Prior to ARS diagnostic work, other researchers and health officials suspected rats might be the source of the bacteria that produced pulmonary hemorrhaging leading to illness and death in thousands of Nicaraguans. ARS research indicates that domestic dogs rather than rats were the source of infection. Humans can get leptospirosis from being exposed to animal urine through contaminated soil or water. Over 200 different strains of bacteria cause leptospirosis. A polymerase chain reaction test confirmed the exact strain that caused the outbreak.
Nature lends a hand to animals infected with gastrointestinal worms.
That finding by ARS scientists could lead to a new way to treat parasite-infected humans and animals. Production of IL-4 is stimulated by worm infections. In lab tests, researchers injected IL-4 into normal mice. The combination of these actions could dislodge worms from the intestine. It was once thought this waterborne, infectious parasite could be killed by freezing.