Prevalence of Listeria (spp.) in wild rats captured in the Kanto area of Japan. |
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| Authors: | S Inoue T Tanikawa J Kawaguchi T Iida C Morita |
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| Institution: | Department of Veterinary Science, National Institute of Health, Japan. |
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| Abstract: | In the Kanto area a total of 245 wild rats were captured. All rats captured in Ikebukuro (110 rats) and 9 out of 41 rats in Yokohama were Rattus rattus, and all other 126 rats were Rattus norvegicus. In Kashima and Ikebukuro, listeria was isolated from 28 rats (77.8%) and 27 rats (24.5%), respectively, but in the other 4 areas listeria was isolated from 0-7% rats. Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from 12 rats (10.9%) captured in Ikebukuro and 2 rats in Kashima and Numazu. The frequent isolation of L. monocytogenes in buildings suggests the possibility of R. rattus as a reservoir of L. monocytogenes and the continual environmental contamination in buildings by L. monocytogenes. |
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