Evaluation of the presence of warfarin-resistant rats in the city of Reggio Calabria

The aim of this work was to examine the possible presence, in the city of Reggio Calabria, of rats resistant to anticoagulant rodenticides. To carry out such an investigation trappings were effected in four sectors of the city characterized by different urban structures. The data collected were utilized, in a first phase, to obtain evaluation indexes of the state of rat infestation which turned out to be quite worrying. Applying the W.H.O. methods it resulted that 8,6% of the captured rats, all belonging to the species Rattus norvegicus, is resistant to anticoagulants. Keeping in mind the sites where these specimens were captured, this resistance phenomenon seems to be present in all the urban territory.