Rats as a Source for Emerging Zoonoses: Understanding the Interactions Between Rats, Pathogens, and the Urban Environment

老鼠一直是并将继续是造成世界各地城市大量人类发病率和死亡率的众多人畜共患病原体（即传播给人的病原体）的来源。其中一些病原体（包括鼠疫的病原）在大鼠之间传播，并通过跳蚤从大鼠传播给人。虽然大鼠的疾病受到多种因素的影响，包括健康状况和慢性应激，但随后疾病向其他大鼠和人的传播与大鼠如何在其环境中移动以及与环境的相互作用直接相关。******尽管坊间有证据表明，老鼠在加拿大的城市里繁衍生息，但在我国，关于老鼠、老鼠身上的跳蚤和病原体的数据却很少。温哥华的市中心东区（DTES）被认为是加拿大最贫穷的邮政编码之一，特别值得关注，因为众所周知，与贫困相关的因素会促进老鼠的侵扰，老鼠与人的接触和疾病的传播。此外，以大型国际港口为特色的城市（如温哥华、蒙特利尔和哈利法克斯）可能成为携带国外新型病原体的老鼠的入境点。*******为了解决老鼠及其病原体数据的缺乏问题，温哥华老鼠项目（VRP; Vancouver verratproject.com）于2010年成立，其首要目标是描述温哥华DTES中老鼠相关病原体的生态学和流行病学特征。对于VRP的第二阶段，我们将研究第一阶段收集的大鼠及其跳蚤，以及在温哥华国际港口和其他加拿大港口城市通过额外诱捕获得的大鼠。分析这些标本的目的是：1)确定大鼠的健康、运动和环境特征如何影响病原体在大鼠中的分布；2)确定老鼠及其病原体是否通过国际航运传入一个城市，并比较城市之间某些病原体的存在情况；3)描述与跳蚤有关的细菌群落，寻找已知的和新的病原体。通过整合老鼠、跳蚤、病原体和城市环境的信息，我们将探索老鼠是否可以作为新出现的传染性人畜共患病的来源。这项研究将使我们能够确定老鼠是否对居住在加拿大城市的人们构成潜在的健康风险。从这种方法中获得的知识对于现在和将来制定评估、监测和减轻与老鼠有关的风险的知情方法至关重要

Rats have been, and continue to be, the source of numerous zoonotic pathogens (i.e., pathogens transmissible to people) responsible for significant human morbidity and mortality in cities around the world. A number of these pathogens (including the etiologic agent of the plague) are transmitted among rats and from rats to people by fleas. While disease in rats is influenced by a variety of factors including health status and chronic stress, the subsequent spread of disease to other rats and to people is directly related to how rats move within and interact with their environment. ******Despite anecdotal evidence that rats are thriving in Canadian cities, there is little data in our country on rats, their fleas, and their pathogens. Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES), known as one of Canada's poorest postal codes, is of particular concern because factors associated with poverty are known to promote rat infestations, rat-human contact, and disease transmission. In addition, cities which feature large international ports (such as Vancouver, Montreal, and Halifax) may serve as entry points for rats carrying novel pathogens from abroad. *******To begin to address this lack of data on rats and their pathogens, the Vancouver Rat Project (VRP; vancouverratproject.com) was founded in 2010 with the overarching objective to characterize the ecology and epidemiology of rat-associated pathogens in Vancouver's DTES. For Phase II of the VRP, we will study rats and their fleas collected during Phase I, as well as rats obtained through additional trapping at Vancouver's international port and other Canadian port cities. These specimens will be analyzed to: 1) determine how rat health, movement, and environmental characteristics influence pathogen distribution among rats; 2) resolve whether rats and their pathogens are introduced to a city through international shipping, and compare the presence of certain pathogens between cities; and 3) describe the bacterial communities associated with fleas to look for known and novel pathogens. By integrating information on rats, fleas, their pathogens, and the urban environment, we will explore whether rats could serve as a source for emerging infectious zoonoses. This research will allow us to determine whether rats pose a potential health risk to people living in cities across Canada. Knowledge gained from this approach will be essential for developing informed approaches to assess, monitor, and mitigate rat-associated risks now and in the future.**