BACKGROUND Rodenticide resistance to anticoagulants in Rattus norvegicus will lead to increased difficulties in combating these pest animals. Here, the authors present the results of a survey in the Netherlands where tissue samples and droppings were tested using a newly developed TaqMan PCR test for genotypic variation at codon 139 in the Vkorc1 gene associated with anticoagulant rodenticide r...

The aim of this note was to record for the first time the recovery of Toxocara canis larvae from tissues and organs of Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout, 1769), Wistar strain, until the 60th day after experimental infection. Rats were orally infected with embryonated T. canis eggs, killed on days 3, 5, 8, 10, 15, 30, and 60 after inoculation and larvae were recovered from liver, lungs, kidneys, bra...

Seoul virus (SEOV) poses a worldwide public health threat. This virus, which is harbored by Rattus norvegicus and R. rattus rats, is the causative agent of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in humans, which has been reported in Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Africa. Defining SEOV genome sequences plays a critical role in development of preventive and therapeutic strategies against t...

A great deal of information concerning the Malayan rats (Muridae, genus Rattus Fischer) exists in the literature. However there is no report on the karyotype of these rats. Karyotype information of wild rats in other parts of the world exists, but is scanty. Makino (1942, 1943, 1949b, 1952c) studied six species of Rattus found in Japan. Most other studies have been confined to Rattus norvegicus...

Effects of social isolation and crowding on sexual beha,·iour in the rat (Rattus norvegicus).The effects of social isolation and crowding on the sexual behaviour of Sprague Dawley male and female rats (Rattus norvegicus) were investigated. The major housing condition effect was found among social isolates. A significant decrease in their non-copulatory activity was observed in both genders when...

The muscular strength of experimental infected Rattus norvegicus with 3rd. stage Toxocara canis larvae was investigated. Fifty Wistar rats, divided in three groups (G1-20 rats infected by 300 eggs of T. canis; G2-20 rats infected by 2,000 eggs of T. canis and G3-10 rats without infection) had been used. Ten and 30 days after infection the muscular strength in the fore-feet of the rats was check...

Sprague-Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus) were observed in a familiar environment. In Experiment 1 a leader entered a clean chamber, and an opposite-sex follower entered the chamber next. Both sexes began to flank mark after several sessions. Males flank marked more, and females locomoted more, but both sexes urine marked and investigated objects equally often. Leaders and followers did not diffe...

The Boston Model describes a successful rodent management plan that succeeded in a first-world city in the USA. In third-world cities, which often contain informal shack settlements, it is debatable whether the Boston Model would apply. In Durban, a major harbor city of three million people on the east coast of South Africa, we investigated the sanitary risks due to rodents in both formal (resi...

Rodents can cause major problems through spreading various diseases to animals and humans. The two main species of rodents most commonly found on farms around the world are the house mouse (Mus musculus) and the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus). Both species are omnivorous and can breed year-round under favourable conditions. This review describes the occurrence of pathogens in rodents on speciali...

In collaboration with the CDC's Streptococcus Laboratory, we report here the whole-genome sequences of seven Streptococcus agalactiae bacteria isolated from laboratory-reared Long-Evans rats. Four of the S. agalactiae isolates were associated with morbidity accompanied by endocarditis, metritis, and fatal septicemia, providing an opportunity for comparative genomic analysis of this opportunisti...