[Research on three parasitic infestations in rats captured in Marseille: evaluation of the zoonotic risk].

A cross sectional survey was carried out on a population of 82 rats (Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus alexandrinus) trapped in Marseille. The main histopathological finding was the presence of adults or eggs of Capillaria hepatica in 44% of the animals. 21% were found with fleas (Xenopsylla cheopis). There was no evidence of trichinosis in any of the rats examined. Hepatic capillariasis is a zoonosis seldom described in human beings. About 30 human cases have been reported in the world. Human infestation occurs first by consumption of raw rat liver containing un-embryonated eggs causing only pseudoparasitism without disease. The genuine mode of infestation is the consumption of sullied soil with rats feces containing embryonated eggs. Therefore parasites provoke, true as in rat inflammatory lesions, necrosis and fibrosis of the liver. The treatment associates antiparasitic drugs such as ivermectine, disophenol or pyrantel tartrate. The presence of a large population of infested synanthropic rats requires epidemiological monitoring and extermination of rats. All physicians must be informed of this potential risk.