Rodents have been associated with numerous severe epidemics in the past, prompting microbiologist Hans Zinsser in the 1930s to write a book, Rats, Lice, and History, in which he documented the important role of rodents in epidemics

Discuss why rodent control is still desirable, even in an age when it is perceived that the "magic bullets" of chemotherapy and immunization to control infectious disease are readily available.
What will be an ideal response?


Answer: Rodents, among other animals, can serve as reservoirs and vectors of infectious diseases. Due to rodents' high reproductive rate, they can quickly propagate infectious diseases and in little time engender disease epidemics. Even if a disease is easily curable with a particular drug, it is still desirable to consider upstream efforts to eliminate the reservoir of an infectious disease, thus reducing human exposure to the disease agent. Currently emerging diseases such as hanta virus have a rodent reservoir and both plague and typhus can still cause significant numbers of cases worldwide.

Biology & Microbiology

You might also like to view...

The general term used to describe the anabolic and catabolic reactions in a cell is

A. enzymatic. B. thematic. C. aerobic respiration. D. metabolism.

Biology & Microbiology

Most cases of red-green colorblindness are inherited as an X-linked recessive characteristic. Which of the following are possible if a woman, who is a carrier for colorblindness, has offspring with a male who is colorblind?

a. All their sons will have normal color vision. b. All their sons will be colorblind c. All their daughters will be colorblind. d. All their daughters will have normal vision. e. All of the above are possible.

Biology & Microbiology

The synthesis of protein or carbohydrate polymers always produces which of the following as a byproduct?

a. ATP b. Oxygen c. Carbon dioxide d. Urea e. Water

Biology & Microbiology

What are two of the most important surface proteins found on the influenza virus?

A. Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase B. CD4 and CD8 C. MHC and CD99 D. COX-1 and COX-2 E. LOX and Neuraminidase

Biology & Microbiology