Leishmaniases comprise a spectrum of diseases caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania, with some species of rodents being incriminated as reservoirs. The capybara is the largest extant rodent species in the world and is widely distributed in South America. The occurrence of infection by Leishmania spp. was investigated in capybaras captured in Brazil during 2015–2019 from established populations in five highly anthropic areas of the state of São Paulo and two natural areas of the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. A total of 186 individuals were captured and subjected to abdominal skin biopsy. All skin samples were Leishmania kDNA-negative, suggesting that capybaras have no role in the transmission cycles of Leishmania species in the studied areas despite the well-known role of other rodents in the life cycle of Leishmania spp.

Tularaemia is a zoonotic disease caused by the gram-negative bacterium Francisella tularensis, which is endemic to Ukraine. The aim of this work was to provide screening of different field samples (rodent tails, ticks, pellets, water, and hay) to obtain an actual picture of the tularaemia epizootic situation in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Mykolaiv oblasts. Samples were collected using the flag method (for ticks) and break-back traps (for rodents). Also, hay, water and owl pellets were collected for study. The F. tularensis genetic material in samples was detected using a 16S qPCR. It was found that in Kharkiv oblast, 23% of collected samples were positive for F. tularensis, in Dnipropetrovsk oblast 1.9%, and in Mykolaiv oblast 0.4%. Among the sample types, 34.7% of ticks, 1.8% of rodents, and 36.4% of pellets were positive for F. tularensis. The most frequent carriers of F. tularensis were the D. reticulatus and I. ricinus ticks (74.2% and 29.3%, respectively, of positive results).

Objective-To provide an epidemiologic investigation of the seroprevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in populations of cats and wild rodents in Rhode Island and to address the possible epidemiologic role of wild rodents in the spread of toxoplasmosis. Animals-200 cats and 756 small wild rodents. Procedure-Serum samples were obtained from 84 cats in animal shelters and 116 cats in veterinary hospitals. Serum samples were also obtained from 756 small wild rodents from multiple sites in Rhode Island. Sera from rodents and cats were assayed for antibodies to T gondii by use of the modified agglutination test Results-Overall, 42% (84/200) of cats had serum antibodies to T gondii. Seroprevalence was not significantly different between stray (50%; 42 /84) versus client-owned (36%; 42/116) cats, between male (43%; 40/94) versus female (42%; 39/93) cats, or between indoor (26%; 7/27) versus outdoor (39%; 35/89) cats. Seroprevalence rate of trapped rodents was 0.8% (6/756). Six rodents captured in Washington County accounted for of the seropositive rodents. Four of 6 of the seropositive rodents were trapped at a single site in Washington County (an abandoned barn). Five stray cats, known to have resided at the same site in Washington County as 4 of the seropositive rodents, were also found to be seropositive for antibodies to T gondii. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Seroprevalence rate in rodents was not correlated with the seroprevalence rate in cats. Stray cats, especially those known to be feral, may be more likely to perpetuate the cat-mouse cycle of T gondii than clientowned cats.

Bilateral deafness with concurrent vestibular dysfunction was first reported in the Doberman pinscher in 1980. Here, we identify a coding mutation in the MYO7A gene that is perfectly associated with the disorder. The lack of visual deficits in affected dogs suggests that, like rodents but unlike humans, MYO7A is not required for retinal function. DNA testing of the mutation will enable dog breeders to manage the incidence of this genetic defect.

The detection of volatile fatty acids (VFA) by gas chromatography of 85 purulent specimens from abscesses or pyogenic infections in cats, dogs, rodents, and ruminants was compared with the results of bacteriologic culturing, and proved to be a rapid means of presumptively diagnosing anaerobic infections. Of 83 bacteriologically positive specimens, 52 (61%) yielded obligate anaerobes and in 50 specimens, 1 or more VFA (butyric acid, isobutyric acid, valeric acid, isovaleric acid, caproic acid, or isocaproic acid) was detected. Forty-six specimens were positive for culturing of anaerobes and for detection of 1 or more of these VFA. By contrast, pus from infections caused by (facultative) aerobic microorganisms contained no VFA or only acetic and/or propionic acid.

Rodents particularly those belonging to the Muridae family in Malaysia have been well studied because of their medical and economic importance. Much of the work on rodents has been focusing on the identification of endo and ecto parasites. Parasites in rats (Murids) particularly helminthes belonging to the Nematoda family have been described by many workers for more than a century. This
paper is an attempt to compile 50 papers on rodent nematodes that has been published in various scientific journals over the last
100 years in Malaysia. It is hoped that this literature overview on rodent nematodes will come useful as a reference material for the budding parasitologist and biology scientist.

Hantaviral antibodies were detected in the sera from Apodemus (A.) agrarius and A. peninsulae captured in Ningxia province, China by several different serological diagnostic methods. A total of 409 sera from rodent and insectivore species were collected in 1999 and examined by indirect immunofluorescent antibody assay (IFA). Among them, 19 of 191 (9.9%) sera of A. agrarius and 1 of 13 (7.7%) sera of A. peninsulae were positive for hantaviral antibodies. The other species (Rattus norvegicus, Mus musculus, Cricetulus triton, and Sorex cylindricauda) were negative. The reaction pattern of positive serum was characterized as scattered and granular virus antigens in the cytoplasm of hantavirus infected Vero E6 cells. Some of the A. agrarius sera positive for hantavirus were further examined by Western blotting (WB), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the focus reduction neutralization test FRNT By WB, positive sera showed the same specific reaction pattern of baculovirus-expressed recombinant hantaviral nucleocapsid protein, as shown in hantavirus-immune serum. By ELISA, IFA-positive sera showed significantly higher optical densities (around 1.0) than the negative A. agrarius sera. Hantaan type hantavirus was neutralized with the positive sera. These results suggest that A. agrarius have hantavirus infection and may play a role as a reservoir animal for hantavirus in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Province, China.