For some they are pets and for others they are pests, but one thing is for sure: rats carry fungal pathogens in their lungs and could pass them onto you.
A new study, led by the University of New Mexico in the US, entailed searching for fungi in the lung tissues of small mammals. And researchers discovered the presence of fungal pathogens that cause diseases in humans.
“This suggests that these rodents can serve as reservoirs, agents of dispersal, and incubators of emerging fungal pathogens,” say the researchers who have now published their findings in Frontiers in Fungal Biology.
Fungal diseases in the human population are on the rise so it is important for health authorities to understand where these pathogens come from.
“Our analysis, which specifically focused on lung pathogens that cause disease in humans, detected a wide range of fungi in the lung tissues of small mammals,” said principal researcher Paris Salazar-Hamm.
Over the past four decades there has been an increase in reports of novel human pathogens.
In the same way as the virus that causes Covid-19, these pathogens are able to evolve and diversify as they change hosts.
In some cases, this could increase their virulence and thus effect on humans.
Prof Wanda Markotter, who leads the Centre for Viral Zoonoses at the University of Pretoria, told TimesLIVE Premium: “If you don’t address these problems collectively, you are going to see more and more spillover of disease from animals to humans.”
She said the health of humans, animals and ecosystems is interlinked, and a “complete shift in mindset” is needed to prevent a frequent emergence of zoonotic diseases.
In SA ... anecdotal evidence has suggested that rat infestations have increased with the reopening of restaurants in the wake of Covid lockdowns
For that mindshift to be underscored by data, scientists across the globe are hard at work to figure out the link between different pathogens, the environment, animals and the human body. This data is urgent because, of all emerging diseases today, 75% result from animal to human spillover
“We wanted to understand if the fungal spores of respiratory pathogens reside in soils because they feed on dead and decaying plant matter, or if they are instead living within small animals and their spores are released into the soil after the rodents die,” explained Salazar-Hamm.
It is hoped that the findings from this study will inform health officials where there is potential for disease to be acquired locally.
In SA, though no study has been done, anecdotal evidence has suggested that rat infestations have increased with the reopening of restaurants in the wake of Covid-19 lockdowns.
Over the past few months, the City of Cape Town’s environmental health services ramped up their efforts to increase baiting points across the metropole, focusing on public spaces and informal residential areas.
“Rodents are likely to be found in areas with dense human settlements, a steady food supply in the form of food waste, good places for harbourage such as storm water drainage systems and an absence of predators,” said a city spokesperson.
According to the latest collated stats, for the period July 2021 to February 2022, city health received 1,605 complaints relating to the activity of rats and during the same period staff completed just over 41,000 services at baiting points across the metropole.
“Rodents are a phenomenon in most urban areas around the world ... but we encourage residents to please avoid making use of toxic and often illegal substances to manage pests in their homes,” said the spokesperson.
Researchers at the Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa at the University of Cape Town have also warned about the dangers of urban rat poisons, which are “spilling over into Cape Town’s natural environment, threatening species such as caracal, mongoose, otter and owl”.
These animals already face challenges that include increasing habitat loss, vehicle collisions, poachers and fire, according to researcher Laurel Serieys.
Rat poisons are unfortunately “widely available in supermarkets and hardware stores, and as an option for pest control are often the only product available. Mechanical traps are considerably harder to find”.
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