Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) deployed to control rodent pest populations can increase the risk of pathogen infection for some wildlife. However, it is unknown whether ARs also increase infection risk for target rodents, which are common hosts for zoonotic (animal-to-human transmitted) pathogens. In this study, we tested whether rats exposed to ARs were more likely to be infected with zoonotic pathogens, specifically Leptospira spp. or Escherichia coli, after controlling for known predictors of infection (i.e. sex, age, body condition). We collected biological samples from 99 rats trapped in Chicago alleys and tested these for Leptospira infection, E. coli shedding and AR exposure. We found that rats that had been exposed to ARs and survived until the time of trapping, as well as older rats, were significantly more likely to be infected with Leptospira spp. than other rats. We found no significant association between E. coli shedding and any predictors. Our results show that human actions to manage rats can affect rat disease ecology and public health risks in unintended ways, and more broadly, contribute to a growing awareness of bidirectional relationships between humans and natural systems in cities.

用于控制啮齿动物害虫种群的抗凝灭鼠剂 (AR) 会增加某些野生动物感染病原体的风险。然而，目前尚不清楚 AR 是否也会增加目标啮齿动物的感染风险，这些啮齿动物是人畜共患（动物-人传播）病原体的常见宿主。在这项研究中，我们测试了暴露于 AR 的大鼠是否更容易感染人畜共患病病原体，特别是钩端螺旋体。或大肠杆菌，在控制已知的感染预测因子（即性别、年龄、身体状况）后。我们从芝加哥小巷中的 99 只老鼠身上收集了生物样本，并测试了这些老鼠是否感染了钩端螺旋体、大肠杆菌脱落和 AR 曝光。我们发现，暴露于 AR 并存活到诱捕时间的大鼠以及年龄较大的大鼠明显更有可能感染钩端螺旋体属。比其他老鼠。我们发现大肠杆菌脱落与任何预测因子之间没有显着关联。我们的研究结果表明，人类管理老鼠的行为可能会以意想不到的方式影响老鼠疾病生态学和公共卫生风险，更广泛地说，有助于人们越来越意识到城市中人类与自然系统之间的双向关系。