LSU School of Public Health, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Wilderness Environ Med. 2021 Sep;32(3):365-376. doi: 10.1016/j.wem.2021.03.007. Epub 2021 Jun 30.
Rodents can transmit infectious diseases directly to humans and other animals via bites and exposure to infectious salivary aerosols and excreta. Arthropods infected while blood-feeding on rodents can also transmit rodent-borne pathogens indirectly to humans and animals. Environmental events, such as wet winters, cooler summers, heavy rains, and flooding, have precipitated regional rodent-borne infectious disease outbreaks; these outbreaks are now increasing with climate change. The objectives of this review are to inform wilderness medicine providers about the environmental conditions that can precipitate rodent-borne infectious disease outbreaks; to describe the regional geographic distributions of rodent-borne infectious diseases in North America; and to recommend prophylactic treatments and effective prevention and control strategies for rodent-borne infectious diseases. To meet these objectives, Internet search engines were queried with keywords to identify scientific articles on outbreaks of the most common regional rodent-borne infectious diseases in North America. Wilderness medicine providers should maintain high levels of suspicion for regional rodent-borne diseases in patients who develop febrile illnesses after exposure to contaminated freshwater after heavy rains or floods and after swimming, rafting, or paddling in endemic areas. Public health education strategies should encourage limiting human contact with rodents; avoiding contact with or safely disposing of rodent excreta; avoiding contact with contaminated floodwaters, especially contact with open wounds; securely containing outdoor food stores; and modifying wilderness cabins and campsites to deter rodent colonization.
啮齿动物可以通过咬伤和接触传染性唾液气溶胶和排泄物直接将传染病传播给人类和其他动物。在吸食啮齿动物血液时被感染的节肢动物也可以间接地将啮齿动物传播的病原体传播给人类和动物。环境事件，如潮湿的冬季、凉爽的夏季、大雨和洪水，已经引发了区域性啮齿动物传播的传染病暴发；随着气候变化，这些暴发现在正在增加。本综述的目的是告知野外医学提供者可能引发啮齿动物传播的传染病暴发的环境条件；描述北美的啮齿动物传播传染病的区域地理分布；并推荐针对啮齿动物传播传染病的预防性治疗和有效预防和控制策略。为了实现这些目标，使用关键字查询互联网搜索引擎，以确定北美最常见的区域性啮齿动物传播传染病暴发的科学文章。野外医学提供者应在接触污染淡水（大雨或洪水后）、游泳、漂流或划船后出现发热疾病的患者中保持对区域性啮齿动物疾病的高度怀疑。公共卫生教育策略应鼓励限制人与啮齿动物的接触；避免接触或安全处理啮齿动物粪便；避免接触受污染的洪水，特别是接触开放性伤口；安全存放户外食品储存处；以及修改野外小屋和营地，以阻止啮齿动物的殖民化。
