Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted ascending) Filter |
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| diet quality differentially affects breeding effort of mastomys coucha and m. natalensis: implications for rodent pests. | in this study we compare the reproductive ability of mastomys natalensis, an agricultural rodent pest and that of the closely related species m. coucha, which has not been ascribed as a pest. we suggest that the ability of m. natalensis to plague, as well as dominate, resource-limited habitats, may in part be related to its differential breeding response to variation in diet quality. thus, we examined the reproductive response of m. coucha and m. natalensis mothers to variation in dietary protei ... | 2004 | 14695692 |
| increased incidence of squamous cell carcinomas in mastomys natalensis papillomavirus e6 transgenic mice during two-stage skin carcinogenesis. | papillomaviruses cause certain forms of human cancers, most notably carcinomas of the uterine cervix. in contrast to the well-established involvement of papillomavirus infection in the etiology of cervical carcinomas and in carcinomas of a rare hereditary condition, epidermodysplasia verruciformis, a causative role for cutaneous human papillomavirus types in the development of nonmelanoma skin cancer has not been proven. in order to better understand the functions of individual genes of cutaneou ... | 2004 | 15078961 |
| imported lassa fever--new jersey, 2004. | lassa fever is an acute viral illness caused by lassa virus, which is hosted by rodents in the mastomys natalensis species complex and rarely imported to countries outside of those areas in africa where the disease is endemic. lassa fever is characterized by fever, muscle aches, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, and chest and abdominal pain. approximately 15%-20% of patients hospitalized for lassa fever die from the illness; however, approximately 80% of human infections with lassa virus are mild o ... | 2004 | 15457145 |
| renal physiology of two southern african mastomys species (rodentia: muridae): a salt-loading experiment to assess concentrating ability. | aspects of renal physiology were examined to test the hypothesis that two cryptic species of the genus mastomys (mastomys natalensis and mastomys coucha) are geographically separated by differences in aridity tolerance. laboratory-bred females of each species were subjected to different levels of salinity in their water source (distilled water, 0.9% nacl, and 1.5% nacl; 10 conspecifics in each group) from weaning until sexual maturity. individuals of the two species exhibited similar rates of wa ... | 2004 | 15596389 |
| global expression analysis of ecl cells in mastomys natalensis gastric mucosa identifies alterations in the ap-1 pathway induced by gastrin-mediated transformation. | enterochromaffin-like (ecl) cell hyperplasia and then irreversible neoplasia can be generated in the african rodent mastomys natalensis using the h2 receptor blocker, loxtidine, for 8-16 wk. we used a genechip approach complemented by standard technologies to identify gene expression alterations in the gastric mucosa during gastrin-mediated ecl cell transformation. gastric mucosa (mucosal scrapping) and ecl cell-enriched fractions were obtained from untreated mastomys (controls) and from animals ... | 2004 | 15602048 |
| lassa virus: seroepidemiological survey of rodents caught in ekpoma and environs. | of the 876 rodents caught in different parts of ekpoma, nigeria, and environs, 218 were mastomys natalensis, while 658 were other rodents. of the 218 m. natalensis caught, 102 (46.79%) were positive for complement fixing antibody to lassa virus. | 2005 | 15712534 |
| susceptibility of grammomys surdaster thicket rats to trypanosoma brucei gambiense infection. | human african trypanosomiasis is caused by trypanosoma brucei gambiense and t. b. rhodesiense. historically, a treatment relapse rate of about 5% is observed in patients treated with melarsoprol, an arsenical derivative used for treatment of both gambiense and rhodesiense second stage sleeping sickness. more recently, relapse rates up to 30% are noted in gambiense sleeping sickness foci in angola, sudan and uganda. therefore, who established a network on treatment failure and drug resistance in ... | 2005 | 16135191 |
| small mammals as hosts of immature ixodid ticks. | two hundred and twenty-five small mammals belonging to 16 species were examined for ticks in free state, mpumalanga and limpopo provinces, south africa, and 18 ixodid tick species, of which two could only be identified to genus level, were recovered. scrub hares, lepus saxatilis, and cape hares, lepus capensis, harboured the largest number of tick species. in free state province namaqua rock mice, aethomys namaquensis, and four-striped grass mice, rhabdomys pumilio, were good hosts of the immatu ... | 2005 | 16300195 |
| [the mammals of guinea as reservoirs and carriers of arboviruses]. | a great body of data on the fauna and ecology of wild mammals and their participation in the circulation of arboviruses were collected when the ecology of the latter of the republic of guinea was studied in 1978 to 1989. a hundred and eighteen species belonging to 10 orders were identified. over 2,000 biological specimens were virologically and serologically examined. six arboviruses were isolated. these included dugbe virus (from the hussar monkey cercopithecus (erythrocebus patas) and 5 viruse ... | 2006 | 16562748 |
| cryopreservation of trypanosoma brucei gambiense in a commercial cryomedium developed for bull semen. | there have been major advances in the formulation of cryomedia for spermatozoa owing to their economic importance. in this study, the suitability of the commercial cryomedium triladyl developed for bull semen was evaluated for the cryopreservation of trypanosoma brucei gambiense. cryopreservation efficacy was determined by direct counting of motile trypanosomes and by viability assessment using in vitro and in vivo methods. culture medium containing 10% glycerol was used as the control. trypanos ... | 2006 | 16806029 |
| effects of predation and dispersal on mastomys natalensis population dynamics in tanzanian maize fields. | 1. we investigate the effects of different levels of predation pressure and rodent dispersal on the population dynamics of the african pest rodent mastomys natalensis in maize fields in tanzania. 2. three levels of predation risk were used in an experimental set-up: natural level (control), excluding predators by nets and attracting avian predators by nest boxes and perch poles. because dispersal of the rodents could mask the predation pressure treatment effects, control and predator exclusion t ... | 2006 | 16903058 |
| a model of leptospirosis infection in an african rodent to determine risk to humans: seasonal fluctuations and the impact of rodent control. | human leptospirosis (leptospira spp. infection) is a worldwide public health problem that is of greatest concern for humid tropical and subtropical regions. the magnitude of the problem in these areas is larger because of the climatic and environmental conditions the bacterium face outside their hosts but also because of the frequency of contacts between people and sources of infection. rodents are thought to play the most important role in the transmission of human leptospirosis. we here model ... | 2006 | 16996018 |
| multimammate rat (mastomys natalensis), tristram's jird (meriones tristrami) and wagner's gerbil (gerbillus dasyurus) as laboratory models of acute neosporosis. | to test the different sensitivity of rodents of the subfamily murinae and gerbillinae, wagner's gerbils (gerbillus dasyurus), tristram's jirds (meriones tristrami) and multimammate rats (mastomys natalensis) were inoculated with neospora caninum tachyzoites. clinical signs of neosporosis appeared in all inoculated animals. histopathological examination confirmed the presence of tachyzoites in brains, lungs, skeletal muscle, myocardium, liver, in serosa of stomach and intestines, and in vesicular ... | 2007 | 17134728 |
| isolation and propagation of trypanosoma brucei gambiense from sleeping sickness patients in south sudan. | this study aimed at isolating trypanosoma brucei gambiense from human african trypanosomiasis (hat) patients from south sudan. fifty hat patients identified during active screening surveys were recruited, most of whom (49/50) were in second-stage disease. blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples collected from the patients were cryopreserved using triladyl as the cryomedium. the samples were stored at -150 degrees c in liquid nitrogen vapour in a dry shipper. eighteen patient stabilates could be pr ... | 2007 | 17275053 |
| mastomys natalensis and lassa fever, west africa. | pcr screening of 1,482 murid rodents from 13 genera caught in 18 different localities of guinea, west africa, showed lassa virus infection only in molecularly typed mastomys natalensis. distribution of this rodent and relative abundance compared with m. erythroleucus correlates geographically with lassa virus seroprevalence in humans. | 2006 | 17326956 |
| host habitat patchiness and the distance decay of similarity among gastro-intestinal nematode communities in two species of mastomys (southeastern senegal). | beta-diversity, or how species composition changes with geographical distance, has seldom been studied for different habitats. we present here quantitative estimates of the relationship between geographic distance and similarity of parasitic nematode communities in two closely related rodent host species that live in habitats with very different spatial configurations. in southeastern senegal mastomys natalensis lives exclusively inside human villages whereas m. erythroleucus is continuously dis ... | 2007 | 17351796 |
| lassa fever in west african sub-region: an overview. | lassa fever is an acute viral zoonotic illness caused by lassa virus, an arenavirus known to be responsible for a severe haemorrhagic fever characterised by fever, muscle aches, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and, chest and abdominal pain. the virus exhibits persistent, asymptomatic infection with profuse urinary virus excretion in the ubiquitous rodent vector, mastomys natalensis. lassa fever is endemic in west africa and has been reported from sierra leone, guinea, liberia, and nigeria. some st ... | 2007 | 17378212 |
| population genetic structure of two ecologically distinct multimammate rats: the commensal mastomys natalensis and the wild mastomys erythroleucus in southeastern senegal. | using the same set of microsatellite markers, we compared the population genetic structure of two mastomys species, one being exclusively commensal in southeastern senegal, and the other being continuously distributed outside villages in this region. both species were sampled in the same landscape context and at the same spatial scale. according to the expectations based on the degree of habitat patchiness (which is higher for commensal populations in this rural area), genetic diversity was lowe ... | 2007 | 17614912 |
| poor housing quality increases risk of rodent infestation and lassa fever in refugee camps of sierra leone. | lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic fever endemic in parts of west africa, is a severe febrile illness transmitted to humans by the rodent mastomys natalensis. to determine risk of lassa fever in households in sierra leonean refugee camps, we analyzed the spatial relationships between households with a lassa case and focal locations of potential rodent habitats. quality and hygiene factors of households were assessed to determine possible risk factors for household rodent infestation and occurrence ... | 2007 | 17620650 |
| fluctuation of abundance and lassa virus prevalence in mastomys natalensis in guinea, west africa. | based on empiric surveillance data, the incidence of human lassa fever (lf) cases in guinea and other west african countries has been reported to increase during the dry season compared to the rainy season. to investigate possible links with the ecology of the rodent reservoir of the virus, we conducted a 2-year longitudinal survey of mastomys natalensis in a region of high human lassa virus (lasv) seropositivity in guinea. standardized rodent trapping with similar trapping efforts between seaso ... | 2007 | 17627428 |
| persistence of mastomys natalensis papillomavirus in multiple organs identifies novel targets for infection. | the high incidence of multiple wart formation and skin cancer in organ-transplant recipients, as well as the question of an involvement of papillomaviruses in a variety of human cancers, require a model system for papillomavirus infections in immunocompetent animals. such an in vivo model is represented by the multimammate rat mastomys coucha, which is infected with mastomys natalensis papillomavirus (mnpv). mnpv primarily induces benign skin tumours, such as papillomas and keratoacanthomas. her ... | 2007 | 17872518 |
| first detection of mycobacteria in african rodents and insectivores, using stratified pool screening. | with the rising number of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (hiv)/aids in developing countries, the control of mycobacteria is of growing importance. previous studies have shown that rodents and insectivores are carriers of mycobacteria. however, it is not clear how widespread mycobacteria are in these animals and what their role is in spreading them. therefore, the prevalence of mycobacteria in rodents and insectivores was studied in and around morogoro, tanzania. live rodents were tra ... | 2008 | 18065608 |
| cryptosporidia: epicellular parasites embraced by the host cell membrane. | the ultrastructure of two gastric cryptosporidia, cryptosporidium muris from experimentally infected rodents (mastomys natalensis) and cryptosporidium sp. 'toad' from naturally infected toads (duttaphrynus melanostictus), was studied using electron microscopy. observations presented herein allowed us to map ultrastructural aspects of the cryptosporidian invasion process and the origin of a parasitophorous sac. invading parasites attach to the host cell, followed by gradual envelopment, with the ... | 2008 | 18158154 |
| description of a new species of heligmonina baylis, 1928 (nematoda: heligmonellidae) a parasite of mastomys natalensis (rodentia: muridae) from swaziland and new data on the synlophe of heligmonina chabaudi (desset, 1966). | a new species of heligmosomoid nematode belonging to the subfamily nippostrongylinae durette-desset, 1970 is described: heligmonina wakelini n. sp., a parasite from the small intestine of the commensal rodent mastomys natalensis (smith, 1834) from swaziland. it differs from the most closely related species h. boomkeri durette-desset & digiani, 2005 by the number of the cuticular ridges in the female synlophe (10 vs 12), the width of the left ala, larger than the body diameter in the male, and th ... | 2007 | 18225415 |
| reproductive characteristics of mastomys natalensis and lassa virus prevalence in guinea, west africa. | we recently reported increased prevalence of lassa virus (lasv) infection in mastomys natalensis during the rainy season in guinea, west africa. here, the association of lasv prevalence with fecundity, fertility, and the age structure of the rodent population was analyzed using data from the previous study. the animals reproduced throughout the year, but highest fecundity was observed during the rainy season. accordingly, the rodent population was aged at the beginning and young at the end of th ... | 2008 | 18237265 |
| dispersal in mastomys natalensis mice: use of fine-scale genetic analyses for pest management. | mastomys natalensis is the major pest rodent in sub-saharan africa. in this study, population genetic techniques were used to gain new insights into its dispersal behaviour, a critical parameter in pest management. using 11 microsatellites, 272 individuals from a 300 ha area in tanzania were genotyped. genetic diversity was high, with no isolation by distance and little differentiation between field plots far apart, indicating a large effective population size and high dispersal rates in agreeme ... | 2008 | 19200138 |
| risk maps of lassa fever in west africa. | lassa fever is caused by a viral haemorrhagic arenavirus that affects two to three million people in west africa, causing a mortality of between 5,000 and 10,000 each year. the natural reservoir of lassa virus is the multi-mammate rat mastomys natalensis, which lives in houses and surrounding fields. with the aim of gaining more information to control this disease, we here carry out a spatial analysis of lassa fever data from human cases and infected rodent hosts covering the period 1965-2007. i ... | 2009 | 19255625 |
| schistosoma kisumuensis n. sp. (digenea: schistosomatidae) from murid rodents in the lake victoria basin, kenya and its phylogenetic position within the s. haematobium species group. | schistosoma kisumuensis n. sp. is described based on 6 adult males and 2 adult females collected from the circulatory system of 3 murid rodent species, pelomys isseli, mastomys natalensis, and dasymys incomtus. specimens were collected from a single location, nyabera swamp, in kisumu, kenya in the lake victoria basin. this new species is morphologically similar to members of the s. haematobium group, currently represented by 8 species parasitizing artiodactyls and primates, including humans. sch ... | 2009 | 19573258 |
| complementary dna sequences encoding the multimammate rat mhc class ii dq alpha and beta chains and cross-species sequence comparison in rodents. | sequences of the complete open reading frame (orf) for rodents major histocompatibility complex (mhc) class ii genes are rare. multimammate rat (mastomys natalensis) complementary dna (cdna) encoding the alpha and beta chains of mhc class ii dq gene was cloned from a rapid amplifications of cdna emds (race) cdna library. the orfs consist of 801 and 771 bp encoding 266 and 256 amino acid residues for dqb and dqa, respectively. the genomic structure of mana-dq genes is globally analogous to that d ... | 2009 | 19691639 |
| a capture elisa for monitoring papillomavirus-induced antibodies in mastomys coucha. | the present report describes the development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa), whereby the first insights have been obtained into the humoral immune response to papillomavirus (pv) infections of the rodent mastomys coucha, a natural model for papillomavirus-induced skin carcinogenesis. the established glutathione s-transferase (gst)-capture elisa is based on a one-step purification of bacterially expressed antigens and was designed to detect serum antibodies against l1 capsid prot ... | 2010 | 19800367 |
| prevalence and risk factors of lassa seropositivity in inhabitants of the forest region of guinea: a cross-sectional study. | lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever endemic in west africa. the reservoir host of the virus is a multimammate rat, mastomys natalensis. prevalence estimates of lassa virus antibodies in humans vary greatly between studies, and the main modes of transmission of the virus from rodents to humans remain unclear. we aimed to (i) estimate the prevalence of lassa virus-specific igg antibodies (lv igg) in the human population of a rural area of guinea, and (ii) identify risk factors for positive lv ... | 2009 | 19924222 |
| polymorphism and signatures of selection in the multimammate rat dqb gene. | in order to test if dqb is a good candidate marker to investigate the relationship between major histocompatibility complex genes and pathogens in natural populations of mastomys natalensis, we assessed the polymorphism and evolutionary history of this gene. twenty-four individuals were genotyped for exon 2 of dqb using capillary electrophoresis single-strand conformation polymorphism, cloning, and sequencing. we found 21 different alleles. four individuals show three alleles implying a duplicat ... | 2010 | 19953242 |
| mopeia virus-related arenavirus in natal multimammate mice, morogoro, tanzania. | a serosurvey involving 2,520 small mammals from tanzania identified a hot spot of arenavirus circulation in morogoro. molecular screening detected a new arenavirus in natal multimammate mice (mastomys natalensis), morogoro virus, related to mopeia virus. only a small percentage of mice carry morogoro virus, although a large proportion shows specific antibodies. | 2009 | 19961688 |
| sympatric occurrence of 3 arenaviruses, tanzania. | to determine the specificity of morogoro virus for its reservoir host, we studied its host range and genetic diversity in tanzania. we found that 2 rodent species other than mastomys natalensis mice carry arenaviruses. analysis of 340 nt of the viral rna polymerase gene showed sympatric occurrence of 3 distinct arenaviruses. | 2010 | 20350390 |
| rodent host cell/lassa virus interactions: evolution and expression of α-dystroglycan, large-1 and large-2 genes, with special emphasis on the mastomys genus. | arenaviruses are usually rodent-borne viruses that constitute a major threat for human health. among them, lassa fever virus (lfv) occurs in western africa where it infects hundreds of thousands of people annually. according to the most recent surveys, lfv is hosted by one of the multimammate rats, mastomys natalensis, but has never been detected in its sibling and sometimes sympatric species mastomys erythroleucus. this pattern suggests that intrinsic, i.e. genetic properties underlie such a dr ... | 2010 | 20674789 |
| serological markers for papillomavirus infection and skin tumour development in the rodent model mastomys coucha. | this study used the rodent mastomys coucha latently infected with mastomys natalensis papillomavirus (mnpv) and mastomys coucha pv2 (mcpv2), which induce skin papillomas and anogenital condylomas, respectively, to investigate pv antibody responses as serological markers during pathogenesis. in a case-control study (137 animals), virus and tumour prevalence correlated with the seroresponse against the early e2 and late l1 viral proteins. a prospective study (53 animals) revealed for the first tim ... | 2011 | 20965987 |
| presence of mopeia virus, an african arenavirus, related to biotope and individual rodent host characteristics: implications for virus transmission. | abstract the east african mopeia virus (mopv) is an arenavirus closely related to the highly pathogenic west african lassa virus, even sharing the same reservoir rodent host mastomys natalensis. because mopv is not known to cause human disease, it offers a unique alternative for studying lassa virus transmission. we investigated how habitat, population density, and host characteristics are related to mopv occurrence in m. natalensis populations in morogoro, tanzania. in 3 contrasting habitats, 5 ... | 2010 | 21142956 |
| seasonal abundance of plague vector xenopsylla brasiliensis from rodents captured in three habitat types of periurban suburbs of harare, zimbabwe. | abstract the study was aimed at determining the seasonal abundance of xenopsylla brasiliensis, an important vector of plague in zimbabwe, from rodent hosts captured in selected habitat types of two periurban suburbs of harare, zimbabwe. the removal-trapping method was used to capture the rodents, from which fleas were collected and identified. percentage incidence index (pii) and specific flea index (sfi) were calculated for x. brasiliensis in relation to rodent species host. mastomys natalensis ... | 2010 | 21142965 |
| parasites of the nile rat in rural and urban regions of sudan. | in this investigation on endoparasites (helminths) and ectoparasites of the nile rat (arvicanthis niloticus desmarest, 1822), a total of 220 nile rats were trapped from different regions of sudan during the period january 2003-january 2006. examination of different tissues, identification of parasites, effect of these parasites on the organs, the prevalence and intensity of infestation of the parasites and their relation to the habitat of the host, and sex-related infestations were considered. r ... | 2009 | 21392288 |
| seasonal and habitat dependence of fleas parasitic on small mammals in tanzania. | we investigated host and flea species composition across different habitats during dry and rainy seasons in the western usambara mountains in tanzania. during both seasons, similarity in flea species composition increased with an increase in the similarity in host species composition. nevertheless, between-season within-habitat as well as within-season between-habitat similarity in host species composition was higher than similarity in flea species composition. ordination of habitats according t ... | 2009 | 21392290 |
| survival and maturation rates of the african rodent, mastomys natalensis: density-dependence and rainfall. | survival and maturation rates of female mastomys natalensis were analysed based on a ten-year monthly capture-recapture data set. we investigated whether direct and delayed density dependent and independent (rainfall) variables accounted for the considerable variation in demographic traits. it was estimated that seasonal and annual covariates accounted for respectively 29 and 26% of the total variation in maturation rates and respectively 17 and 11% of the variation in survival rates. explaining ... | 2007 | 21396039 |
| reproduction and population dynamics of mastomys natalensis smith, 1834 in an agricultural landscape in the western usambara mountains, tanzania. | the multimammate rat, mastomys natalensis smith 1834, is a dominant species in agro-ecosystems in sub-saharan africa, but adapts quickly to changes in non-agricultural landscape, particularly woodlands and forests. in this study we report on reproduction and population dynamics of m. natalensis in deforested high elevation localities in the usambara mountains, north-east tanzania. we conducted capture-mark-recapture studies in 2002-2004, and established that reproduction of m. natalensis takes p ... | 2007 | 21396040 |
| soil type limits population abundance of rodents in crop fields: case study of the multimammate rat mastomys natalensis smith, 1834 in tanzania. | studies of populations of the multimammate rat mastomys natalensis in morogoro, tanzania, show that soil texture appears to influence the population abundance and distribution of these rats in agricultural fields. the lowest rodent population abundance was found on sandy clay soils (f((2, 5)) = 8.42; p= 0.025). the population abundances of m. natalensis on sandy clay loam and sandy loam soils did not differ significantly (p≤ 0.05), possibly because these soils have a very similar texture. the re ... | 2008 | 21396048 |
| understanding and managing sanitary risks due to rodent zoonoses in an african city: beyond the boston model. | 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 (residential and commercial) and informal (shacks) sectors, and we evaluated the relative merits of differen ... | 2008 | 21396050 |
| isolation of trypanosoma brucei gambiense from cured and relapsed sleeping sickness patients and adaptation to laboratory mice. | sleeping sickness due to trypanosoma brucei (t.b.) gambiense is still a major public health problem in some central african countries. historically, relapse rates around 5% have been observed for treatment with melarsoprol, widely used to treat second stage patients. later, relapse rates of up to 50% have been recorded in some isolated foci in angola, sudan, uganda and democratic republic of the congo (drc). previous investigations are not conclusive on whether decreased sensitivity to melarsopr ... | 2011 | 21526217 |
| novel arenavirus sequences in hylomyscus sp. and mus (nannomys) setulosus from c+¦te d'ivoire: implications for evolution of arenaviruses in africa. | this study aimed to identify new arenaviruses and gather insights in the evolution of arenaviruses in africa. during 2003 through 2005, 1,228 small mammals representing 14 different genera were trapped in 9 villages in south, east, and middle west of c+¦te d'ivoire. specimens were screened by pan-old world arenavirus rt-pcrs targeting s and l rna segments as well as immunofluorescence assay. sequences of two novel tentative species of the family arenaviridae, menekre and gbagroube virus, were de ... | 2011 | 21695269 |
| comparative population genetics of a parasitic nematode and its host community: the trichostrongylid neoheligmonella granjoni and mastomys rodents in southeastern senegal. | contrasting host and parasite population genetic structures can provide information about the population ecology of each species and the potential for local adaptation. here, we examined the population genetic structure of the nematode neoheligmonella granjoni at a regional scale in southeastern senegal, using 11 microsatellite markers. using the results previously obtained for the two main rodent species of the host community, mastomys natalensis and mastomys erythroleucus, we tested the hypoth ... | 2011 | 21924271 |
| novel arenavirus, zambia. | to investigate arenavirus in zambia, we characterized virus from the kidneys of 5 arenavirus rna-positive rodents (mastomys natalensis) among 263 captured. full-genome sequences of the viruses suggested that they were new strains similar to lassa virus-related arenaviruses. analyzing samples from additional rodents and other species can elucidate epizootiologic aspects of arenaviruses. | 2011 | 22000372 |
| the impact of human conflict on the genetics of mastomys natalensis and lassa virus in west africa. | environmental changes have been shown to play an important role in the emergence of new human diseases of zoonotic origin. the contribution of social factors to their spread, especially conflicts followed by mass movement of populations, has not been extensively investigated. here we reveal the effects of civil war on the phylogeography of a zoonotic emerging infectious disease by concomitantly studying the population structure, evolution and demography of lassa virus and its natural reservoir, ... | 2012 | 22615894 |
| population dynamics and breeding patterns of multimammate mouse, mastomys natalensis (smith 1834), in irrigated rice fields in eastern tanzania. | multimammate mice are the most important vertebrate pests in sub-saharan africa and are also reservoirs of many zoonotic diseases, including sylvan plague. this study investigated the population dynamics and breeding patterns of this mouse in irrigated rice cropping systems in eastern tanzania. | 2013 | 22718470 |
| molecular surveillance and phylogenetic analysis of old world arenaviruses in zambia. | in order to survey arenaviruses in the republic of zambia, we captured 335 rodents from three cities between 2010 and 2011. eighteen luna virus (lunv) and one lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (lcmv)-related virus rnas were detected by one-step rt-pcr from mastomys natalensis and mus minutoides, respectively. four lunv strains and one lcmv-related virus were isolated, and the whole genome nucleotide sequence was determined by pyrosequencing. phylogenetic analyses revealed that the lunv clade co ... | 2012 | 22815269 |
| density thresholds for mopeia virus invasion and persistence in its host mastomys natalensis. | well-established theoretical models predict host density thresholds for invasion and persistence of parasites with a density-dependent transmission. studying such thresholds in reality, however, is not obvious because it requires long-term data for several fluctuating populations of different size. we developed a spatially explicit and individual-based seir model of mopeia virus in multimammate mice mastomys natalensis. this is an interesting model system for studying abundance thresholds becaus ... | 2013 | 23041432 |
| advanced vaccine candidates for lassa fever. | lassa virus (lasv) is the most prominent human pathogen of the arenaviridae. the virus is transmitted to humans by a rodent reservoir, mastomys natalensis, and is capable of causing lethal lassa fever (lf). lasv has the highest human impact of any of the viral hemorrhagic fevers (with the exception of dengue fever) with an estimated several hundred thousand infections annually, resulting in thousands of deaths in western africa. the sizeable disease burden, numerous imported cases of lf in non-e ... | 2012 | 23202493 |
| seasonal abundance and epidemiological indices of potential plague vectors dinopsyllus lypusus (siphonaptera: hystrichopsyllidae) and ctenophthalmus calceatus (siphonaptera: ctenophthalmidae) on rodents captured from three habitat types of hatcliffe and dzivarasekwa suburbs of harare, zimbabwe. | the seasonal abundance of dinopsyllus lypusus jordan and rothschild and ctenophthalmus calceatus waterson (potential vectors of plague in southern africa) were studied on rodent hosts captured in selected habitat types of two periurban suburbs of harare, zimbabwe. removal trapping was used to capture the rodents, from which fleas were collected and identified. prevalence (proportion of animals infested) and specific flea index (sfi = number of fleas per animal) were calculated for each species o ... | 2012 | 23270175 |
| housing equity for health equity: a rights-based approach to the control of lassa fever in post-war sierra leone. | poor quality housing is an infringement on the rights of all humans to a standard of living adequate for health. among the many vulnerabilities of those without adequate shelter is the risk of disease spread by rodents and other pests. one such disease is lassa fever, an acute and sometimes severe viral hemorrhagic illness endemic in west africa. lassa virus is maintained in the rodent mastomys natalensis, commonly known as the "multimammate rat," which frequently invades the domestic environmen ... | 2013 | 23282054 |
| the effects of unilateral truncal vagotomy on gastric carcinogenesis in hypergastrinemic japanese female cotton rats. | the stomach is innervated by the vagal nerve. several studies have demonstrated that the vagal nerve has a trophic effect on the rat oxyntic mucosa and that the trophic effect of hypergastrinemia is dependent on intact vagal innervation. the effect of vagal denervation on gastric carcinogenesis has been examined in mastomys natalensis and hypergastrinemic transgenic ins-gas mice, with no effect of unilateral vagotomy in mastomys but an anti-carcinogenic effect in ins-gas mice. a proportion of fe ... | 2013 | 23499800 |
| trichuris spp. (nematoda: trichuridae) from two rodents, mastomys natalensis and gerbilliscus vicinus in tanzania. | during a survey of the helminth community of several rodent species in the morogoro region (tanzania), trichuris whipworms (nematoda: trichuridae) were found in the ceca of the natal multimammate mouse, mastomys natalensis and a gerbil, gerbilliscus vicinus (both rodentia: muridae). the taxonomic literature regarding trichuris from african native rodents describes 10 species, but includes few metric and morphologic characters that discriminate between some of the pairs. the whipworms we sampled ... | 2013 | 23560615 |
| sex-biased parasitism is not universal: evidence from rodent-flea associations from three biomes. | the distribution of parasites among individual hosts is characterised by high variability that is believed to be a result of variations in host traits. to find general patterns of host traits affecting parasite abundance, we studied flea infestation of nine rodent species from three different biomes (temperate zone of central europe, desert of middle east and tropics of east africa). we tested for independent and interactive effects of host sex and body mass on the number of fleas harboured by a ... | 2013 | 23636459 |
| toxoplasmosis seroprevalence in urban rodents: a survey in niamey, niger. | a serological survey of toxoplasma gondii was conducted on 766 domestic and peridomestic rodents from 46 trapping sites throughout the city of niamey, niger. a low seroprevalence was found over the whole town with only 1.96% of the rodents found seropositive. however, differences between species were important, ranging from less than 2% in truly commensal mastomys natalensis, rattus rattus and mus musculus, while garden-associated arvicanthis niloticus displayed 9.1% of seropositive individuals. ... | 2013 | 23828008 |
| pterygodermatites (mesopectines) niameyensis n. sp. (nematoda: rictulariidae), a parasite of mastomys natalensis (smith, 1834) (rodentia: muridae) from niger. | pterygodermatites (mesopectines) niameyensis n. sp. is described from mastomys natalensis in niamey/niger (west africa). it differs from other species of same subgenus by the morphology of the head, which presents 4 simple cephalic papillae and nearly axial oral opening, a number of caudal papillae, precloacal cuticular formations, and the spicule length/body length ratio. scanning electron microscopy shows the presence of 2 pairs of lateral sensory structures for male worms. | 2013 | 23902298 |
| two novel arenaviruses detected in pygmy mice, ghana. | two arenaviruses were detected in pygmy mice (mus spp.) by screening 764 small mammals in ghana. the natal multimammate mouse (mastomys natalensis), the known lassa virus reservoir, was the dominant indoor rodent species in 4 of 10 sites, and accounted for 27% of all captured rodents. no rodent captured indoors tested positive for an arenavirus. | 2013 | 24188212 |
| geographic distribution and genetic characterization of lassa virus in sub-saharan mali. | lassa fever is an acute viral illness characterized by multi-organ failure and hemorrhagic manifestations. lassa fever is most frequently diagnosed in nigeria, sierra leone, liberia, and guinea, although sporadic cases have been recorded in other west african countries, including mali. the etiological agent of lassa fever is lassa virus (lasv), an arenavirus which is maintained in nature and frequently transmitted to humans by mastomys natalensis. the purpose of this study was to better define t ... | 2013 | 24340119 |
| protective vaccination against papillomavirus-induced skin tumors under immunocompetent and immunosuppressive conditions: a preclinical study using a natural outbred animal model. | certain cutaneous human papillomaviruses (hpvs), which are ubiquitous and acquired early during childhood, can cause a variety of skin tumors and are likely involved in the development of non-melanoma skin cancer, especially in immunosuppressed patients. hence, the burden of these clinical manifestations demands for a prophylactic approach. to evaluate whether protective efficacy of a vaccine is potentially translatable to patients, we used the rodent mastomys coucha that is naturally infected w ... | 2014 | 24586150 |
| variable effects of host characteristics on species richness of flea infracommunities in rodents from three continents. | we studied the effect of host gender and body mass on species richness of flea infracommunities in nine rodent host species from three biomes (temperate zone of central europe, desert of the middle east and the tropics of east africa). using season- and species-specific generalized linear mixed models and controlling for year-to-year variation, spatial clustering of rodent sampling and over-dispersion of the data, we found inconsistent associations between host characteristics and flea species r ... | 2014 | 24820040 |
| evidence of cryptic speciation in mesostigmatid mites from south africa. | laelaps giganteus and laelaps muricola (mesostigmata; laelapidae) are widespread and locally abundant host generalists on small mammals in southern africa. the large host range and complex life history of these ectoparasites may allude to possible intraspecific cryptic diversity in these taxa. to assess genetic and morphological diversity in l. giganteus and l. muricola, we sampled 228 rodents at eight localities in south africa. this sample included nine previously recorded host species and on ... | 2014 | 24923552 |
| lassa serology in natural populations of rodents and horizontal transmission. | lassa virus causes hemorrhagic fever in west africa. previously, we demonstrated by pcr screening that only the multimammate mouse, mastomys natalensis, hosts lassa virus in guinea. in the present study, we used the same specimen collection from 17 villages in coastal, upper, and forest guinea to investigate the lassa virus serology in the rodent population. the aim was to determine the dynamics of antibody development in m. natalensis and to detect potential spillover infections in other rodent ... | 2014 | 25229705 |
| spatial segregation between invasive and native commensal rodents in an urban environment: a case study in niamey, niger. | invasive rodents have been responsible for the diffusion worldwide of many zoonotic agents, thus representing major threats for public health. cities are important hubs for people and goods exchange and are thus expected to play a pivotal role in invasive commensal rodent dissemination. yet, data about urban rodents' ecology, especially invasive vs. native species interactions, are dramatically scarce. here, we provide results of an extensive survey of urban rodents conducted in niamey, niger, d ... | 2014 | 25379785 |
| gairo virus, a novel arenavirus of the widespread mastomys natalensis: genetically divergent, but ecologically similar to lassa and morogoro viruses. | despite its near pan-african range, the natal multimammate mouse, mastomys natalensis, carries the human pathogen lassa virus only in west africa, while the seemingly non-pathogenic arenaviruses mopeia, morogoro, and luna have been detected in this semi-commensal rodent in mozambique/zimbabwe, tanzania and zambia, respectively. here, we describe a novel arenavirus in m. natalensis from gairo district of central tanzania, for which we propose the name "gairo virus". surprisingly, the virus is not ... | 2015 | 25559385 |
| effects of land use on plague (yersinia pestis) activity in rodents in tanzania. | understanding the effects of land-use change on zoonotic disease risk is a pressing global health concern. here, we compare prevalence of yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of plague, in rodents across two land-use types-agricultural and conserved-in northern tanzania. estimated abundance of seropositive rodents nearly doubled in agricultural sites compared with conserved sites. this relationship between land-use type and abundance of seropositive rodents is likely mediated by changes in roden ... | 2015 | 25711606 |
| prevalence and diversity of small mammal-associated bartonella species in rural and urban kenya. | several rodent-associated bartonella species are human pathogens but little is known about their epidemiology. we trapped rodents and shrews around human habitations at two sites in kenya (rural asembo and urban kibera) to determine the prevalence of bartonella infection. bartonella were detected by culture in five of seven host species. in kibera, 60% of rattus rattus were positive, as compared to 13% in asembo. bartonella were also detected in c. olivieri (7%), lemniscomys striatus (50%), mast ... | 2015 | 25781015 |
| sequence variability and geographic distribution of lassa virus, sierra leone. | lassa virus (lasv) is endemic to parts of west africa and causes highly fatal hemorrhagic fever. the multimammate rat (mastomys natalensis) is the only known reservoir of lasv. most human infections result from zoonotic transmission. the very diverse lasv genome has 4 major lineages associated with different geographic locations. we used reverse transcription pcr and resequencing microarrays to detect lasv in 41 of 214 samples from rodents captured at 8 locations in sierra leone. phylogenetic an ... | 2015 | 25811712 |
| diversity and habitat association of small mammals in aridtsy forest, awi zone, ethiopia. | here, we conducted a survey to examine the diversity, distribution and habitat association of small mammals from august 2011 to february 2012 incorporating both wet and dry seasons in aridtsy forest, awi zone, ethiopia. using sherman live traps and snap traps in four randomly selected trapping grids, namely, natural forest, bushland, grassland and farmland, a total of 468 individuals comprising eight species of small mammals (live traps) and 89 rodents of six species (snap traps) were trapped in ... | 2015 | 25855227 |
| shedding dynamics of morogoro virus, an african arenavirus closely related to lassa virus, in its natural reservoir host mastomys natalensis. | arenaviruses can cause mild to severe hemorrhagic fevers. humans mainly get infected through contact with infected rodents or their excretions, yet little is known about transmission dynamics within rodent populations. morogoro virus (morv) is an old world arenavirus closely related to lassa virus with which it shares the same host species mastomys natalensis. we injected morv in its host, and sampled blood and excretions at frequent intervals. infection in adults was acute; viral rna disappeare ... | 2015 | 26022445 |
| mapping the zoonotic niche of lassa fever in africa. | lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic illness responsible for disease outbreaks across west africa. it is a zoonosis, with the primary reservoir species identified as the natal multimammate mouse, mastomys natalensis. the host is distributed across sub-saharan africa while the virus' range appears to be restricted to west africa. the majority of infections result from interactions between the animal reservoir and human populations, although secondary transmission between humans can occur, particul ... | 2015 | 26085474 |
| comparative pathogenicity of trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense strains in swiss white mice and mastomys natalensis rats. | we evaluated mastomys natelensis rat as an animal model for rhodesian sleeping sickness. parasitaemia, clinical and pathological characteristics induced by t. b. rhodesiense isolates, ketri 3439, 3622 and 3637 were compared in mastomys rats and swiss white mice. each isolate was intra-peritonially injected in mice and rat groups (n=12) at 1×10(4) trypanosomes/0.2ml. pre-patent period (pp) range for ketri 3439 and ketri 3622-groups was 3-6 days for mice and 4-5 days for rats while for ketri 3637- ... | 2015 | 26099681 |
| polymorphism in vkorc1 gene of natal multimammate mice, mastomys natalensis, in tanzania. | resistance of rodents to anticoagulant rodenticides has emerged in several areas across the world. single nucleotide mutations in the vkorc1 gene have been shown to elicit various levels of anticoagulant resistance, and these mutations are prevalent in several rattus and mus musculus populations. in sub-saharan africa, the natal multimammate mouse, mastomys natalensis, is one of the most damaging pests to crops, and anticoagulant poisons such as bromadiolone are frequently used to control these ... | 2016 | 26223233 |
| host evolution in mastomys natalensis (rodentia: muridae): an integrative approach using geometric morphometrics and genetics. | the commensal rodent mastomys natalensis is the natural reservoir of lassa arenavirus (lasv), which causes hemorrhagic fever in west africa. to study a possible effect of the virus on phenotypic and genotypic variation of its persistently infected host, we compared lasv-positive and non-infected wild-caught m. natalensis. the lasv effects on the phenotypic variation were explored using standard external morphometric measurements, geometric morphometric analyses of the cranial size and shape, and ... | 2015 | 26331855 |
| lassa virus isolates from mali and the ivory coast represent an emerging fifth lineage. | previous imported cases of lassa fever (lf) into the united kingdom from the ivory coast and mali, as well as the detection of lassa virus (lasv) among the mastomys natalensis population within mali has led to the suggestion that the endemic area for lf is expanding. initial phylogenetic analyses arrange isolates from mali and the ivory coast separately from the classical lineage iv isolates taken from sierra leone, guinea, and liberia. the availability of full genome sequences continues to incr ... | 2015 | 26483768 |
| plague in tanzania: an overview. | human plague remains a public health concern in tanzania despite its quiescence in most foci for years, considering the recurrence nature of the disease. despite the long-standing history of this problem, there have not been recent reviews of the current knowledge on plague in tanzania. this work aimed at providing a current overview of plague in tanzania in terms of its introduction, potential reservoirs, possible causes of plague persistence and repeated outbreaks in the country. plague is bel ... | 2013 | 26591701 |
| evidence of yersinia pestis dna in rodents in plague outbreak foci in mbulu and karatu districts, northern tanzania. | human plague remains a public health concern in tanzania despite its quiescence in most foci for years, considering the recurrence nature of the disease. appreciable researches have involved serological screening of rodents, fleas and humans but none has involved molecular detection and hence proving the presence of yersinia pestis in rodents in the most recent affected foci, mbulu and karatu districts in northern tanzania. the objective of the current study was to employ a simple pcr to detect ... | 2013 | 26591703 |
| factors associated with flea infestation among the different rodent species in mbulu and karatu districts, northern tanzania. | flea infection with the bacterium, yersinia pestis is acquired from reservoirs which include several rodents and other small mammals. in areas that are endemic of plague, reservoirs of y. pestis and various flea vectors are responsible for perpetuating existence of the disease. the objective of this cross sectional study was to investigate the magnitude and factors associated with flea infestation among different rodent species of northern tanzania, where outbreaks of plague have been recently r ... | 2013 | 26591705 |
| small mammal distribution and diversity in a plague endemic area in west usambara mountains, tanzania. | small mammals play a role in plague transmission as hosts in all plague endemic areas. information on distribution and diversity of small mammals is therefore important for plague surveillance and control in such areas. the objective of this study was to investigate small mammals' diversity and their distribution in plague endemic area in the west usambara mountains in north-eastern tanzania. landsat images and field surveys were used to select trapping locations in different landscapes. three l ... | 2014 | 26867277 |
| vegetation habitats and small mammals in a plague endemic area in western usambara mountains, tanzania. | human plague still exists in different parts of the world, including some landscapes in north-eastern tanzania. wherever the hotspot of plague, small mammals seem to play a key role as host. the objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between vegetation habitats types and small mammals in a plague endemic area of lushoto district in tanzania. a combination of field survey and landsat images was used to identify the vegetation habitats. small mammals were trapped in the mapped ... | 2014 | 26867279 |
| anthropogenic soils and land use patterns in relation to small mammal and flea abundance in plague endemic area of western usambara mountains, tanzania. | heterogeneity in the landscapes of west usambara mountains on land use and human activities has been reported. however, the interface of land use patterns and human modified soils with small mammal and flea abundance for possible explanation of plague has not been explored. this study was carried out to determine the link between anthropogenic soils and land use patterns on small mammal and flea abundance and the occurrence of reported plague in the western usambara mountains in tanzania. standa ... | 2014 | 26867282 |
| rat-atouille: a mixed method study to characterize rodent hunting and consumption in the context of lassa fever. | lassa fever is a zoonotic hemorrhagic illness predominant in areas across nigeria, sierra leone, guinea, liberia, and southern mali. the reservoir of lassa virus is the multimammate mouse (mastomys natalensis), a highly commensal species in west africa. primary transmission to humans occurs through direct or indirect contact with rodent body fluids such as urine, feces, saliva, or blood. our research draws together qualitative and quantitative methods to provide a fuller and more nuanced perspec ... | 2016 | 26895631 |
| lassa virus seroprevalence in sibirilia commune, bougouni district, southern mali. | lassa virus (lasv) is endemic to several nations in west africa. in mali, lasv was unknown until an exported case of lassa fever was reported in 2009. since that time, rodent surveys have found evidence of lasv-infected mastomys natalensis rats in several communities in southern mali, near the border with côte d'ivoire. despite increased awareness, to date only a single case of lassa fever has been confirmed in mali. we conducted a survey to determine the prevalence of lasv exposure among person ... | 2016 | 26981786 |
| arenavirus diversity and phylogeography of mastomys natalensis rodents, nigeria. | mastomys natalensis rodents are natural hosts for lassa virus (lasv). detection of lasv in 2 mitochondrial phylogroups of the rodent near the niger and benue rivers in nigeria underlines the potential for lasv emergence in fresh phylogroups of this rodent. a mobala-like sequence was also detected in eastern nigeria. | 2016 | 26982388 |
| transcriptome analysis of mastomys natalensis papillomavirus in productive lesions after natural infection. | mastomys coucha, an african rodent, is a useful animal model of papillomavirus infection, as it develops both premalignant and malignant skin tumors as a consequence of a persistent infection with mastomys natalensis papillomavirus (mnpv). in this study, we mapped the mnpv transcriptome in productive lesions by both classical molecular techniques and high-throughput rna sequencing. combination of these methods revealed a complex and comprehensive transcription map, with novel splicing events not ... | 2016 | 27043420 |
| new hosts of the lassa virus. | lassa virus (lasv) causes a deadly haemorrhagic fever in humans, killing several thousand people in west africa annually. for 40 years, the natal multimammate rat, mastomys natalensis, has been assumed to be the sole host of lasv. we found evidence that lasv is also hosted by other rodent species: the african wood mouse hylomyscus pamfi in nigeria, and the guinea multimammate mouse mastomys erythroleucus in both nigeria and guinea. virus strains from these animals were isolated in the bsl-4 labo ... | 2016 | 27140942 |
| genetic distinction between contiguous urban and rural multimammate mice in tanzania despite gene flow. | special conditions are required for genetic differentiation to arise at a local geographical scale in the face of gene flow. the natal multimammate mouse, mastomys natalensis, is the most widely distributed and abundant rodent in sub-saharan africa. a notorious agricultural pest and a natural host for many zoonotic diseases, it can live in close proximity to humans and appears to compete with other rodents for the synanthropic niche. we surveyed its population genetic structure across a 180-km t ... | 2016 | 27306876 |
| outbreak of lassa fever in nigeria: measures for prevention and control. | 2016 | 27347299 | |
| landscape determinants of fine-scale genetic structure of a small rodent in a heterogeneous landscape (hluhluwe-imfolozi park, south africa). | small mammals provide ecosystem services, acting, for example, as pollinators and seed dispersers. in addition, they are also disease reservoirs that can be detrimental to human health and they can also act as crop pests. knowledge of their dispersal preferences is therefore useful for population management and landscape planning. genetic data were used alongside landscape data to examine the influence of the landscape on the demographic connectedness of the natal multimammate mouse (mastomys na ... | 2016 | 27406468 |
| fleas and trypanosomes of peridomestic small mammals in sub-saharan mali. | fleas are obligate blood-feeding ectoparasites and vectors of several bacterial zoonotic pathogens as well as trypanosomes that parasitize rodents and other small mammals. during investigations of tick- and rodent-borne diseases in mali, west africa, we included fleas and rodent-borne trypanosomes, both of which are poorly known in this country, but are attracting greater public health interest. | 2016 | 27724960 |
| 16s rrna amplicon sequencing for epidemiological surveys of bacteria in wildlife. | the human impact on natural habitats is increasing the complexity of human-wildlife interactions and leading to the emergence of infectious diseases worldwide. highly successful synanthropic wildlife species, such as rodents, will undoubtedly play an increasingly important role in transmitting zoonotic diseases. we investigated the potential for recent developments in 16s rrna amplicon sequencing to facilitate the multiplexing of the large numbers of samples needed to improve our understanding o ... | 2016 | 27822541 |
| when viruses don't go viral: the importance of host phylogeographic structure in the spatial spread of arenaviruses. | many emerging infections are rna virus spillovers from animal reservoirs. reservoir identification is necessary for predicting the geographic extent of infection risk, but rarely are taxonomic levels below the animal species considered as reservoir, and only key circumstances in nature and methodology allow intrinsic virus-host associations to be distinguished from simple geographic (co-)isolation. we sampled and genetically characterized in detail a contact zone of two subtaxa of the rodent mas ... | 2017 | 28076397 |
| at home with mastomys and rattus: human-rodent interactions and potential for primary transmission of lassa virus in domestic spaces. | the multimammate mouse (mastomys natalensis) is the reservoir for lassa virus (lasv). zoonotic transmission occurs when humans are directly or indirectly exposed to fluids of the multimammate mouse, such as urine, saliva, and blood. housing characteristics and domestic organization affect rodent density in and around households and villages, and are likely to be a risk factor for lassa fever in humans where the reservoir exists. we use semi-structured interviews (n = 51), a quantitative survey ( ... | 2017 | 28167603 |
| no measurable adverse effects of lassa, morogoro and gairo arenaviruses on their rodent reservoir host in natural conditions. | in order to optimize net transmission success, parasites are hypothesized to evolve towards causing minimal damage to their reservoir host while obtaining high shedding rates. for many parasite species however this paradigm has not been tested, and conflicting results have been found regarding the effect of arenaviruses on their rodent host species. the rodent mastomys natalensis is the natural reservoir host of several arenaviruses, including lassa virus that is known to cause lassa haemorrhagi ... | 2017 | 28449693 |
| arenavirus dynamics in experimentally and naturally infected rodents. | infectious diseases of wildlife are typically studied using data on antibody and pathogen levels. in order to interpret these data, it is necessary to know the course of antibodies and pathogen levels after infection. such data are typically collected using experimental infection studies in which host individuals are inoculated in the laboratory and sampled over an extended period, but because laboratory conditions are controlled and much less variable than natural conditions, the immune respons ... | 2017 | 28616660 |
| prevalence of lassa virus among rodents trapped in three south-south states of nigeria. | lassa fever has been endemic in nigeria since 1969. the rodent mastomys natalensis has been widely claimed to be the reservoir host of the lassa virus. this study was designed to investigate the dis- tribution of species of rodents in three states (edo, delta and bayelsa) of nigeria and to determine the prevalence of lassa virus amongst trapped rodents in the selected states. | 2017 | 28748835 |
| serological survey of zoonotic viruses in invasive and native commensal rodents in senegal, west africa. | increasing studies on rodent-borne diseases still highlight the major role of rodents as reservoirs of numerous zoonoses of which the frequency is likely to increase worldwide as a result of accelerated anthropogenic changes, including biological invasions. such a situation makes pathogen detection in rodent populations important, especially in the context of developing countries characterized by high infectious disease burden. here, we used indirect fluorescent antibody tests to describe the ci ... | 2017 | 28873024 |