Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41091685›Full record

ArticlePloS one2025

Multiplex serology for Streptobacillus moniliformis and other 'rat bite fever-like' microorganisms for seroprevalence studies in rodents.

Katja Schmidt, Julia Butt, Ulrich Matt, Klaus Vogel, Calvin Mehl, Rainer G Ulrich, Tobias Eisenberg

Abstract read
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Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Katja SchmidtMicrobiological Diagnostics, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4828-7974
Julia ButtInfections and Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Ulrich MattDepartment of Medicine V, Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center (UGMLC), member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Justus-Liebig University (JLU) Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
Klaus VogelMicrobiological Diagnostics, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Calvin MehlInstitute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1885-7673
Rainer G UlrichInstitute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany.
Tobias EisenbergDepartment Veterinary Medicine, Hessian State Laboratory (LHL), Giessen, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Rat bite fever (RBF) is a zoonotic disease caused primarily by Streptobacillus (S.) moniliformis. Norway or brown rats (Rattus [R.] norvegicus) are the natural host for S. moniliformis and carry the bacterium in the nasopharynx without clinical disease. Transmission to humans often occurs through rat bites or scratches, but also through contact with the excreta of infected rats. Although human infections with S. moniliformis occur worldwide, they are rarely diagnosed. For decades, S. moniliformis was the only known member of the genus Streptobacillus. In recent years, however, four additional species were identified, two of which being zoonotic pathogens capable of causing symptoms identical to RBF in humans. The aim of this study was to develop a serological assay covering all known Streptobacillus species. A bead-based multiplex fluorescence immunoassay for S. moniliformis detection has been used for years in routine diagnostics of laboratory rodents. Here, this assay was adapted to enable the detection of antibodies against all currently known Streptobacillus species and tested with sera from experimentally inoculated mice and rats, and with negative sera from laboratory rodents. Using this assay, we broadly examined the prevalence of Streptobacillus spp. reactive antibodies in wild rodents. Transudates from a total of 107 Norway rats, 81 black or roof rats (Rattus rattus) and 110 house mice (Mus musculus) from different husbandries and wildlife populations within Germany were tested. Antibody prevalences of 41% in R. norvegicus and 83% in R. rattus suggest that Streptobacillus spp. are widespread in wild and captive rats in Germany, whereas wild mice seem to be free of infection. Due to its high throughput capacity and multiplex format, the Streptobacillus multiplex serology is well suited for large seroprevalence studies in rodents and has the potential, after adaptation, for use in humans, thereby allowing for the assessment of Streptobacillus infection risk and risk of RBF.

Indexed as

Rat-Bite FeverStreptobacillusAnimalsAntibodies, BacterialHumansMiceRatsSeroepidemiologic StudiesSerologic TestsAntibodies, Bacterial

Identifiers

PMID41091685
PMCPMC12527138

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.