Survey of Zoonoses in rodents after flooding event in 2011

Abstract

This cross - sectional survey of rodents, caught after flooding event in Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Lopburi, was conducted from November 2011 to February 2012. A total of 292 rats were caught including Rattus norvegicus (57.9%), Rattus rattus (20.5%), Bandicota indica (13.7%), Rattus exulans (4.5%), Rattus argentiventer (1.4%), Bandicota savilei (1%) and Rattus nitidus (196). Male to female ratio was 1 : 1.19. Chigger mites (13.4%), fleas (6.5%) and ticks (0.3%) were the ectoparasites found on these rats. Scrub typhus antibody was found in 36.296 of rats including R.norvegicus (22.1%), R.rattus (8.396), B.indica (3.496), R. argentiventer (1.4%) and R.exulans (1%). There was a significant differences among seroprevalence of scrub typhus in each rat species (p < 0.01). Murine typhus antibody was found in 10.3% of rats including R.norvegicus (7.6%), R.rattus (1.7%) and R.exulans (1.0%). No tick typhus antibody was detected, but leptospira was observed in 1.4% of rats. An endoparasite, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, was found in 1.3% of R.norvegicus caught in Bangkok and 33.3% of R.nitidus caught in Lopburi. Two areas had never been reported Angiostrongylus cantonensis.