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@ARTICLE{Heuser:304269,
author = {E. Heuser and A. Ebinger and S. Holtfreter and S. A. Wolf
and A. E. Zautner and R. Ryll and S. Drewes and B. Matzkeit
and B. Hoffmann and D. Höper and M. Keller and A. Groseth
and G. Wilharm and D. M. Mrochen and A. Obiegala and F. Doss
and C. Mehl and T. Eisenberg and S. Niendorf and S.
Böttcher and A. Karger and C. Schröder and E. Ehrke-Schulz
and K. Schmidt$^*$ and M. Beer and M. H. Groschup and T.
Semmler and G. Heckel and M. Pfeffer and C. Wylezich and R.
G. Ulrich},
title = {{A}pplication of a comprehensive approach to pathogen
screening in a stowaway rat on an airplane.},
journal = {Scientific reports},
volume = {15},
number = {1},
issn = {2045-2322},
address = {[London]},
publisher = {Springer Nature},
reportid = {DKFZ-2025-01810},
pages = {31963},
year = {2025},
abstract = {In April 2017, a rat was observed on an airplane during a
flight from Miami (USA) to Berlin (Germany). After landing
in Berlin, significant efforts were made to trap the rat and
disinfect the airplane. As rats are known reservoir hosts
for a variety of zoonotic pathogens, this event necessitated
the establishment of a standard workflow for the detection
of rodent-borne pathogens. Tissue and blood samples were
collected to screen for zoonotic pathogens and other known
and novel infectious agents using an array of open-view
methods (cultivation and characterization of bacteria,
high-throughput sequencing) and pathogen-specific methods
(e.g. PCR, RT-PCR and multiplex serology). The black rat
(Rattus rattus), as confirmed by mtDNA sequences, carried
several infectious agents. Cultivation experiments revealed
the presence of seven bacterial and two fungal genera. In
addition, a methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus
strain of MLST-CC45 was detected by culture-based
approaches, and its full genome was sequenced.
High-throughput sequencing identified novel picobirnaviruses
and various bacterial genera, the majority of which
represent commensals rather than pathogens. Despite the
diversity of bacterial, viral, and fungal species that can
be expected in wild rats, only a few zoonotic and
non-zoonotic pathogens were detected in the stowaway rat.
Nonetheless, this incident highlights the potential of
international (and cross-continental) dissemination of
pathogens and the need for a standardized workflow to
provide comprehensive coverage of the diversity of
microorganisms in such animals.},
keywords = {Animals / Rats: microbiology / Aircraft / Bacteria:
genetics / Bacteria: isolation $\&$ purification / Bacteria:
classification / High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing /
Zoonoses: microbiology / Staphylococcus aureus (Other) /
Commensals (Other) / High-throughput sequencing (Other) /
Multiplex serological assay (Other) / Pathogen importation
(Other) / Picobirnavirus (Other)},
cin = {W440},
ddc = {600},
cid = {I:(DE-He78)W440-20160331},
pnm = {319H - Addenda (POF4-319H)},
pid = {G:(DE-HGF)POF4-319H},
typ = {PUB:(DE-HGF)16},
pubmed = {pmid:40885807},
doi = {10.1038/s41598-025-13199-6},
url = {https://inrepo02.dkfz.de/record/304269},
}