Urban brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) as possible source of multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae and meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus spp., Vienna, Austria, 2016 and 2017

Background: Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) are an important wildlife species in cities, where they live in close proximity to humans. However, few studies have investigated their role as reservoir of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. Aim: We intended to determine whether urban rats at two highly frequented sites in Vienna, Austria, carry extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae, fluoroquinolone-resistant Enterobacteriaceae and meticillin-resistant (MR) Staphylococcus spp. (MRS). Methods: We surveyed the presence of antimicrobial resistance in 62 urban brown rats captured in 2016 and 2017 in Vienna, Austria. Intestinal and nasopharyngeal samples were cultured on selective media. We character-ised the isolates and their antimicrobial properties using microbiological and genetic methods including disk diffusion, microarray analysis, sequencing, and detection and characterisation of plasmids. Results: Eight multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli and two extensively drug-resistant New Delhi metallo-β-lactamases-1 (NDM-1)-producing Enterobacter xiangfangensis ST114 (En. cloacae complex) were isolated from nine of 62 rats. Nine Enterobacteriaceae isolates harboured the blaCTX-M gene and one carried a plasmid-encoded ampC gene (blaCMY-2). Forty-four MRS were isolated from 37 rats; they belonged to seven different staphylococcal species: S. fleuret-tii, S. sciuri, S. aureus, S. pseudintermedius, S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus (all mecA-positive) and mecC-positive S. xylosus. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that brown rats in cities are a potential source of multidrug-resistant bacteria, including carbapenem-resistant En. xiangfangensis ST114. Considering the increasing worldwide urbanisation, rodent control remains an important priority for health in modern cities. © 2019, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). All rights reserved

Capturing the COVID-19 crisis through public health and social measures data science

In response to COVID-19, governments worldwide are implementing public health and social measures (PHSM) that substantially impact many areas beyond public health. The new field of PHSM data science collects, structures, and disseminates data on PHSM; here, we report the main achievements, challenges, and focus areas of this novel field of research

Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) in urban ecosystems: are the constraints related to fieldwork a limit to their study?

Nowadays, the majority of human beings live in urban ecosystems, with this proportion expected to continue increasing in the future. With the growing importance of urban rat-associated issues (e.g. damages to urban infrastructures, costs of rat-control programs, rat-associated health risks), it is becoming indispensable to fill the identified gaps in knowledge on the urban brown rat regarding, among others, its density, home range, genetic structure, and infectious status. In this context, live-trapping is a crucial prerequisite to any scientific investigation. This paper assesses the main constraints and challenges regarding the urban field and describes the major steps to be considered when planning research on urban rats. The primary challenges are i) the characteri zation of the urban experimental unit; ii) the choice of a trapping design: the use of live-trapping in capture-mark-recapture design, in association with modern statistics, is highly recommended to answer ecological questions (although these methods, mostly developed in natural ecosystems, need to be implemented for the urban field); iii) the potential ethical considerations with regard to animal welfare and field-worker safety; iv) the building of mutually-beneficial collaborations with city stakeholders, pest control professionals, and citizens. Emphasis must be put on communication to the public and education of field-workers. One major need of modern urban rat research is a peer-validated field methodology allowing reproducibility, repeatability, and inference from urban field studies and enabling researchers to answer long-standing key questions about urban rat ecology.Hoy en día, la mayoría de los seres humanos viven en ecosistemas urbanos, y se espera que esta proporción siga aumentando en el futuro. Con la creciente importancia de los problemas asociados a las ratas urbanas (por ejemplo, daños a las infraestructuras urbanas, costes de los programas de control de ratas, riesgos para la salud asociados a las ratas), se hace indispensable llenar las lagunas identificadas en el conocimiento de la rata. de control de ratas, riesgos para la salud asociados a las ratas), se hace indispensable llenar las lagunas identificadas en el conocimiento de la rata parda urbana en lo que respecta, entre otras cosas, a su densidad, área de distribución, estructura genética y estado infeccioso. En este contexto, la captura de animales vivos es un En este contexto, el trampeo en vivo es un prerrequisito crucial para cualquier investigación científica. En este artículo se evalúan las principales limitaciones y retos en el ámbito urbano y se describe los principales pasos a tener en cuenta a la hora de planificar la investigación sobre las ratas urbanas. Los principales retos son: i) la caracterización de la unidad experimental urbana; ii) la elección de un diseño de trampeo: el uso de trampas vivas en un diseño de captura-marcado-recaptura de captura-marcado-recaptura, en asociación con la estadística moderna, es muy recomendable para responder a cuestiones ecológicas (aunque estos métodos (aunque estos métodos, desarrollados en su mayoría en ecosistemas naturales, deben aplicarse en el ámbito urbano); iii) las posibles consideraciones éticas con iii) las posibles consideraciones éticas en relación con el bienestar de los animales y la seguridad de los trabajadores sobre el terreno; iv) la creación de colaboraciones mutuamente beneficiosas con las partes interesadas de la ciudad, los profesionales del control de plagas y los ciudadanos. Hay que hacer hincapié en la comunicación con el público y la educación de los trabajadores de campo. Una de las principales necesidades de la investigación moderna sobre las ratas urbanas es una metodología de campo validada por pares que permita la reproducibilidad, repetibilidad y y permitir a los investigadores responder a las preguntas clave sobre la ecología de las ratas urbanas.Universidad Nacional, Costa RicaEscuela de Medicina Veterinari

Surface Waters and Urban Brown Rats as Potential Sources of Human-Infective Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Vienna, Austria

Cryptosporidium and Giardia are waterborne protozoa that cause intestinal infections in a wide range of warm-blooded animals. Human infections vary from asymptomatic to life-threatening in immunocompromised people, and can cause growth retardation in children. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence and diversity of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in urban surface water and in brown rats trapped in the center of Vienna, Austria, using molecular methods, and to subsequently identify their source and potential transmission pathways. Out of 15 water samples taken from a side arm of the River Danube, Cryptosporidium and Giardia (oo)cysts were detected in 60% and 73% of them, with concentrations ranging between 0.3–4 oocysts/L and 0.6–96 cysts/L, respectively. Cryptosporidium and Giardia were identified in 13 and 16 out of 50 rats, respectively. Eimeria, a parasite of high veterinary importance, was also identified in seven rats. Parasite co-ocurrence was detected in nine rats. Rat-associated genotypes did not match those found in water, but matched Giardia previously isolated from patients with diarrhea in Austria, bringing up a potential role of rats as sources or reservoirs of zoonotic pathogenic Giardia. Following a One Health approach, molecular typing across potential animal and environmental reservoirs and human cases gives an insight into environmental transmission pathways and therefore helps design efficient surveillance strategies and relevant outbreak responses

Using network science in veterinary epidemiology [Poster]

Poster presented at the International School and Conference on Network Science (NetSci) on 12 July 2023 in Vienna, Austria.  The content of the poster is adapted from the paper "Network analysis of pig movement data as an epidemiological tool: an Austrian case study" https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36596-1 Abstract:  Infectious disease outbreaks in livestock populations compromise animal health and welfare and may lead to high economic losses. Historical epidemics have been associated with movements of animals; therefore, several European countries have developed livestock registration and movement databases to trace animal movements.  In this study, we analyze seven years (2015-2021) of daily records of pig movement in Austria and select epidemiologically relevant network metrics that have practical applications for surveillance and control of infectious disease outbreaks.  We first explore the topology of the network and its structural changes over time, including seasonal and long-term trends in the pig production activities. We then investigate the temporal dynamics of the network community structure using InfoMap algorithm. We show that the Austrian pig trade network exhibits a scale-free topology but is very sparse, suggesting a moderate impact of infectious disease outbreaks. However, our findings highlight that two regions (Upper Austria and Styria), presenting higher farm density and a significant number of hubs. These regions also host 77% of pig holdings in the largest strongly connected component, making them more vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks. Dynamic community detection revealed a stable behavior of the clusters over the study period. This study provides important insight on the interplay between network theory and veterinary epidemiology and valuable information to designing cost-effective infectious disease surveillance and control plans. Notably, we argue that enhancing biosecurity and surveillance in the highly connected holdings (hubs) would greatly reduce the structural risk and favor timely detection of pathogens. Similarly, trade communities may offer an optimized approach to managing infectious diseases through data-driven zoning.</p

Population genetics and genotyping as tools for planning rat management programmes

Brown rats are a prolific synanthropic pest species, but attempts to control their populations have had limited success. Rat population dynamics, dispersal patterns, and resistance to rodenticides are important parameters to consider when planning a control programme. We used population genetics and genotyping to investigate how these parameters vary in contrasting landscapes, namely one urban and two rural municipalities from eastern France. A total of 355 wild brown rats from 5 to 6 sites per municipality were genotyped for 13 microsatellite loci and tested for mutations in the Vkorc1 gene which confers resistance to some rodenticides. Results revealed a strong genetic structure of the sampled rat populations at both regional (between municipalities) and local (between sites within municipalities) levels. A pattern of isolation by distance was detected in the urban habitat and in one of the rural municipalities. GeneClass and DAPC analyses identified 25 (7%) and 36 (10%) migrants, respectively. Migrations occurred mostly between sites within each municipality. We deduced that rat dispersal is driven by both natural small-scale movements of individuals and longer-distance (human-assisted) movements. Mutation Y139F on gene Vkorc1 was significantly more prevalent in rural (frequency 0.26-0.96) than in urban sites (0.00-0.11), likely due to differences in selection pressures. Indeed, pest control is irregular and uncoordinated in rural areas, whereas it is better structured and strategically organised in cities. We conclude that simultaneous pest control actions between nearby farms in rural habitats are highly recommended in order to increase rat control success while limiting the spread of resistance to rodenticides

Urban brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) as possible source of multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae and meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus spp., Vienna, Austria, 2016 and 2017 separator commenting unavailable

Background Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) are an important wildlife species in cities, where they live in close proximity to humans. However, few studies have investigated their role as reservoir of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. Aim We intended to determine whether urban rats at two highly frequented sites in Vienna, Austria, carry extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae, fluoroquinolone-resistant Enterobacteriaceae and meticillin-resistant (MR) Staphylococcus spp. (MRS). Methods We surveyed the presence of antimicrobial resistance in 62 urban brown rats captured in 2016 and 2017 in Vienna, Austria. Intestinal and nasopharyngeal samples were cultured on selective media. We characterised the isolates and their antimicrobial properties using microbiological and genetic methods including disk diffusion, microarray analysis, sequencing, and detection and characterisation of plasmids. Results Eight multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli and two extensively drug-resistant New Delhi metallo-β-lactamases-1 (NDM-1)-producing Enterobacter xiangfangensis ST114 (En. cloacae complex) were isolated from nine of 62 rats. Nine Enterobacteriaceae isolates harboured the blaCTX-M gene and one carried a plasmid-encoded ampC gene (blaCMY-2). Forty-four MRS were isolated from 37 rats; they belonged to seven different staphylococcal species: S. fleurettii, S. sciuri, S. aureus, S. pseudintermedius, S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus (all mecA-positive) and mecC-positive S. xylosus. Conclusion Our findings suggest that brown rats in cities are a potential source of multidrug-resistant bacteria, including carbapenem-resistant En. xiangfangensis ST114. Considering the increasing worldwide urbanisation, rodent control remains an important priority for health in modern cities

First isolation and genotyping of pathogenic Leptospira spp. from Austria

Abstract Leptospirosis is a globally distributed zoonotic disease. The standard serological test, known as Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT), requires the use of live Leptospira strains. To enhance its sensitivity and specificity, the usage of locally circulating strains is recommended. However, to date, no local strain is available from Austria. This study aimed to isolate circulating Leptospira strains from cattle in Austria to enhance the performances of the routine serological test for both humans and animals. We used a statistical approach combined with a comprehensive literature search to profile cattle with greater risk of leptospirosis infection and implemented a targeted sampling between November 2021 and October 2022. Urine and/or kidney tissue were sampled from 410 cattle considered at higher risk of infection. Samples were inoculated into EMJH-STAFF culture media within 2–6 h and a real-time PCR targeting the lipL32 gene was used to confirm the presence/absence of pathogenic Leptospira in each sample. Isolates were further characterised by core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST). Nine out of 429 samples tested positive by PCR, from which three isolates were successfully cultured and identified as Leptospira borgpetersenii serogroup Sejroe serovar Hardjobovis, cgMLST cluster 40. This is the first report on the isolation and genotyping of local zoonotic Leptospira in Austria, which holds the potential for a significant improvement in diagnostic performance in the country. Although the local strain was identified as a cattle-adapted serovar, it possesses significant zoonotic implications. Furthermore, this study contributes to a better understanding of the epidemiology of leptospirosis in Europe

Seasonal diet-based resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides in the fossorial water vole (Arvicola amphibius)

International audienceAnticoagulant rodenticides (AR) resistance has been defined as "a major loss of efficacy due to the presence of a strain of rodent with a heritable and commensurately reduced sensitivity to the anticoagulant". The mechanism that supports this resistance has been identified as based on mutations in the Vkorc1 gene leading to severe resistance in rats and mice. This study evaluates the validity of this definition in the fossorial water vole and explores the possibility of a non-genetic diet-based resistance in a strict herbivorous rodent species. Genetic support was explored by sequencing the Vkorc1 gene and the diet-based resistance was explored by the dosing of vitamins K in liver of voles according to seasons. From a sample of 300 voles, only 2 coding mutations, G71R and S149I, were detected in the Vkorc1 gene in the heterozygous state with low allele frequencies (0.5-1%). These mutations did not modify the sensitivity to AR, suggesting an absence of genetic Vkorc1-based resistance in the water vole. On the contrary, vitamin K1 was shown to be 5 times more abundant in the liver of the water vole compared to rats. This liver concentration was shown to seasonally vary, with a trough in late winter and a peak in late spring/early summer related to the growth profile of grass. This increase in concentration might be responsible for the increased resistance of water voles to AR. This study highlights a non-genetic, diet-related resistance mechanism in rodents to AR. This diet-based resistance might explain the different evolution of the Vkorc1 gene in the fossorial water vole compared to rats and mice