Habitat degradation and the associated incidence of zoonotic infections ( a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans) in humans have been overlooked for centuries. Unsustainable land use change is one of the key reasons for the outbreak and transmission of most infectious diseases. About 60 percent of infectious organisms pathogenic to humans are zoonotic in origin and thus, categorised as emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). The role of commensal rodents in the transmission of diseases like Plague (caused by bacteria Yersinia pestis) is evident and well-studied. Recent studies have identified numerous zoonotic pathogens from commensal rodents that include Clostridium difficile, Salmonella enterica, Streptobacillus moniliformis, Leptospira interrogans, Bartonella sp., etc.. Infectious bacteria excreted through faecal matter infects other mammals directly or indirectly and this can have serious public health and economic consequences. This study in the Western Ghats has collected around 50 samples from different habitats between March to April 2016. DNA will be extracted from these samples and processed using Next-generation sequencing. This can yield information about the existing bacterial communities associated with rodents across different habitats in this landscape. Further, this study can also help to identify potential zoonotic pathogenic bacteria prevailing in different rodent species within this landscape. We hope the results of this study can have important baseline information which could provide an impetus for future studies which might have important policy implication.
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