A rodent-borne virus, abbreviated as robovirus, is a

zoonotic A zoonosis (; plural zoonoses) or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a virus, bacterium, parasite, fungi, or prion) that can jump from a non-human vertebrate to a human. When h ...

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

that is transmitted by a

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

vector. Roboviruses mainly belong to the virus families Arenaviridae and

Hantaviridae ''Hantaviridae'' is a family of viruses in the order ''Bunyavirales''. It is named for the Hantan River area in South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half o ...

. Like

arbovirus Arbovirus is an informal name for any virus that is Transmission (medicine), transmitted by arthropod Vector (epidemiology), vectors. The term ''arbovirus'' is a portmanteau word (''ar''thropod-''bo''rne ''virus''). ''Tibovirus'' (''ti''ck-''bo ...

(''ar''thropod ''bo''rne) and

tibovirus Tibovirus is a term often used to describe viruses that are transmitted by tick vectors. The word tibovirus is an acronym (TIck-BOrne virus). This falls within the superorder arthropod thus tibovirus is classified under Arthropod Borne virus (Arbor ...

(''ti''ck ''bo''rne) the name refers to its method of transmission, known as its

vector Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...

. This is distinguished from a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

, which groups around a common ancestor. Some scientists now refer to arbovirus and robovirus together with the term ArboRobo-virus.

Methods of transmission

Rodent borne disease can be transmitted through different forms of contact such as rodent bites, scratches, urine, saliva, etc. Potential sites of contact with rodents include habitats such as barns, outbuildings, sheds, and dense urban areas. Transmission of disease through rodents can be spread to humans through direct handling and contact, or indirectly through rodents carrying the disease spread to ticks, mites, fleas (arboborne).

Viral diseases transmitted by rodents

One example of a robovirus is

hantavirus ''Orthohantavirus'' is a genus of viruses that includes all hantaviruses (family ''Hantaviridae'') that cause disease in humans. Orthohantaviruses, hereafter referred to as hantaviruses, are naturally found primarily in rodents. In general, each ...

, which causes

hantavirus pulmonary syndrome Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), also called hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), is a severe respiratory disease caused by hantaviruses. The main features of illness are microvascular leakage and acute respiratory distress syndrome. S ...

. Humans can be infected with Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome through direct contact with rodent droppings, saliva, or urine infected with strains of the virus. These components mix into the air and get transmitted when inhaled through airborne transmission.

Lassa virus Lassa virus (LASV) is an Arenaviridae, arenavirus that causes Lassa hemorrhagic fever, a type of viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF), in humans and other primates. Lassa virus is an Emerging infectious disease, emerging virus and a select agent, requi ...

from the '' Arenaviridae'' family causes Lassa hemorrhagic fever and is also a robovirus transmitted by the rodent genus ''

Mastomys natalensis The Natal multimammate mouse (''Mastomys natalensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is also known as the Natal multimammate rat, the common African rat, African soft fur rat or the African soft-furred mouse. The Natal multimam ...

''. The multimammate rat is able to excrete the virus in its urine and droppings. These rat are often found in the savannas and forests of Africa. When these rats scavenge and enter households this provides an outlet for direct contact transmission with humans. It has also been found that airborne transmission can occur by engaging in cleaning activities such as sweeping. In some areas of Africa, the ''

Mastomys ''Mastomys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae endemic to Africa. It contains eight species: * Angolan multimammate mouse (''M. angolensis'') * Awash multimammate mouse or Awash mastomys (''M. awashensis'') * Southern multimammate mouse ...

'' rodent is caught and used as a source of food. This process can also lead to transmission and infection.

Viral diseases indirectly transmitted by rats

Colorado tick fever virus causes high fevers, chills, headache, fatigue and sometimes vomiting, skin rash, and abdominal pain. The virus is caused by a Rocky Mountain wood tick (''

Dermacentor andersoni ''Dermacentor andersoni'', commonly known as the Rocky Mountain wood tick, is a hard tick, or member of the Ixodidae family, with three life stages including larvae, nymph, and finally adult, or, more entomologically, imago. This tick is genera ...

''). It is an arbovirus, but rodents serve as the reservoir. The tick is carried by five species of rodents: the

least chipmunk The least chipmunk (''Neotamias minimus'') is the smallest species of chipmunk and the most widespread in North America. Description It is the smallest species of chipmunk, measuring about in total length with a weight of . The body is gray to ...

(''Eutamias minimus''),

Richardson's ground squirrel Richardson's ground squirrel (''Urocitellus richardsonii''), also known as the dakrat or flickertail, is a North American ground squirrel in the genus ''Urocitellus''. Like a number of other ground squirrels, they are sometimes called prairie dog ...

(''Urocitellus richardsonii''), deer mice (''

Peromyscus maniculatus ''Peromyscus maniculatus'', the eastern deermouse, is a rodent native to eastern North America. It is a species of the genus ''Peromyscus'', a closely related group of New World rats and mice, New World mice often called "deermice". When former ...

''), the

golden-mantled ground squirrel The golden-mantled ground squirrel (''Callospermophilus lateralis'') is a ground squirrel native to western North America. It is distributed in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and Alberta, and through much of the western United States. D ...

(''Callospermophilus lateraliss''), and the

Uinta chipmunk The Uinta chipmunk or hidden forest chipmunk (''Neotamias umbrinus''), is a species of chipmunk in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to the United States. Formerly known as ''Tamias umbrinus'', phylogenetic studies have shown it to be sufficie ...

(''Neotamias umbrinus''). The infected tick will be carried by its rodent host and infect another host (animal or human) as it feeds.

Factors affecting roboviruses

Rodent populations are affected by a number of diverse factors, including climatic conditions. Warmer winters and increased rainfall will make it more likely for rodent populations to survive, therefore increasing the number of rodent reservoirs for disease. Increased rainfall accompanied by flooding can also increase human to rodent contact Global

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

will affect the distribution and prevalence of roboviruses. Inadequate hygiene and sanitation, as seen in some European countries, also contribute to increase rodent populations and higher risks of rodent borne disease transmission.

References

{{Zoonotic viral diseases Viruses Rodent-carried diseases