The Role of W.h.o. in the Study and Control of Rodent-borne Disease

W h i l e l i t t l e information is a v a i l a b l e on the d i s t r i b u t i o n and incidence of most of the diseases with rodent reservoirs, many of them are known to be widespread and may have considerable p u b l i c health importance in some of the foci in which they are found. The World Health Organization is carrying out investigations on the epidemiology of several diseases with rodent reservoirs and on the biology and ecology of the rodent reservoir species themselves. These investigations are being carried out both at WHO research u n i t s and with collaborating laboratories. Based on the ecological information the organization is attempting to develop effective and economically acceptable methods and materials to control rodent populations to a point where transmission of disease no longer occurs. THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPORTANCE OF RODENT-BORNE DISEASES The mandate given to the World Health Organization by i t s member nations is to a s s i s t them in achieving the highest possible level of health throughout the world. To g a i n t h i s objective, the rodent-borne diseases as a l l others, must be considered and effectively dealt with. Compared to the morbidity caused by such vector-borne diseases as malaria, trypanosomi a s i s , f i l a r i a s i s and the many species of arboviruses, the reported incidence of rodent-borne diseases, or those w i t h rodent reservoirs, now accounts for a comparatively small burden to p u b l i c health. However, in reality, l i t t l e accurate information is a v a i l a b l e on the true incidence of the rodent-borne diseases in most countries. If one considers the diseases associated with rodents, their number is impressive; plague, murine typhus, leptospirosis, tularaemia, Chagas’ disease, l e i shmaniasis, scrub typhus, salmonelloses, etc., may a l l exist in rodent reservoirs which serve, at least in part, to maintain the cycle of these diseases in natural foci. Since so l i t t l e is known about the true extent of many of these diseases only a few brief examples w i l l be given of their global importance.