title: Highly Pathogenic Leptospira Found in Urban Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus) in the Largest Cities of Sweden.
abstract: Leptospirosis is an emerging zoonosis of global concern; however, its contemporary occurrence in Sweden, a European country partly located north of the Arctic Circle, is poorly known. Four out of 30 brown rats, captured within urban districts in Sweden, were found to be positive for antibodies to Leptospira interrogans serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae. This serovar causes Weil's disease in humans, a severe infection with jaundice, renal failure, and hemorrhage. Our study is the first finding of this highly pathogenic serovar in Swedish rats since the 1930s.
authors.affiliation: 1 Zoonosis Science Center, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University , Uppsala, Sweden .
authors.forename: Tanja M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Strand
authors.affiliation: 2 Institute for Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute and Zoonosis Science Center, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University , Uppsala, Sweden .
authors.forename: Mare
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Löhmus
authors.affiliation: 3 Anticimex AB , Stockholm, Sweden .
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Persson Vinnersten
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Bacteriology, National Veterinary Institute , Uppsala, Sweden .
authors.forename: Therese
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Råsbäck
authors.affiliation: 5 Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Emerging Infectious Diseases Program, Singapore and Zoonosis Science Center, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University , Uppsala, Sweden .
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sundström
authors.affiliation: 6 Department of Infectious Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg , Gothenburg, Sweden .
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bergström
authors.affiliation: 7 Zoonosis Science Center, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University , Uppsala, Sweden .
authors.forename: Åke
authors.initials: Å
authors.lastname: Lundkvist
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D002947:Cities; D006801:Humans; D041383:Leptospira interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D051381:Rats; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014895:Weil Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D015047:Zoonoses
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial
keywords: Leptospira interrogans serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae; Leptospirosis; Rattus norvegicus; Rodent-borne; Rodents; Zoonosis