Wild bank voles (clethrionomys glariolus) are possibly a natural reservoir of campylobacters (microaerophilic vibrios).

Abstract

STRAINS of Campylobacter, a genus of microaerophilic bacteria, have been isolated by various workers from the gut and faeces of several animal species including man1, but as far as we know, there have been no reports of their isolation from rodents. The continuing importance of diseases of farm animals involving campylobacters, for example infectious infertility and sporadic abortion in cattle2, abortion in sheep2 and dysentery in pigs3, and the paucity of information on the source of outbreaks of some of these diseases prompted us to investigate whether campylobacters were present in the faeces of bank voles (Clethrionomys glariolus), short tailed field voles (Microtus agrestis) and long tailed field mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) from their natural habitat. These species are common throughout mainland Great Britain4 and were being trapped as part of an investigation into the distribution of pathogenic bacteria and viruses in small wild rodents. Bank voles and field mice are commonly found in woodland and scrub, and short tailed field voles are found in grassland, therefore all three species might provide a source of infection for domestic animals. We report here that bank voles carry campylobacters.