Abstract
The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) has been the subject of many and varied studies. As carriers of such pathogens as plague, typhus, and leptospirosis, there have been surveys made of this animal in various areas of the world with respect to its public health importance (Price, 1931; Luttermoser, 1936; Habermann, 1950.) Population studies, control measures, and parasitic surveys have been the more commonly discussed areas in the literature. | The Norway or brown rat is considered to be of Asiatic origin, to have migrated across Europe, and to have been introduced into the United States about 1775. There were records of brown rat infestations on the Pacific coast as early as 1855 (Lantz, 1910).