Zoonotic quests in urban pests: Rodent-borne zoonotic pathogens in changing urban environments

Summary

Wild rodents can transmit various zoonotic pathogens to humans. Changes in the urban environment, such as urban greening, can have an effect on rodent populations and on rodent-borne pathogen transmission. However, this has not been thoroughly investigated yet. Therefore, we investigated the diversity of zoonotic pathogens carried by wild rodents, and the potential effects of urban greening on rodent populations and rodent-borne zoonotic pathogens. We found a high diversity of zoonotic pathogens in wild rodents, though with low infection rates. Furthermore, a higher degree of urban greenness was associated with a higher abundance of wild rodents and with a higher prevalence of two bacteria that are transmitted via vectors (e.g., ticks and fleas). Depending on the human exposure to rodent-borne zoonotic pathogens, this increase in rodent abundance and pathogen prevalence could lead to an increased zoonotic disease risk for humans in greener urban areas.