Rats, Pharmaceuticals, and Residents in Urban Slums: Mechanisms of Seoul Virus Transmission (RAPH)

Over 50% of the global population lives in urban areas, and cities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face unique public health challenges, exacerbated by the widespread of zoonotic pathogens and urban-adapted reservoirs in densely populated slums. Viral zoonoses such as Lassa fever and Ebola, have been increasing in frequency and scale over the past decades.

In urban areas, especially slums in LMICs, our understanding of the mechanisms determining the transmission and emergence of viral zoonoses within this unique system remains limited.

Our project aims to investigate the transmission mechanisms of Seoul orthohantavirus (SEOV), which causes hemorrhagic fever in humans, in three urban slums of Salvador, Brazil, focusing on the interplay between rat reservoirs, human communities, and the urban ecosystem. We focus on the role of pharmaceutical contamination in rats in relation to SEOV infection and shedding near residents.

To do so, we combine eco-epidemiology and ecotoxicology to disentangle the environmental and socioecological drivers SEOV transmission in residents using a longitudinal study design.

Ultimately, our project seeks to elucidate the complex factors driving viral spillover in urban settings, providing actionable insights for mitigating viral zoonotic risk and providing a framework for similar investigations in urban areas, especially LMICs.