afrianimalfriend@yahoo.co.ukOosthuizen, Marinda C.Kolo, Agatha OnyemowoGall, Cory A.Wentzel, Jeanette MariaKolo, Francis BabamanVan Heerden, HenrietteCollins, Nicola E.Brayton, Kelly A.Oosthuizen, Marinda C.University of Pretoria. Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases2021-05-112021-05-112018-08-082021http://hdl.handle.net/2263/79825Includes bibliographical referencesZoonotic pathogens make up an important and increasing number of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases of humans worldwide. It has been documented that rodents serve as hosts and reservoirs of over 60 zoonotic pathogens that pose significant challenges to human health. The Mnisi community area in Bushbuckridge Municipality, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa is cradled in the heart of a human/livestock/wildlife interface. In this community humans, domestic animals and wildlife have perennial direct and indirect contact. Research in the area has found rodents to be common and abundant with 76% of households reported seeing rodents around their homes. Of that number 62% of the respondents saw them daily. A recent study in the area suggests that rodent-borne zoonoses may be implicated as causes of non-malarial acute febrile illness. In this study, 6.5% of acute febrile illness patients tested positive for the rodent-borne zoonotic pathogen Bartonella spp. on PCR, while 6.8% of patients showed prior exposure to Coxiella burnetti, the cause of Q fever and 2.3% to Leptospira spp. The surveillance of zoonotic pathogens in rodents in this community is thus of utmost importance as the role they play in the transmission of zoonotic pathogens to humans is unknown.PDF1 poster : colour illustrations, figures, mapPDFen©2021 University of Pretoria. Faculty of Veterinary Science. Provided for preservation and non commercial purposes only. It may not be downloaded, reproduced, or distributed in any format without a given attribution to the creator and the written permission of the copyright owner.Mnisi community -- South AfricaRodentsHuman/livestock/wildlife interfaceMnisi, Bushbuckridge Municipality -- South AfricaZoonosis -- South AfricaMicrobiome16S ribosomal RNA geneCircular consensus sequencingBloodRural communities -- South AfricaVectors and Vector-borne Diseases Research Programme,Presentation