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Rat owners urged to practise safe handling
Researchers pinpointed 24 people in Canada and the US who developed acute Seoul virus infections after contact with pet rats.
Investigation confirms Seoul virus infection in humans 

Rat owners are being urged to practise safe handling following an outbreak of Seoul virus amongst humans in the United States.

According to Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, doctors in the US and Canada have seen cases of Seoul virus infection in humans who contracted the virus from their pet rats.

Speaking to Reuters Health, Dr Janna Kerins of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said: “In December 2016, a patient in Wisconsin was hospitalised for fever and a low white blood cell count and ultimately tested positive for Seoul virus. Soon after, a family member developed similar symptoms and also tested positive.”

Following confirmation of the infection, the CDC and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services launched an investigation into the source of the disease. Dr Kerins, who co-authored the report, said that the outbreak spread from sales or trade of infected pet rats between people’s homes or where they are bred, in 11 states.

Researchers pinpointed 24 people in Canada and the US who developed acute Seoul virus infections after contact with pet rats. Kerins said that eight became ill and three were hospitalised but made a full recovery.

Seoul virus is a type of hantavirus found in the Norway rat. Rats infected with the disease are asymptomatic but can transmit the virus to humans through infectious saliva, urine, droppings, or aerosolization from contaminated bedding. Signs and symptoms in humans range from mild influenza-like illness to hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.

“This is a good reminder that rats and other rodents can carry hantavirus without looking sick, so it is important for owners of pet rats to be aware of the risk for Seoul virus infection, and to practice good hand hygiene . . . such as washing hands after handling rodents and before preparing food, and by avoiding rat bites and scratches,” Kerins said.

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RCVS Knowledge appoints Veterinary Evidence editor-in-chief

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has welcomed Professor Peter Cockcroft as editor-in-chief for Veterinary Evidence.

A world-renowned expert in evidence-based veterinary medicine, Prof Cockcroft will lead the strategic development and editorial quality of the open-access journal. He was previously in the role from 2017-2020.

Katie Mantell, CEO of RCVS Knowledge, said: "We are excited about the extensive knowledge of evidence-based veterinary medicine and clinical veterinary research that Peter brings, and we look forward to working with him over this next phase of the journal's development." 

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CVS Group hit by cyber attack

CVS Group, which owns more than 450 veterinary practices in the UK, has been hit by a cyber attack.

In a statement, the group said the incident involved unauthorised external access to a limited number of its IT systems. As soon as the attack was discovered, the group took its IT systems temporarily offline, causing 'considerable operational disruption'.

It has warned that the security steps taken and ongoing plans to move its operational systems and IT infrastructure to the Cloud are likely to have an ongoing impact over a number of weeks.

Due to the risk that personal information was accessed, CVS has informed the Information Commissioner's Office. The company is working with third party consultants to investigate the incident.