Rodent-borne hemorrhagic fevers: under-recognized, widely spread and preventable – epidemiology, diagnostics and treatment

This review presents an overview of the most important rodent-borne hemorrhagic fever pathogens directly transmitted from rodents to humans, namely Leptospira and hantaviruses, together with the New- and Old-World arenaviruses. These zoonotic diseases frequently share clinical symptoms, transmission routes and other epidemiological features and often have an emerging pattern. Differential diagnostics could benefit from a syndrome-based approach grouping these pathogens. In this review extensive descriptions of the epidemiology, clinical symptoms, diagnostics and treatment are provided including a practical overview, listing clinical features, diagnostics and risk factors for each selected rodent-borne hemorrhagic fever pathogen.