May 2, 2024, 07:11 PM IST

10 animals hosting most pathogens

Mahipal Chouhan

Rodents: Rats and mice are known reservoirs for various pathogens including bacteria, viruses, and parasites. They can carry diseases such as leptospirosis, hantavirus, and plague.

Bats: Bats harbor a diverse array of viruses, including some that can be transmitted to humans, such as coronaviruses (e.g., SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV), Ebola virus, and rabies virus.

Birds: Birds can carry a wide range of pathogens, including avian influenza viruses, West Nile virus, and various bacterial and parasitic infections.

Ticks: While ticks are arachnids rather than animals, they serve as vectors for many pathogens. Lyme disease, babesiosis, and anaplasmosis are among the diseases transmitted by ticks.

Mosquitoes: Mosquitoes are vectors for numerous pathogens, including malaria parasites, dengue virus, Zika virus, and West Nile virus.

Amphibians: Frogs, toads, and salamanders can carry infectious agents like Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a fungus associated with chytridiomycosis, a disease contributing to amphibian declines worldwide.

Insects (besides mosquitoes): In addition to mosquitoes, other insects like fleas and lice can carry pathogens such as Yersinia pestis (the causative agent of plague) and Rickettsia species (causing diseases like typhus).

Deer: Deer species can carry pathogens such as ticks infected with Lyme disease, as well as chronic wasting disease (CWD), a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.

This information is not DNA's opinion but obtained from media reports