1995/01/01 by Joanne P. Webster, G. Lloyd, D. W. Macdonald · 81 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Immunology and Microbiology · Medicine · #Antibody #Biology #Coxiella burnetii #Demography #Immunology #Population #Q fever #Serology #Seroprevalence #Vector-borne infectious diseases #Veterinary medicine #Viral Infections and Vectors #Virology #Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research
paper · doi:10.1017/s0031182000081014
published in Parasitology 110(1), 31-35 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 1995/01/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Seroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii, the causal agent of Q fever in humans, was examined in wild brown rat populations from 4 Oxfordshire farmsteads (n = 127), 9 Somerset homesteads (n = 98), and 1 captive enclosure (n = 88) in the UK. Seroprevalence ranged between 7 and 53%, the lowest being within the captive population and the highest on dairy farmsteads with sheep present. This is the first reported investigation of C. burnetii in wild rats outside India. We suggest that the high seroprevalence among rats (i) provides evidence that wild rats constitute an important reservoir for C. burnetii in the UK, and (ii) explains why cats, as frequent predators of rats, are so important in the epidemiology of this disease.