Increased rat-borne zoonotic disease hazard in greener urban areas

Cock, Marieke de; Vries, Ankje de; Fonville, Manoj; Esser, Helen J.; Mehl, Calvin; Ulrich, Rainer G.; Joeres, Maike; Hoffmann, Donata; Eisenberg, Tobias; Schmidt, Katja; Hulst, M.M.; Poel, Wim van der; Sprong, Hein; Maas, Miriam

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165069

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…Considering the reported weekly, monthly and occasional sightings. A rise in rodent numbers can be attributed to shifts in human environment, ecology and climate [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] with research indicating a heightened risk of rat infestation in neighborhoods characterized by high poverty levels, aged buildings, dense housing systems and inadequate sanitation [11,20,21]. Similar to most other African nations, Ghana has a persisting sanitation challenges and poor drainage management contributing to the proliferation and establishment of pest populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Norway rat also called the brown rat or the sewer rat is distinguishable from the black rat by its tail, colour, ears and by other morphophysiological features [17]. It exhibits superior competitive aggressiveness and has become one of the most dominant mammals globally [19].The rise in global rat population can be attributed to shifts in human environment, ecology and climate ( [2,20] with research indicating a heightened risk of rat infestation in neighborhoods characterized by high poverty levels, aged buildings, dense housing systems and inadequate sanitation [11,21].…”

Section: Author Summary Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, over the past six decades, the majority of the 300+ newly identified infectious diseases have stemmed from wildlife with human-wildlife contact serving as a major transmission pathway [29]. Rodents alone provides reservoir of an estimated 50% of emerging zoonotic pathogens and commensal rats are an ecosystem of numerous disease agents with over fifty-three infectious agents identified thus far [3,20,30,31,32,33]. Diseases such as toxoplasmosis, salmonellosis, plague, leptospirosis, rat-bit fever, hemorrhagic fevers, and zoonotic babesiosis have been associated with rats [3,33].…”

Section: Author Summary Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among the major zoonoses in West Africa, Lassa Fever causes approximately 100,000-300,000 infections with around 5,000 deaths annually [42,43], Transmission of the disease may occur through contact with rat feces and body fluids [43,44]. Several studies have demonstrated a correlation between increases in rat populations and the proliferation of pathogens vectored by rats [20,45,46]. This escalates the risk of epizootic events spilling over into human communities, highlighting the importance of human-rat interactions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring rat meat consumption patterns, and perception of risks regarding urban rats; implications for rat-borne zoonoses outbreaks and drug resistant pathogens spread in urban areas of Ghana

Deku,

Younge,

Doggett

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Background This research explores rat meat consumption patterns among urban Ghanaians and their perception of risks associated with urban rats. Two hypotheses on risk perception among urban inhabitants were proposed: the risk of contracting diseases by consuming rat meat and the risk of contracting diseases from peridomestic rats. Method/Principal findings To achieve the objective, a descriptive cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire was conducted that recruited participants from urban settings in Ghana. Of the 829 respondents recruited, around 65% consumed rodents, and of these, 35% consumes rat meat. Through statistical analyses, our data revealed gender, age, region, religion, ethnicity, education, profession and income significantly influenced rat meat consumption and resident's perception of disease risk. An adjusted multivariable model identified males aged 27 to 34years with no formal or a basic education in southern Ghana as the most likely rat meat consumers. The majority of the participants (60.3%) indicated rats are often present in homes and community drains, and have some awareness where rats can be found in their place of residence. Low perception scores regarding disease risks associated with rat meat consumption were recorded, with the majority of respondents (55-74.9% of 829) perceiving that there were minimal disease threats associated with peridomestic rats. The outcome of this belief was that participants undertook limited rat control in their neighborhood. Conclusion/Significance The poor perceptions of disease risks regarding rats increases the vulnerabilities of urban Ghanaians to zoonotic spillovers. This underscores the critical need for public education on rat-borne zoonoses in urban Ghana. This survey presents the first baseline study on urban inhabitant's interactions with rats in Ghana and the data will be crucial in the on-going interventions by the Ghana Health Service to minimize transmission of Lassa fever and other rodent-borne diseases and the spread of rodent related drug resistant pathogens.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Author Summary Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Author Summary Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring rat meat consumption patterns, and perception of risks regarding urban rats; implications for rat-borne zoonoses outbreaks and drug resistant pathogens spread in urban areas of Ghana

Deku,

Younge,

Doggett

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…In this context, we have developed an eco-health approach to assess the health hazards associated with leptospires in Lyon. We focused on urban green spaces, where contact between human/small mammals and domestic animals is likely because they share the same environment and the risk of zoonoses may be high [ 27 ]. The objectives of this study were i) to evaluate the prevalence of pathogenic Leptospira spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence, genetic diversity and eco-epidemiology of pathogenic Leptospira species in small mammal communities in urban parks Lyon city, France

Garcia-Lopez,

Lurier,

Bouilloud

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Rodents are recognized as the main reservoirs of Leptospira spp. Rats, in particular, serve as hosts for the widely predominant Leptospira interrogans serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae, found worldwide. Several studies have shown the importance of other reservoirs, such as mice or hedgehogs, which harbor other leptospires’ serovars. Nevertheless, our knowledge of circulating Leptospira spp. in reservoirs other than rats remains limited. In this context, we proposed an eco-health approach to assess the health hazard associated with leptospires in urban green spaces, where contacts between human/small mammals and domestic animals are likely. We studied the prevalence, the diversity of circulating strains, and epidemiology of pathogenic Leptospira species in small terrestrial mammal communities (rodents and shrews), between 2020–2022, in two parks in Lyon metropolis, France. Our study showed a significant carriage of Leptospira spp. in small terrestrial mammals in these parks and unveiled a global prevalence rate of 11.4%. Significant variations of prevalence were observed among the small mammal species (from 0 to 26.1%), with Rattus norvegicus exhibiting the highest infection levels (26.1%). We also observed strong spatio-temporal variations in Leptospira spp. circulation in its reservoirs. Prevalence seems to be higher in the peri-urban park and in autumn in 2021 and 2022. This is potentially due to differences in landscape, abiotic conditions and small mammal communities’ composition. Our study suggests an important public health relevance of rats and in a lesser extent of other rodents (Apodemus spp., Clethrionomys glareolus and Mus musculus) as reservoirs of L. interrogans, with rodent species carrying specific serogroups/serovars. We also emphasize the potential hazard associated between the shrew Crocidura russula and L. kirschneri. Altogether, these results improve our knowledge about the prevalence of leptospirosis in an urban environment, which is an essential prerequisite for the implementation of prevention of associated risks.

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Attitudes of clients of Dutch pest controllers towards integrated pest management (IPM) and preventive measures in relation to rodent nuisance

van Gerwen,

Rodenburg,

Arndt

et al. 2024

Pest Management Science

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BACKGROUNDRodent management with lethal methods (e.g., rodenticides) comes with downsides for rodent welfare, the environment and non‐target species. To reduce chemical use and prevent rodent nuisance, pest controllers in the Netherlands must work according to the principles of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). A condition for the success of IPM is that there is sufficient engagement of all parties involved, including clients of pest controllers. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the attitudes of clients regarding rodent control, IPM and the application of preventive measures. Insight into their attitudes may contribute to a better implementation of IPM and with that to a more sustainable rodent management based on more effective prevention. An online survey among 248 clients of Dutch pest controllers from both the agricultural and other sectors was carried out.RESULTSRespondents from the agricultural sector had a relatively negative attitude towards IPM, the new IPM regulations in the Netherlands and had little confidence in prevention. In other sectors, respondents were more positive about IPM and had more confidence in prevention. The respondents from the latter subgroup had a similar attitude compared to Dutch pest controllers who participated in a previous survey.CONCLUSIONThe findings of the study provide information for the further development and practical implementation of IPM and preventive measures and with that a more sustainable and animal friendly rodent management. They can also be helpful for a better communication and co‐operation between pest controllers and their clients.

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Increased rat-borne zoonotic disease hazard in greener urban areas

Cited by 16 publications

References 84 publications

Exploring rat meat consumption patterns, and perception of risks regarding urban rats; implications for rat-borne zoonoses outbreaks and drug resistant pathogens spread in urban areas of Ghana

Exploring rat meat consumption patterns, and perception of risks regarding urban rats; implications for rat-borne zoonoses outbreaks and drug resistant pathogens spread in urban areas of Ghana

Prevalence, genetic diversity and eco-epidemiology of pathogenic Leptospira species in small mammal communities in urban parks Lyon city, France

Attitudes of clients of Dutch pest controllers towards integrated pest management (IPM) and preventive measures in relation to rodent nuisance

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