Vector and Rodent Control

By Lakew Desta (BSc., MPH)

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Public health problem

• Insect parasites, fed on humans, annoye

them and transmit diseases
• Similar to other mammals, humans have
acquired host-specific parasites, for instance,
the head and body louse
 the head and body louse.
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• Since effective vaccines or drugs were not always

available for the prevention or treatments of these
diseases, control of transmission of the disease
often rely on control of the vector.
• The arthropods involved may be:
 causal agents themselves
 developmental transfer hosts or
 Vectors of pathogens.
Insects are extremely successful animals and they affect
many aspects of our lives despite their small size.
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• Vector borne diseases are a heavy burden on human populations

▫ a major cause of work loss and
▫ a serious impediment to economic development and productivity.
• They require an intermediate living agent for their transmission.
Definitions
• Vector(s): are arthropods or other invertebrates which
transmit infection by:
 Biting or
 Depositing of infective materials on the
◦ skin or
◦ food or other objects.
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• Biological vectors: are vectors that transmit

disease pathogens after the multiplication or
development of the pathogen in the insect gut or
muscle.
 E.g. malarial mosquito
• Mechanical vectors: are vectors that transmit
pathogenic Microorganisms without undertaking any
change either on the number or form of disease
pathogens.
 E.g. Housefly for trachoma.
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• Entomology: the study of arthropods in general,

and incorporates sciences like
 zoology,
 Biology
 parasitology and
 micro-biology.
• Medical Entomology: This is a special phase of entomology
and Parasitology which deals with arthropods which affect the
health and well-being of man and vertebrate animals.
• is medical science directly concerned to vectors that affect human
and animal health.
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•Arthropods:
Arthro = jointed
Poda =legs.
Arthropods are invertebrate
animals with jointed-legs
and identified by their
peculiar characteristics. Fig. jointed leg of arthropods
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Ways of Vector Borne Disease

Transmission:

• Generally there are three types of vector

borne disease transmission.
1. Mechanical disease transmission
2. Biological disease transmission and
3. Hereditary disease transmission.
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1. Mechanical disease transmission: is a type of

disease transmission in which the vector is no more
than a carrier that transmit pathogens without any
change either on the number or form of disease
pathogens.
 E.g. Trachoma.

2. Biological disease transmission:

• In this type of disease transmission certain
developmental pattern exists either in the vector or
host or in both cases.
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▫ It is sub-divided in to:
▫ Propagative: In propagative type of
disease transmission only the number of
pathogens increases and the developmental
stage remain constant.
 E.g. plague and typhus
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• Cyclo-developmental: In this type of disease

transmission only the developmental stage (form)
of the disease pathogen changed (small to big,
immature to matured stage, etc.) while the number
of the pathogenic organism remain constant.
• Cyclo-propagative: This type of disease
transmission is a combination of both propagative
and cyclo-developmental where by the disease
pathogen under take a change both in number and
developmental form (stage).
E.g. Malaria.
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3. Transovarian(Hereditary) disease
transmission:
• is a type of disease transmission where by the
causative agent is transmitted to the immature
stage ( usually to egg ) from the adult insects and /
or other arthropods who carry disease pathogens
▫ Ticks
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Insects of public Health importance

All species under phylum arthropoda have the
following characteristics in common
1. Bilaterally symmetrical body sub-divided into
segments.
2. Body covered with exoskeleton, which is made up of
cuticle that contain chitin (Nitrogenous
polysaccharide).
 Chitin is a tough and rigid substance
 It is water, parasite, shock proof and do not dissolve
with acids.
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3. Jointed appendages are present on some

body segments. (Wings, legs, antennae)
4. Open circulatory system that works by
diffusion.
5. Central ladder type of nervous system that
work with ganglia.
6. Growth by molting, which is controlled by
hormones
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Classification of arthropods
• The largest and most inclusive group is the
kingdom, and the smallest is the species.

• E.g. Classification of malarial mosquito and man (fig. below)

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Classification Man Malarial mosquito

Kingdom Animal Animal
Phylum Chordata Arthropoda
Class Mammalia Insecta
Order Primates Diptera
Family Hominidae Culicidae
Genus Homo Anopheles
Species sapiens gambiae, nilli, kingi, dancalicus,
fenstus, smithi etc.
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• Arthropods can commonly be

classified into different sub groups
as shown in the classification tree
(figure 2.1) below.
 phylum Class Sub-class Order Sub-order Family Sub-family
18

Dictyoptera
Anophelinae
(Cockroach)
Anopheles
Culicidae
Hemiptera Culicinae
Apterygota (bed bugs) Culex,Aedes
Nematocera Psychodidae
Insecta Sand fly
Ptergota Anoplura
(lice) Simulidae
Arachinida Black fly

Arthropoda Tabanidae
Diptera Brachycera
Diplopoda Horse fly

Ostridae
Siphonaptera
Chilopoda myce fly
(Fleas)
Muscidae
Crustacea Cyclorrhapha house fly

Glossinidae
tse tse fly

Figure. common classification tree of phylum arthropoda (adapted from public health pests
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• The phylum arthopoda is the largest of the animal

phyla.
• There are numerous classes under it, but about five
of these classes are medically important.
Class Insecta
• have three body part:
 Head (eyes, 1 pair of antennae and 3 pairs of appendages)
 Thorax (3 pairs of legs, and ½ pairs of wings in most insects,
some insects have no wings)
 Abdomen
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Entomologist express as the orders of class insecta

could reaches to about 30.
But the most common orders of insects are:

 Diptera  Orthoptera
 Anoplura  Siphonaptera
 Coleoptera  Mallophaga
 Hemiptera  Isoptera
 Hymenoptera  Homoptera and
 Lepidoptera  Odonata.
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• Class Arachnida:
 has four pairs of legs.
 The head and the thorax are fused forming a
cephalo-thorax.
 The appendages (legs) are located on the
cephalothorax.
 The head has no antennae but Pedipalps and
different mouth parts from that of insects.
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• Centipedes and the millipedes:

 jointly are known as the Myriopods.
 Two body divisions: head & trunk.
 The biting of myriopods: allergic, while some are also
venomous.
 The millipedes secret chemicals for defence purposes
(bad smell).
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Class Crustacean:
• Has two body division:
 Cephalothorax/prosoma (head and chest) and
 Abdomen/opisthosoma
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▫ Arthropod habitat
• Depending upon species, arthropods live in various habitats.
• The following are some of the factors that control habitats of
arthropods:
 Food
 Disease
 breeding media
 Climate
 Competition
 natural enemies and etc.

• The habitats of arthropod includes

 Soil (on the surface of the soil or under ground)
 Water (fresh waters, salty waters or hot springs)
 ambient air
 Man
 animal and
 Plants
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▫ Advantages and disadvantages of

arthropods
• The effect of arthropods may be seen in
relation to health and their benefit.
A. Health Effects:
• Arthropods affect the health and comfort of
man in many different ways.
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The Following are some examples of the health effects attributed to

arthropods:

• They bite and suck blood.

• They pass infective organisms and may inject toxin to man
and animals (mechanically or biologically).
• They cause myiasis (infestation by larva of diptera) on man and
animals.
• Annoy and irritate man and animals.
• They cause envenomization by their bite, sting, and spines or by
their secretions.
▫ Envenomization may cause swelling, pain, redness, rash, fever,
allergic reactions, blood poisoning, or death in some cases.
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• Arthropods parasitize man, animals and plants

• Cause accidental injury to sense organs
• They cause allergic/asthmatic reactions by their
odor, secretions, and by their dead body fragments.
• Crop adulteration is another effect of arthropods
due to their droppings of fecula, dead body, egg
shells, urine or microorganisms.
• Arthropods cause Entomophobia (fear of insects):
nervous disorder, hallucination etc.
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B. The Beneficial Effects of Arthropods

1. Pollonization of plants.
2. Silk production (moth)
3. Honey and wax production
4. Improving the soil
5. Source of a commercial varnish
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6. Predators of other insects

7. Parasites of other insects
8. food for human’s and animals.

6. sources for scientific knowledge and

technological innovations
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Culicidae (The mosquitoes)

Occurrence
• Mosquitoes -have a world wide
distribution.
• Mosquitoes are notorious as proven
vectors of some of the most devastating
human diseases.
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They belong to:

Class insecta

Order diptera

Family Culicidae

subfamilies Toxorhychitnae
Anophilinae
Culicinae
generas 37
species 3454
Of which about 100 are vectors of human diseases
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• Anophelinae
blood feeders
• Culicinae
• Toxorhynictinae: do not feed on blood

• The most important man biting belongs to the genera:

▫ Anopheles
▫ Culex
▫ Aedes
▫ Mansonia
▫ Hemagogus and
▫ Sabethes.
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• The anthropophagic mosquito can

be divided in to:
 Endophagic- feed indoor
 Exophagic-feed outdoor
 Endophilic- rest in indoor
 Exophilic- rest outdoor
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Anopheles mosquitoes
Medical Importance
1. Biting Nuisance
• They may constitute a biting nuisance
2. Malaria
Introduction
• Malaria is a serious vector-borne disease
• affecting a greater proportion of the world’s population than any
other vector-transmitted diseases.
• Over 70% of the Ethiopian land
• 60% of the population
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Causative agent

• Single-celled protozoan parasites (genus Plasmodium)

1. P. falciparum: tropical Africa, Asia and Latin America

2. P. vivax: worldwide in tropical and some temperate zones

3. P. ovale: mainly in tropical west Africa

4. P. malariae: worldwide but very patchy distribution.

• Plasmodium falciparum is the main cause of severe clinical

malaria and death.

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3. LYMPHATIC FILARIASIS
 Wucheriera bancrofti and
 Burgia malayi
 Burgia timori

Culicinae Mosquittoes
• The subfamily culicinae contains 34 genera of mosquitoes, of
which the medically most important ones are:
 Culex
 Aedes
 Mansonia
 Haemagogus
 Sabethes.
 Psorophora: mainly pest mosquitoes.
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 Culex Mosquitoes
Distribution
• They are found more or less world-wide
• absent from the extreme northern parts of the temperate zones.
Medical importance of Culex
1. Biting Nuisance
2. Lymphatic Filariasis
• Lymphatic filariasis is rarely life-threatening.
• It causes:
 widespread and chronic suffering
 disability and
 social stigma.
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Causative agent
• It is caused by parasitic nematode worms of the family filariidae.
• Three species are of significance
 Wuchereria bancrofti
 Brugia malayi and
 Brugia timori.

• It can lead to grotesquely swollen limbs

 a condition known as elephantiasis.
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3. Encephalitis
• This is an arthropod-borne viral infection that
attacks the central nervous system and causes
inflammation of the brain.
• These diseases are normally transmitted between
animal populations and occasionally to people.
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Aedes Mosquitoes
• It has world-wide distribution
Medical importance of Aedes Mosquitoes
1. Yellow fever
• Yellow fever is a zonoosis, essentially a disease of
forest monkeys
• Occasionally transmitted to humans.
• It is an acute disease which often causes death
• Causative agent: viral (Flavivirus Fibricus)
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Fig. Diagrammatic representation of the sylvatic, Rural and urban

transmission cycles of yellow fever in Africa.
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2. Dengue fever
• This viral disease is commonly called break bone fever
• It is characterized by
▫ a sudden high fever
▫ severe headache
▫ backache and
▫ pain in the joints.
• Dengue is transmitted from person to person
 Causative agent: viral (Dengue Fever Virus)
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Control Strategies For Mosquitoes

Mosquito Survey
The need for surveys:
• It's essential to conduct mosquito surveys to
determine:
 the species present
 their abundance
 their potential as disease vectors, and
 to collect enough information to base a pest
management program on.
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• To adequately conduct mosquito surveys, the first

thing needed is an adequate map
▫ to become familiar with the area
▫ locate breeding places for all developmental stages
▫ establish good sites for sampling stations.
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A. Larval surveys.
• Larval surveys show the exact areas where mosquitoes are breeding
• Identify and mark the map for regular larval dipping stations
• inspect them periodically throughout the breeding season.
B. Adult surveys.
• Several methods are available to conduct adult mosquito surveys,
including:
 traps and resting stations as well as
 biting and/or landing rates.
• The methods used in a particular situation will depend upon the habits
of the species concerned.
• Use a combination of methods whenever possible
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Mosquito Abatement (Management)

Introduction

• Mosquito abatement methods may be

either:
 long term or
 temporary programs directed against
▫ larvae or
▫ adults.
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Steps for effective mosquito control

• Education
• awareness of mosquito biology
• Residents should clean and replenish pet water
• Remember, any container that will hold water for 5 to 7 days
is a potential breeding site for mosquito larvae.
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Source Reduction of Larval Habitats

• Drain any unnecessary containers/pools of water

Fig. some of the breeding sites of mosquitoe

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Personal Protection
• wearing insect repellent when they are outdoors.
• Wearing long sleeved clothing
• Repellants which contain from 10 to 30% DEET (N, N diethyl-m-
toluamide) are most effective
• Special care should be taken when applying repellants to children.
Chemical Control for Adult Mosquitoes
• decisions regarding control should be left up to municipal
regulation.
• Area wide chemical control for adult mosquitoes can be applied
by thermal fogging or Ultra Low Volume (ULV) spraying.
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SIMULIDAE /BLACK FLY/

Occurrences
• Class: Insecta
• Order: Diptera
• Family: Simulidae
• Genus: Simulium
• Species: -damnosum, neavei.
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Public Health Importance

1. Nuisance
• In both tropical and non tropical areas
• can cause a very serious bitting problem
▫ Localized swelling
▫ Inflammation
▫ Accompanied by intense irritation
 lasting for several days/weeks.

2. Onchocerciasis
• Onchocerciasis/river blindness is the disease transmitted by the
female black fly.
• Repeated infection affects the eyes that lead to blindness
• South western Ethiopia is confirmed to have the vector
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Distribution
Endemic area in Ethiopia are:
Jimma

Shebe

Bonga

Gore

Gardula •New worms form new nodules

or find existing nodules and
Nekemt cluster together
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• Onchocerciasis is the world’s second

leading infectious cause of blindness.
Causative agent
• A parasitic worm
 Onchocerca volvulus
 the family filariidae
 lives in the human body for up to 14 years.
 Each adult female worm: produces millions of
microscopic larvae (microfilariae)
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Sand flies (Phlebotomus spp.)

• Class: Insecta
• Order: Diptera
• Family: Psychodidae
• Genus: Phlebotomous
• Species : Ph. Longipes , Ph. Longerni, Ph. Orientalis,
Ph. Papatasi, Ph. Chinesis;

Ps. Phalaenoides, Ps. Alternata

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Public Health importance

1. Nuisance
• may constitute a serious, but usually localized bitting
nuisance.
• Severe and almost intolerable irritations, a condition known in
the middle east as harara.
2. Leishmaniasis
• This is a term used to describe a number of closely related
diseases caused by several distinct
 Species
 subspecies and
 strains of Leishmania parasites.
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Clinical Forms
The diseases occur in four main clinical forms:

Cutaneous leishmaniasis(oriental sore) → le. Major

le. aethiopica

Diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis → le. aethiopica (less common)

Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis(espundia)
le. braziliensis
le. Panamensis

Visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) → le. donovani

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Gondar
Tigray
Distribution Jimma
Endemic area Diredawa
Visceral in Ethiopia:
leishmaniasis Lekemt
(kala-azar) Harar
Arbaminch
Dessie.
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Causative agent
• Parasitic protozoa of the genus Leishmania
• Over 20 species and subspecies infect humans

Diffuse Mucocutaneous Visceral

Cutaneous leishmaniasis
cutaneous leishmaniasis leishmaniasis
leishmaniasis (kala-azar)
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GLOSSINIDAE /TSETSE FLY/

Occurrence
• Class: Insecta
• Order: Diptera
• Family: Glossinidae
• Genus: Glossina
• Species: - The six different Glossina spp. considered primary vectors of
the disease are
 Glossina palpalis
 G. Morsitans
 G. Tachinoides
 G. pallidipes
 G. swynnertoni and
 G. fuscipes.
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• The tsetse is the vector of:

▫ African trypanosomiasis/sleeping sickness

• which may be caused by either:

 Trypanosoma brucei gambiense or
 Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense.

• Tsetse flies are generally confined to the area of :

▫ Tropical Africa, south of the Tropic of Cancer.
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Public Health importance

1. Nuisance
• cause painful bites
• buzzing sound
2. Human trypanosomiasis
• It is usually divided in to two.
1. Human African trypanosomiasis/sleeping sickness
2. Human American Trypanosomiasis/Chagas disease.
▫ Occurs
◦ in the Americas
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Causative agent
• Protozoan parasites of the genus Trypanosoma, via
the bite of tsetse flies (Glossina spp.)
▫ Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense
 east and southern Africa.

▫ T.b. Gambiense
 west and central Africa

▫ A third subspecies, T.b. brucei

 for the cattle disease
 does not infect humans.
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Transmission
• The bite of both male and female tsetse fly.
• Mother-to-child infection: the trypanosome can
cross the placenta and infect the fetus, causing
abortion and perinatal death.
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MUSCIDAE /HOUSE FLY/

Eggs
• The eggs are white
Larva
• Larva=maggot
• Carrot shaped

Pupa
Color: reddish-brown
Are barrel-shaped
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Adults
• The adults have two wings
• There are four narrow black stripes located on the
thorax or area just behind the head.
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Metamorphosis:
• Complete methamorphosis
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Public Health importance

Disease transmission:
• Flies have been implicated as disease vectors
for thousands of years.
• Specially the housefly has been known to be:
 dangerous contaminant of food and
 transmitter of food borne and other diseases.
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The following diseases transmitted by flies:

• Dysentery (amoebic and • coxsackie virus

bacillary) infections
• Typhoid • infectious hepatitis
• Cholera • Yaws
• Salmonellosis • Trachoma
• Tuberculosis • conjunctivitis and
• Leprosy • various infections by
• Anthrax parasitic worms

• polio-myelitis
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SIPHONAPTERA (FLEAS)

• Oval shaped
• Compressed laterally
• Wings are absent
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Public Health Importance

1. Flea Nuisance
2. Plague
• Is caused by yersinia pestis
• It is primarily a disease of wiled animals
(rodents)
• Over 220 rodent species have been shown to
harbor plague bacilli.
▫ Fur trappers and hunters are at risk
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Transmission
• Bite of flea
• Another, but less important, method of infection is
by the flea’s faeces being
 rubbed in to abrasions in the skin or
 Coming in to contact with mucous membranes

• Plague bacilli can remain infective in flea faeces for as

long as 3 years.
• Pneumonic plague (air born transmission): no vector
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3. Flea-Borne Endemic Typhus

• Flea borne or murine typhus is caused by
Rickettsia typhi (mooseri)
Transmission
• When infected faeces being rubbed in to:
 Abrasions
 Coming in to contact with delicate mucous membranes
 Also by the release of rickettsiae from crashed fleas.

• Feaces may remain infective under ideal conditions

for as long as 4-9 years.
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4. Cestodes
• Dipylidium caninum is one of the more
common tapeworms of dogs and cats
• Occasionally occurs in children
• Hymenolepis diminuta infects rats and mice
and occasionally people.
• These tapeworms can be transmitted by fleas to
both rodents and humans.
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Tunga Penetrans
• Tunga penetrans is sometimes referred to as
 the Chigoe or
 Jigger or
 Sand-flea.

• Tunga penetrans does not transmit any disease to

people
• Is a nuisance because females burrow in to the skin.
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• Both sexes feed on blood but whereas the male

soon leaves the host after taking a blood-meal.
• The female after being fertilized burrows in to the
skin
 Between the toes or under toe-nails.
 The sole may also be invaded.
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• When the fleas die they remain embedded

within the host.
• This frequently causes:
 inflammation and
 secondary infections
 if ignored be able to lead to:
▫ loss of the toes
▫ tetanus or
▫ gangrene.
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ANOPLURA / LICE/
• Class: Insecta
• Order: Anoplura
• Family: Pediculidae - the lice.
Body lice - Pediculus humanus humanus
• Body lice spend most of the time in their host's
clothing
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Head Lice-Pediculus humanus capitis.

• Head lice are smaller than body lice
• Nits are cemented to hairs
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• Not life threatening but causes considerable

discomfort
• Scratching leads to:
 Dermatitis
 Secondary infection and
 Matted hair
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Crab lice or crabs phthirus pubis

• Are small whitish
• Have short abdomen
• Most commonly found on the hairs in the pubic
region
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• May be found on the hairy regions of the chest and

armpits
• Infestations of eyebrows and eyelashes
 84

Public health Importance

1. Pediculosis
• The presence of body, head or pubic lice : pediculosis
• large number of body lice may cause pigmented and
tough skin, a condition known as:
 vagabond’s disease or sometimes as morbus errorum.
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2. Louse borne epidemic Typhus

• Caused by rickettsia prowazekii
• Interestingly, typhus is fatal for lice
• Head lice are secondary vectors
 86

• The reckettsia are passed out with the feaces of the

lice
• Infection of people when these are rubbed or
scratched in to:
 Abrasions or
 contact with delicate mucus membranes
▫ such as the conjunctiva.

 inhalation of the very fine powder dry feaces

• The reckttesia may remain alive and infective in
dried lice feaces for about 70 days.
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4. Louse borne epidemic Relapsing fever

• It is caused by a spirochete, borrelia recurrentis
Transmission:
• The only way in which humans can be infected with
louse borne relapsing fever is by the louse being
crushed and the released spirochtes entering the body
through:
 Abrasions or
 Mucus membranes
• The habit of some people crushing lice between the:
 finger nails or
 even the teeth
 88

BLATTIDAE /COCKROACHES/
Introduction
• There are almost 4000 species of cockroaches
• About 50 species have become domestic pests and
the most important medically are
 Blattella germanica (the german cockroach)
 Blattella orientalis (the oriental cockroaches) and
 Periplaneta americana (the American cockroach).
 Supella longipalpa (brown-banded cockroach), less
common
American Cockroach
Periplaneta americana
• Originally from Africa.
• Like damp environments.
• Sewers, around pipes,
ships.
• Basement or first floor in
buildings.
• Nymphal stage 10-14
months long.

89
German Cockroach
Blattella germanica
• Most common species in
US.
• Originally from Africa.
• Smaller than American.
• Basement and first floors
in buildings.
• Nymphal stage 2-3
months long.

90
Oriental Cockroach
Blatta orientalis
• Shiny black.
• Found in sewers, likes
basement.
• More tolerant of cooler
temps.
• Males have short wings,
females are long.
• Nymphal stage 12-15
months long.

91
Brown-Banded Cockroach
Supella longipalpa
• Originally from
Cuba.
• All rooms in house.
• Likes high places
versus low.
• Big problem in the
Southern U.S.
• Glue eggs to things.
• Often ships in with
Furniture.

92
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Medical importance
1. Mechanical disease transmitter
• They can be intermediate hosts of certain nematodes
• Cockroaches are some times called roaches or steam
bugs
• They have almost a world-wide distribution
• Cockroaches almost certainly aid in the transmission
and harborage of various pathogenic
 Viruses
 Bacteria
 protozoa and
 Helminthes
 94

General Control methods of vectors

(Integrated vector control method (IVM)).
• Integrated vector control has been defined as "the utilization of all
appropriate technological and management techniques to bring about
an effective degree of vector suppression in a cost-effective manner".
• It demands an adequate knowledge of

• The biology, ecology, • Ensure effective control

and behaviour of the • Human safety and
vector prevention of other
• Non target organisms unacceptable side effects
• The human population
 95

• Controlling arthropods includes the

following methods:
1. Personal protection
▫ Physical barriers between a vertebrate and
arthropods
▫ chemical barriers that repel arthropods from
actually biting
 96

2. Environmental management
▫ Changing the environment to prevent vector breeding or to
minimize contact between vectors and people can be an
effective control mechanism. It includes:
1. Environmental modification, i.e., any permanent or long-
lasting change in land, water, or vegetation, such as filling,
draining, or forest clearance;
2. Environmental manipulation, e.g., flushing streams,
changing water salinity, and removing shade plants;
3. Modifying human habitation or behaviour, e.g.,
locating new settlements away from vector populations,
modifying house design, and changing water supply and waste
disposal.
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3. Barrier zones and quarantines:

an area free from certain vectors, either naturally or as a
consequence of control programs may need protection from
invasion.
4. Biological control (Bio control):
5. Local control methods
a) Hot ash to kill or drive away insects like ants.
b) Hot water against ants, bedbugs, lice, fleas, etc
c) Certain odorous and sticky leaves like white eucalyptus,
mimosa, etc are used as insect repellents.
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13. RODENTS
13.1. Identification characteristics
• Class – Mammalia
• Order – Rodentia
• Family – Muridae
• Genus- Rattus and Mus
• Species-
 Rattus rattus (Roof rat)
 Rattus norvegicus (Norway rat) and
 Mus musculus (house mouse)
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13.3. public health importance

• Rats are capable of transmitting several important
diseases to human.
• These diseases can be grouped into three categories:
Those diseases or injuries which are directly
caused by rats.
• Rat bite: Bites inflicted by rats can cause serious
injuries to the victims
▫ Risk groups: Infants, children and adults
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• Rat - bite fever: This is a disease caused by a

spirochete organism which may be harbored in the
mouth, particularly on the gum of rats.
• The organism enters through wounds inflicted by
the rat- bite.
• The organism does not affect the rodent
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Those diseases which are transmitted indirectly

by foods or water contaminated by the
rat’s excreta and urine- e.g.
▫ Salmonellosis: - a common food borne disease due
to contamination of the food by faeces/urine
containing salmonella organism
▫ Trichinosis: is contracted by eating infected pork

• The pig acquires the disease from rats, either by:

 Ingesting dead infected rat or
 Through contaminated rat excreta or urine,
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▫ Leptospirosis: a spirochetal disease contracted by

handling or eating food infected with faeces or
urine of domestic and wild rodents
Those which are spread by insects, fleas etc
for which rats act as reservoir- e.g.
▫ Plague: caused by the bacillus pasteurella pestis by
the bite of rat flea known as xenopsyella cheopis,
▫ Murine typhus: caused by a rickettsial organism
transmitted by excreta of rat flea (xenopsylla
cheopis).
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13.4. Control measures of rodents

• Make a survey of the place in order to:
▫ Determine the species and population density
▫ Determine the frequency of occurrence
▫ Their harborages
▫ Food sources etc.
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• Once the survey data are compiled, the following

control methods can be applied:
• Environmental management (control)
 deprive rats’ food, water shelter and harborage,
• Rat proofing and rat stoppage
• Rat trapping: snap or cage trap
• Poisoning using rodenticides
▫ Acute poisons: they kill rats in less than 24 hours.
▫ Chronic poisons: ingested at intervals for a period of days
or weeks.
• Highest precautions: non target organisms
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