Human leptospirosis cases and the prevalence of rats harbouring Leptospira interrogans in urban areas of Tokyo, Japan.

Thirteen patients with leptospirosis were identified, as confirmed by laboratory analysis during the last 5 years in our laboratory, who came from urban areas of Tokyo, Japan. All of the patients came into contact with rats before the onset of illness. Seventeen per cent of Norway rats captured in the inner cities of Tokyo carried leptospires in their kidneys.

Application of real time PCR for diagnosis of Swine Dysentery.

Evaluation of a genetic diagnostic technique using real time PCR of Swine Dysentery (SD) was performed using nox primers. Culture, ordinary PCR and real time PCR were compared in this experiment. Sixty-seven specimens from pigs with clinical signs of SD brought to a slaughterhouse in Shibaura, Tokyo, were used.