[Epidemiologic evaluation of a sample of 91 rats (Rattus norvegicus) captured in the sewers of Lyon]

Abstract

91 rats captured in 1982 in the sewers of Lyon (France) have been examined for the presence of some microorganisms implicated in infections transmissible to man, by direct examination, bacteriological culture or detection of specific antibodies. Bacteriological results have shown a high proportion of carriers of Yersinia enterocolitica and frederiksenii (29%), of Pasteurella pneumotropica (29%), of Staphylococcus aureus (53%), and of Campylobacter jejuni (18%), a low proportion of carriers of Salmonella typhimurium (6%) and Leptospira (7%), and an absence of Listeria. Immunological reactions were often positive with Leptospira (21%), sometimes with Salmonella typhimurium, and always negative with Yersinia and Listeria. This work is a contribution to the knowledge of the health status of sewer rats considered to be an important public health risk as transmitters of anthropozoonoses.