Hematological and biochemical profiles, infection and habitat quality in an urban rat population.

Host condition is key in understanding disease dynamics. In an urban population of Rattus norvegicus, we aimed to assess whether infection of Leptospira interrogans and helminths was associated with patterns of host hematological and hormone-biochemical stress-related conditions. Rat kidney imprints and urine were used to identify and quantify L. interrogans, and feces samples for helminth eggs and corticosterone metabolites. Blood samples were taken for complete blood counts and specific biochemicals in rats' sera. Principal Component Analyses were performed to check whether rats would be grouped according to health profiles. We obtained hematological and hormone-biochemical data from 95 and 61 rats, respectively. Hematological PCA revealed distinct rat groups: typical (T), eosinophil deficient (Eos-D), eosinophil- and monocyte- deficient (EM-D) and monocyte deficient with high immature neutrophils (Mon-D). No association between L. interrogans or helminths and rat health profiles was observed, except with Trichiuridae, which mean intensity was significantly higher when all deficient groups were pooled together compared to the T-group. The poorest condition group was found in areas with fewer rat burrows than the T-group, indicating EM-D had a reduced ability to occupy "good" quality habitats. In natural populations, hematological profiles may reflect host's overall condition, instead of responses to specific infections.

The helminth community of a population of Rattus norvegicus from an urban Brazilian slum and the threat of zoonotic diseases.

Urban slums provide suitable conditions for infestation by rats, which harbour and shed a wide diversity of zoonotic pathogens including helminths. We aimed to identify risk factors associated with the probability and intensity of infection of helminths of the digestive tract in an urban slum population of Rattus norvegicus. Among 299 rats, eleven species/groups of helminths were identified, of which Strongyloides sp., Nippostrongylus brasiliensis and, the human pathogen, Angiostrongylus cantonensis were the most frequent (97, 41 and 39%, respectively). Sex interactions highlighted behavioural differences between males and females, as eg males were more likely to be infected with N. brasiliensis where rat signs were present, and males presented more intense infections of Strongyloides sp. Moreover, rats in poor body condition had higher intensities of N. brasiliensis. We describe a high global richness of parasites in R. norvegicus, including five species known to cause disease in humans. Among these, A. cantonensis was found in high prevalence and it was ubiquitous in the study area - knowledge which is of public health importance. A variety of environmental, demographic and body condition variables were associated with helminth species infection of rats, suggesting a comparable variety of risk factors for humans.