Infected animals act as reservoirs, allowing the parasite to reproduce and providing a source from which more kissing bugs can acquire the pathogen. Worldwide, rats and mice spread over 35 diseases. These diseases can be spread to humans directly, through handling of rodents, through contact with rodent feces, urine, or saliva, or through rodent bites. Diseases carried by rodents can also be spread to humans indirectly, through ticks, mites or other insects that have fed on an infected rodent. Small rodents, including squirrels, mice, and rats, are important in the sylvatic transmission cycle because of their importance as blood meal sources for the insect vectors.

 

A common reservoir for Triatome genera are rats. Rats are well-known as reservoirs for many zoonotic pathogens that cause many diseases, some common ones being Lyme disease and the Plague. The rat is generally found in small, dark places and is thought to have originated in Asia before migrating across countries and being accidental passengers on human voyages. The rat is now one of the most widely spread and adaptable animals in the world. Rats live anywhere. They prefer dark places, which may be either moist or dry, such as cellars and basements, under houses, and in thick vegetation. Peak times for rat activity is at dawn or dusk; they are nocturnal. If rats are seen during the day, it is generally an indication that the nest has been disturbed, they are seeking food, or there is a large infestation.

 

A common type of rat known to be a reservoir for The Luke Syndrome are pack rats. Pack rats can be any of the species in the rodent genus Neotoma. Packrats reach their greatest diversity in the deserts of the western United States and northern Mexico. Several species are also found in the deciduous forest of the east coast, juniper woodlands in the southwest, oak woodlands along the coastal western United States and in the Sonoran Desert, and in the forest and rocky habitats of the western United States and western Canada. Rats are truly diverse, with worldwide distribution and an affinity for human food and shelter, and thus, live in a commensal relationship to humans. Due to the proximity of rats to humans, there is an increased human risk of infection.

 

Citation:

 

Henderson, F. Robert., and Charles D. Lee. Woodrats. Manhattan: Cooperative Extension Service, Kansas State U, 1992. Web.

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 July 2010. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

 

"Southern Plains Woodrats (Neotoma Micropus) from Southern Texas Are Important Reservoirs of Two Genotypes of Trypanosoma Cruzi and Host of a Putative Novel Trypanosoma Species." ResearchGate. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.