The role of rats and mice in dissemination of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance

大鼠和小鼠在城市和农村环境中无处不在，它们与污水接触，饮食多样，机会主义，并经常与人类废物相互作用。虽然它们对建筑物和公用设施造成相当大的物理破坏，但它们通过传播疾病对公众健康构成更严重的风险。众所周知，它们携带多种病原体，包括多种细菌、病毒、原生动物和蠕虫。此外，近期多项研究发现，啮齿类动物体内存在大量抗微生物药物耐药性（AMR）细菌，包括耐多药肠杆菌科和耐甲氧西林葡萄球菌。为了进一步加剧这一问题，我们监督小组成员在2019年开展的监测工作显示，93%的家鼠和61%的大鼠分别携带至少一种杀鼠药耐药基因。近一半的人从父母那里继承了这种基因，这是最严重的抗性形式。尽管存在这些已知的和新出现的威胁，但人们对啮齿动物作为病原体、抗菌素耐药性的宿主和/或媒介的作用以及它们对杀鼠剂的耐药性程度仍然知之甚少。这就是这个博士项目的目的所在——我们建议利用现代技术和技术来了解啮齿动物传播的病原体、抗菌素耐药性和灭鼠剂耐药性在城市、郊区和农村环境中的分布和扩散动态的变化。值得注意的是，该项目将开发和应用尖端分子技术和生物信息学来鉴定啮齿动物的病原体、抗菌素耐药性和杀鼠剂耐药性。我们项目的另一个重要和独特的方面是，我们在英国范围内从现有的害虫防治合作网络中获得的样本，这些合作网络由行动小组协调，包括灭鼠剂耐药性行动委员会（RRAC）和负责任的灭鼠剂使用运动（CRRU），我们的监督小组与他们有直接联系。从英国各地和各种不同的生态位获取大量样本，结合新颖的高通量分子分析，将允许对啮齿动物生态位与病原体和AMR携带以及灭鼠剂耐药性的任何相关性进行彻底分析。

Rats and mice are ubiquitous in urban and rural environments, are in contact with sewage effluents, have a generalist and opportunistic diet and interact frequently with human wastes. While they cause considerable physical damage to buildings and utilities, they pose even more serious risks to public health by spreading disease. They are known to carry a wide range of pathogens including many species of bacteria, viruses, protozoa and helminths. In addition, a number of recent studies have found that rodents harbour significant antimicrobial resistance (AMR) bacteria including multidrug-resistance Enterobacteriaceae and methicillin-resistance Staphylococcus spp. To exacerbate the problem further, surveillance work undertaken by the members of our supervisory team in 2019 revealed that 93% and 61% of house mice and rats carry at least one rodenticide resistance gene respectively - among rats, nearly half have inherited the gene from both parents, the most severe form of resistance. Despite these known and emerging threats, the role of rodents as reservoirs and/or vectors of pathogen, AMR as well as the extent of their resistance to rodenticide is still poorly understood. And, this is where this PhD programme comes in - we propose to understand the variation in the distributions and dispersal dynamics of rodent-borne pathogens, AMR and rodenticide resistance in urban, suburban and rural settings utilising modern techniques and technologies. Notably, this project will develop and apply cutting-edge molecular techniques and bioinformatics to identify pathogens, AMR and rodenticide resistance in rodents. Another important and unique aspect of our project is our UK-wide samples obtained from the existing network of collaborating pest controllers coordinated by Action Groups including Rodenticide Resistance Action Committee (RRAC) and the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) with whom our Supervisory Team has direct links. Access to a large number of samples from around the UK and a variety of different ecological niches, combined with the novel high through put molecular analysis, will allow a thorough analysis of any correlation of rodent niche with pathogen and AMR carriage and also rodenticide resistance.