Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Public Health and Rodents: A Game of Cat and Mouse

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Zoonoses: Infections Affecting Humans and Animals

  • 597 Accesses

Abstract

Rodents are the most abundant order of living mammals, distributed on every continent except Antarctic and represent 43% of all mammalian species. Beside causing food losses and infrastructural damage, rodents can harbor pathogens that may cause serious problems to human and animal health. Unfortunately, rodent-associated problems are not an issue of the past as some may have thought, even not in the developed world. This chapter describes four factors that determine the risk and severity of human infection by zoonotic pathogens of rodents: human behavior, human health condition, rodent ecology & behavior, and pathogen ecology & persistence. It provides an overview of these factors, their interrelation and also some directions for further research. Main conclusion of this chapter is that although science has come a long way already and we have won some small victories over the rodents, the game of cat (i.e., humans) and mouse is far from being settled.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 899.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 1,099.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Addink EA, De Jong SM, Davis SA, Dubyanskiy V, Burdelov LA, Leirs H (2010) The use of high-resolution remote sensing for plague surveillance in Kazakhstan. Remote Sens Environ 114(3):674–681

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anonymous (2003) Update: multistate outbreak of monkeypox-Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin, 2003. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep (MMWR) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) 52(27):642–646

    Google Scholar 

  • Anonymous (2005) Update: interim guidance for minimizing risk for human lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection associated with pet rodents. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep (MMWR) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) 54(32):799–801

    Google Scholar 

  • Anonymous (2012) Notes from the field: Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis virus infections in employees of a Rodent breeding facility—Indiana, May–June 2012. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep (MMWR) 61(32):622–623

    Google Scholar 

  • Athanazio DA, Silva EF, Santos CS, Rocha GM, Vannier-Santos MA, McBride AJA et al (2008) Rattus norvegicus as a model for persistent renal colonization by pathogenic Leptospira interrogans. Acta Trop 105(2):176–180

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Avashia SBPJ, Lindley CM, Schriefer ME, Gage KL, Cetron M et al (2004) First reported prairie dog-to-human tularemia transmission, Texas, 2002. Emerg Infect Dis 10(3):483–486

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ayyadurai S, Houhamdi L, Lepidi H, Nappez C, Raoult D, Drancourt M (2008) Long-term persistence of virulent Yersinia pestis in soil. Microbiology 154(9):2865–2871

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee P, Ali Z, Fowler DR (2011) Rat bite fever, a fatal case of Streptobacillus moniliformis infection in a 14-month-old boy. J Forensic Sci 56(2):531–533

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bonnefoy X, Kampen H, Sweeney K (2008) Public health significance of urban pests: World Health Organization – Regional Office for Europe

    Google Scholar 

  • Boone JD, Otteson EW, McGwire KC, Villard P, Rowe JE, St Jeor SC (1998) Ecology and demographics of hantavirus infections in rodent populations in the Walker River Basin of Nevada and California. Am J Trop Med Hyg 59(3):445–451

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bordes F, Guégan JF, Morand S (2011) Microparasite species richness in rodents is higher at lower latitudes and is associated with reduced litter size. Oikos 120(12):1889–1896

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown JH, Ernest SKM (2002) Rain and Rodents: complex dynamics of desert consumers. BioScience 52(11):979–987. (2013/08/07)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckle A, Endepols S, Klemann N, Jacob J (2013) Resistance testing and the effectiveness of difenacoum against Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) in a tyrosine139cysteine focus of anticoagulant resistance, Westphalia, Germany. Pest Manag Sci 69(2):233–239

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carabin H, McGarvey ST, Sahlu I, Tarafder MR, Joseph L et al (2014) Schistosoma japonicum in Samar, the Philippines: infection in dogs and rats as a possible risk factor for human infection. Epidemiol Infect 143(8):1767–1776

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chaisiri K, Chaeychomsri W, Siruntawineti J, Bordes F, Herbreteau V, Morand S (2010) Human-dominated habitats and helminth parasitism in Southeast Asian murids. 107(4):931–937

    Google Scholar 

  • Clement J, Heyman P, McKenna P, Colson P, Avsic-Zupanc T (1997) The hantaviruses of Europe: from the bedside to the bench. Emerg Infect Dis 3(2):205–211

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Easterbrook JD, Klein SL (2008) Immunological mechanisms mediating Hantavirus persistence in rodent reservoirs. PLoS Pathog 4(11):e1000172

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott SP (2007) Rat bite fever and Steptobacillus moniliformis. Clin Microbiol Rev 20(1):13–22

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Endepols S, Klemann N, Jacob J, Buckle AP (2012) Resistance tests and field trials with bromadiolone for the control of Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) on farms in Westphalia, Germany. Pest Manag Sci 68(3):348–354

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Engelthaler DM, Mosley DG, Cheek JE, Levy CE, Komatsu KK, Ettestad P et al (1997) Climatic and environmental patterns associated with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, Four Corners region, United States. Emerg Infect Dis 3(2):205–211. 1999;5(1):87–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Feng AYT, Himshworth CG (2014) The secret life of the city rat: a review of the ecology of urban Norway and black rats (Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus). Urban Ecosyst 17:149–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fumeaux J, Mock M, Ninet B, Jan I, Bontems O, Léchenne B et al (2004) First report of Arthroderma benhamiae in Switzerland. Dermatology 208(3):244–250

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Galan M, Pagès M, Cosson J-F (2012) Next-generation sequencing for Rodent barcoding: species identification from fresh, degraded and environmental samples. PLoS One 7(11):e48374

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Gratz NG (1994) Rodents as carriers of disease. In: Buckle AP, Smith RH (eds) Rodent pests and their control. CAB International, Oxford, pp 85–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Hemsworth S, Pizer B (2006) Pet ownership in immunocompromised children – a review of the literature and survey of existing guidelines. Eur J Oncol Nurs 10(2):117–127

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hirschhorn R, Hodge R (1999) Identification of risk factors in rat-bite incidents involving humans. Pediatrics 104:e35

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holt J, Davis S, Leirs H (2006) A model of Leptospirosis infection in an African rodent to determine risk to humans: seasonal fluctuations and the impact of rodent control. Acta Trop 99(2–3):218–225

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Htwe NM, Singleton GR, Hinds LA, Propper CR, Sluydts V (2012) Breeding ecology of rice field rats, Rattus argentiventer and R. tanezumi in lowland irrigated rice systems in the Philippines. Agric Ecosyst Environ 161:39–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huchon D, Madsen O, Sibbald MJJB, Ament K, Stanhope MJ, Catzeflis F et al (2002) Rodent phylogeny and a timescale for the evolution of Glires: evidence from an extensive taxon sampling using three nuclear genes. Mol Biol Evol 19:1053–1065

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hukic M, Nikolic J, Valjevac A, Seremet M, Tesic G, Markotic A (2010) A serosurvey reveals Bosnia and Herzegovina as a Europe’s hotspot in hantavirus seroprevalence. Epidemiol Infect 138(08):1185–1193

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ivanova S, Herbreteau V, Blasdell K, Chaval Y, Buchy P, Guillard B et al (2012) Leptospira and Rodents in Cambodia: environmental determinants of infection. Am J Trop Med Hyg 86(6):1032–1038

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kallio ER, Voutilainen L, Vapalahti O, Vaheri A, Henttonen H, Koskela E et al (2007) Endemic hantavirus infection impairs the winter survival of its rodent host. Ecology 88(8):1911–1916. (2013/08/07)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kanai Y, Miyasaka S, Uyama S, Kawami S, Kato-Mori Y, Tsujikawa M et al (2012) Hepatitis E virus in Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) captured around a pig farm. BMC Res Notes 5(1):4

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kinnunen PM, Henttonen H, Hoffmann B, Kallio ER, Korthase C, Laakkonen J et al (2011) Orthopox virus infections in Eurasian wild rodents. Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis 11(8):1133–1140

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koizumi N, Muto M, Tanikawa T, Mizutani H, Sohmura Y, Hayashi E et al (2009) Human leptospirosis cases and the prevalence of rats harbouring Leptospira interrogans in urban areas of Tokyo, Japan. J Med Microbiol 58(9):1227–1230

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kraemer A, Mueller RS, Werckenthin C, Straubinger RK, Hein J (2012) Dermatophytes in pet Guinea pigs and rabbits. Vet Microbiol 157(1–2):208–213

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kraemer A, Hein J, Heusinger A, Mueller RS (2013) Clinical signs, therapy and zoonotic risk of pet guinea pigs with dermatophytosis. Mycoses 56(2):168–172

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krijger IM, Belmain SR, Singleton GR, Groot Koerkamp PW, Meerburg BG (2017) The need to implement the landscape of fear within rodent pest management strategies. Pest Manag Sci 73(12):2397–2402. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.4626

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Krøjgaard LH, Villumsen S, Markussen MDK, Jensen JS, Leirs H, Heiberg A-C (2009) High prevalence of Leptospira spp. in sewer rats (Rattus norvegicus). Epidemiol Infect 137(11):1586–1592

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mani I, Maguire JH (2009) Small animal zoonoses and immuncompromised pet owners. Top Companion Anim Med 24(4):164–174

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Meerburg BG, Kijlstra A (2007) Role of rodents in transmission of Salmonella and Campylobacter. J Sci Food Agric 87(15):2774–2781

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meerburg BG, Reusken CBEM (2011) The role of wild rodents in spread and transmission of Coxiella burnetii needs further elucidation. Wildl Res 38(7):617–625

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meerburg BG, Bonde M, Brom FWA, Endepols S, Jensen AN, Leirs H et al (2004) Towards sustainable management of rodents in organic animal husbandry. NJAS-Wag J Life Sci 52(2):195–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meerburg B, Singleton G, Kijlstra A (2009a) Rodent-borne diseases and their risks for public health. Crit Rev Microbiol 35(3):221–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meerburg BG, Singleton GR, Leirs H (2009b) The year of the Rat ends—time to fight hunger! Pest Manag Sci 65(4):351–352

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Meerburg BG, van Gent-Pelzer MP, Schoelitsz B, Van der Lee TA (2014) Distribution of anticoagulant rodenticide resistance in Rattus norvegicus in the Netherlands according to Vkorc1 mutations. Pest Manag Sci 70(11):1761–1766

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Monadjem A, Mahlaba TA, Dlamini N, Eiseb SJ, Belmain SR, Mulungu LS et al (2011) Impact of crop cycle on movement patterns of pest rodent species between fields and houses in Africa. Wildl Res 38(7):603–609

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muliæ R, Ropac D (2002) Epidemiologic characteristics and military implications of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Croatia. Croatian Med J 43(5):581–586

    Google Scholar 

  • Papanicolas LE, Holds JM, Bak N (2012) Lessons from practice: meningitis and pneumonitis caused by pet rodents. Med J Aust 196(3):202–203

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons MH, Kiyokawa Y, Richardson JL, Stryjek R, Byers KE et al (2020) Rats and the COVID-19 pandemic: early data on the global emergence of rats in response to social distancing. MedRxiv 2020.07.05.20146779

    Google Scholar 

  • Pelz H-J (2007) Spread of resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides in Germany. Int J Pest Manage 53(4):299–302

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Perkins SE, Cattadori IM, Tagliapietra V, Rizzoli AP, Hudson PJ (2003) Empirical evidence for key hosts in persistence of a tick-borne disease. Int J Parasitol 33(9):909–917

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Phan TG, Kapusinszky B, Wang C, Rose RK, Lipton HL, Delwart EL (2011) The fecal viral flora of wild rodents. PLoS Pathog 7(9):e1002218

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Psaroulaki A, Antoniou M, Toumazos P, Mazeris A, Ioannou I, Chochlakis D et al (2010) Rats as indicators of the presence and dispersal of six zoonotic microbial agents in Cyprus, an island ecosystem: a seroepidemiological study. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 104(11):733–739

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rogozi E, Bego F, Papa A, Mersini K, Bino S (2012) Distribution and ecology of small mammals in Albania. Int J Environ Health Res 23(3):258–268. (2013/08/07)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Runge M, von Keyserlingk M, Braune S, Becker D, Plenge-Bönig A, Freise JF et al (2013) Distribution of rodenticide resistance and zoonotic pathogens in Norway rats in Lower Saxony and Hamburg, Germany. Pest Manag Sci 69(3):403–408

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sauvage F, Langlais M, Pontier D (2007) Predicting the emergence of human hantavirus disease using a combination of viral dynamics and rodent demographic patterns. Epidemiol Infect 135(01):46–56

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Suzán G, Marcé E, Tomasz Giermakowski J, Mills JN, Ceballos G, Ostfeld RS et al (2009) Experimental evidence for reduced rodent diversity causing increased hantavirus prevalence. PLoS One 4(5):e5461

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Swanson SJ, Snider C, Braden CR, Boxrud D, Wünschmann A, Rudroff JA et al (2007) Multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium associated with pet rodents. N Engl J Med 356(1):21–28

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tersago K, Verhagen R, Servais A, Heyman P, Ducoffre G, Leirs H (2009) Hantavirus disease (nephropathia epidemica) in Belgium: effects of tree seed production and climate. Epidemiol Infect 137(02):250–256

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tollenaere C, Rahalison L, Ranjalahy M, Duplantier JM, Rahelinirina S, Telfer S et al (2010) Susceptibility to Yersinia pestis experimental infection in Wild Rattus rattus, reservoir of plague in Madagascar. EcoHealth 7(2):242–247

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Trueba G, Zapata S, Madrid K, Cullen P, Haake D (2004) Cell aggregation: a mechanism of pathogenic Leptospira to survive in fresh water. Int Microbiol 7:35–40

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tryland M, Sandvik T, Mehl R, Bennett M, Traavik T, Olsvik O (1998) Serosurvey for orthopoxviruses in rodents and shrews from Norway. J Wildl Dis 34(2):240–250

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Verhagen R, Leirs H, Tkachenko E, Groen G (1986) Ecological and epidemiological data on Hantavirus in bank vole populations in Belgium. Arch Virol 91(3–4):193–205

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vogel S, Sárdy M, Glos K, Korting HC, Ruzicka T, Wollenberg A (2012) The Munich outbreak of cutaneous cowpox infection: transmission by infected pet rats. Acta Derm Venereol 92(2):126–131

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Webster JP, Macdonald DW (1995) Parasites of wild brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) on UK farms. Parasitology 111:247–255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webster JP, Lloyd G, Macdonald DW (1995) Q fever (Coxiella burnetii) reservoir in wild brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) populations in the UK. Parasitology 110(Pt 1):31–35

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson DE, Reeder DM (1993) Mammal species of the world. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Witmer G, Proulx G (2010) Rodent outbreaks in North America. In: Singleton GR, Belmain SR, Brown PR, Hardy B (eds) Rodent outbreaks: ecology and impacts. International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, pp 253–267

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Livestock Research, Wageningen University & Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Bastiaan G. Meerburg

  2. Dutch Pest & Wildlife Expertise Centre (KAD), Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Bastiaan G. Meerburg

Authors
  1. Bastiaan G. Meerburg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bastiaan G. Meerburg .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bavarian State Institute of Health II Dept. of Public Health Microbiology, Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleißheim, Bayern, Germany

    Andreas Sing

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Meerburg, B.G. (2023). Public Health and Rodents: A Game of Cat and Mouse. In: Sing, A. (eds) Zoonoses: Infections Affecting Humans and Animals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27164-9_24

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27164-9_24

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-27163-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-27164-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation