Researchers
found the picturesque riverside Oxfordshire area has been inundated with dozens
of the pests, which carry a poison-resistant gene.
Having
migrated from parts of Berkshire and Hampshire, the brown rats, and their
life-threatening diseases, are spreading after being found on several
unidentified farms.
The
survey found the rats to be living in both urban and rural areas.
Experts
say that despite appearing the same as their non-mutant counterparts, they are
resistant to pest controls because of their genetic mutation.
"All
rats tend to carry various diseases,” said Dr Alan Buckle, from the University
of Reading.
“The
reason we need to get rid of them is because they transmit diseases from
themselves to humans and farm animals.
“They
can be life-threatening.”
Dr
Buckle, who led the study, added: "These anticoagulant-resistant rats
carry the same diseases as other rats carry but are very difficult to
control."
The
survey, funded by nine organisations involved in pest control, tested the tails
of hundreds of rodents to establish where the mutant rats lived.
A
map was drawn indicating where the rats were found, including areas around
Henley and Berkshire towns Caversham and Sonning although precise locations
were not published.
The
team used new DNA techniques to determine the prevalence of rats with the
poison-resistant gene.
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