Renal carriage of Leptospira species in rodents from Mediterranean Chile: The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) as a relevant host in agricultural lands

Abstract

We evaluated the renal carriage of Leptospira species in rodent communities from Mediterranean Chile using a PCR technique. We found that animals inhabiting agricultural areas were almost three times more infected than in wild areas (14.4% vs. 4.4%). The Norwegian rat (Rattus norvegicus), an invasive murid ubiquitous in the country, was the most infected species (38.1%).