Disease

Agent

Rodent(s) Involved

How the Disease Spreads

Where the Disease Occurs

More Information

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome

Virus

Deer mouse ( Peromyscus maniculatus), cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus), rice rat (Oryzomys palustris), and white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus)

Breathing in dust that is contaminated with rodent urine or droppings

Direct contact with rodents or their urine and droppings

Bite wounds, although this does not happen frequently

Throughout most of North and South America

All About Hantaviruses

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome

Virus

Striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius), the brown or Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus), the bank vole (Clethrio-nomys glareolus), and the yellow-necked field mouse (Apodemus flavicollis)

Breathing in dust that is contaminated with rodent urine or droppings

Direct contact with rodents or their urine and droppings

Bite wounds, although this does not happen frequently

The disease may spread through direct contact from person to person, but it is extremely rare.

Primarily in eastern Asia, Russia, Korea, Scandinavia, western Europe, and the Balkans.

Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome

Lassa fever

Virus

Multi-mammate rat (Mastomys natalensis species complex)

Breathing in dust that is contaminated with rodent urine or droppings

Direct contact with rodents or their urine and droppings

Eating food that is contaminated with rodent urine or droppings

Bite wounds, although this does not happen frequently

The disease may spread through direct contact from person to person.

West Africa

Lassa Fever

Leptospirosis

Bacteria

Rodents and other animals

Eating food or drinking water contaminated with urine from infected animals

Contact through the skin or mucous membranes (such as inside the nose) with water or soil that is contaminated with the urine from infected animals

Worldwide

Leptospirosis

Lymphocytic Chorio-
meningitis (LCM)

Virus

House mouse (Mus musculus)

Breathing in dust that is contaminated with rodent urine or droppings

Direct contact with rodents or their urine and droppings

Bite wounds, although this does not happen frequently.

Worldwide

Lymphocytic Chorio-
meningitis (LCMV)

Omsk hemorrhagic
fever

Virus

Muskrats and possibly narrow-skulled voles

Direct contact with infected animal

Bite from an infected tick.

Western Siberia

Plague

Bacteria

Wild rodents, including rock squirrels, prairie dogs, wood rats, fox squirrels and other species of ground squirrels and chipmunks

Bite of an infected flea

Direct contact with infected animal

Western US, S. America, Africa, Asia

Rat-Bite fever

Bacteria

Rats and possibly mice

Bite or scratch wound from an infected rodent, or contact with a dead rodent

Eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated by rat feces.

Worldwide; Strepto-bacillus moniliformis in North America and Europe; Spirillum minus in Asia and Africa.

Salmonellosis

Bacteria

Rats and mice

Eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated by rat feces.

Worldwide

South American Arenaviruses (Argentine hemorrhagic fever, Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, Sabiá-
associated hemorrhagic fever, Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever)

Virus

Cane rat (Zygo-dontomys brevicauda), drylands vesper mouse (Calomys musculinus), large vesper mouse (Calomys callosus)

Breathing in dust that is contaminated with rodent urine or droppings

Direct contact with rodents or their urine and droppings

Bite wounds, although this does not happen frequently

The disease may rarely spread through direct contact from person to person.

South America: parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela and Brazil

Tularemia

Bacteria

Wild rodents, including muskrats, ground squirrels and beavers

Handling infected animal carcasses

Being bitten by an infected tick, deerfly or other insect

Eating or drinking contaminated food or water

Breathing in the bacteria, F. tularensis

Worldwide