensis SYD.1 cox1 haplotype was detected.

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Most cited references 48

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Zoonotic host diversity increases in human-dominated ecosystems

Rory Gibb, David W. Redding, Kai Qing Chin … (2020)

Land use change-for example, the conversion of natural habitats to agricultural or urban ecosystems-is widely recognized to influence the risk and emergence of zoonotic disease in humans1,2. However, whether such changes in risk are underpinned by predictable ecological changes remains unclear. It has been suggested that habitat disturbance might cause predictable changes in the local diversity and taxonomic composition of potential reservoir hosts, owing to systematic, trait-mediated differences in species resilience to human pressures3,4. Here we analyse 6,801 ecological assemblages and 376 host species worldwide, controlling for research effort, and show that land use has global and systematic effects on local zoonotic host communities. Known wildlife hosts of human-shared pathogens and parasites overall comprise a greater proportion of local species richness (18-72% higher) and total abundance (21-144% higher) in sites under substantial human use (secondary, agricultural and urban ecosystems) compared with nearby undisturbed habitats. The magnitude of this effect varies taxonomically and is strongest for rodent, bat and passerine bird zoonotic host species, which may be one factor that underpins the global importance of these taxa as zoonotic reservoirs. We further show that mammal species that harbour more pathogens overall (either human-shared or non-human-shared) are more likely to occur in human-managed ecosystems, suggesting that these trends may be mediated by ecological or life-history traits that influence both host status and tolerance to human disturbance5,6. Our results suggest that global changes in the mode and the intensity of land use are creating expanding hazardous interfaces between people, livestock and wildlife reservoirs of zoonotic disease.

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Urban Norway and black rats (Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus) are the source of a number of pathogens responsible for significant human morbidity and mortality in cities around the world. These pathogens include zoonotic bacteria (Leptospira interrogans, Yersina pestis, Rickettsia typhi, Bartonella spp., Streptobacillus moniliformis), viruses (Seoul hantavirus), and parasites (Angiostrongylus cantonensis). A more complete understanding of the ecology of these pathogens in people and rats is critical for determining the public health risks associated with urban rats and for developing strategies to monitor and mitigate those risks. Although the ecology of rat-associated zoonoses is complex, due to the multiple ways in which rats, people, pathogens, vectors, and the environment may interact, common determinants of human disease can still be identified. This review summarizes the ecology of zoonoses associated with urban rats with a view to identifying similarities, critical differences, and avenues for further study.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Jan Šlapeta

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Curr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Curr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis

Title: Current Research in Parasitology & Vector-borne Diseases

Publisher: Elsevier

ISSN (Electronic): 2667-114X

Publication date PMC-release: 21 May 2024

Publication date Collection: 2024

Publication date (Electronic): 21 May 2024

Volume: 5

Electronic Location Identifier: 100179

Affiliations

[a ]Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia

[b ]The Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

[c ]School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

[d ]Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Author notes

[* ]Corresponding author. Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia. jan.slapeta@ 123456sydney.edu.au

Article

Publisher Item ID: S2667-114X(24)00010-4 Publisher ID: 100179

DOI: 10.1016/j.crpvbd.2024.100179

PMC ID: 11154120

PubMed ID: 38845789

SO-VID: a6685b48-098c-4056-a53e-b8ae7f37fbe7

License:

This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

History

Date received : 28 March 2024

Date revision received : 17 May 2024

Date accepted : 18 May 2024

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