Main zoonosis transmitted by small mammals
Virus zoonosis
Cowpox
- infectious agent: a virus of a cow, orthopoxvirus
- animal disease:
- local symptoms: papule, vesicle pustule ulceration

-
- general symptoms: flu-like syndrom
- Mean of contamination: direct contact, bite, scratch. Rats from a farm in Czech Republic in 2013
- human disease : skin rash

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis:
- infectious agent: an arenavirus, the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV): mice, hamster, Guinea pig, rat, squirrel, chinchilla
- animal disease:
- Usually without symptoms.
- Sometimes nervous symptoms and quick death.
- Mean of contamination:
- bite or contact of damaged skin or mucous membranes with the droppings or saliva of infected rodents.
- Inhalation of contaminated spray dust, in close contact with infected rodents.
- More rarely by ingestion of water or food contaminated by droppings of rodents.
- human disease :
- Incubation period of 1 to 2 weeks.
- Usually without symptoms.
- Sometimes: Mild form like a flu.
- Meningeal form: fever and symptoms of meningitis, healing without sequels.
- In pregnant women, the infection can cause an abortion but also serious malformations of the unborn child.
Hepatitis E
- infectious agent: a virus, the Hepatitis E virus (HEV): Mini pig, rabbit
- animal disease: Usually without symptoms.
- Mean of contamination: ingestion of water contaminated by droppings.
- human disease : Hepatitis like hepatitis A
Bacterial zoonosis
Streptobacillosis and pasteurellosis
- infectious agent: a bacterium, streptobacillus moniliformis
- animal disease: usually without symptoms.
- Mean of contamination: exclusively by bite, especially by a rat (50-80% of the rats would carry Streptobacillus sp.), but also a mice, a Guinea pig, a gerbil, a squirrel
- human disease : fever, joint pain and a rash occurring within 2 to 5 days.
Yersiniosis (pseudotuberculosis)
- infectious agent: a bacterium,Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Guinea pig and prairie dog (Cynomys spp.)
- animal disease: generalized infection with appearance of small abscesses on the liver and the spleen, resembling the tubers from tuberculosis.
- Mode of contamination: feco-oral pathway
- human disease :
- mesenteric adenitis with appendicitis-like symptoms
-
sometimes septicemia.
Listeriosis
- infectious agent: a bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes: rodents.
- animal disease: nervous symptoms
- acute in young: meningoencephalitis and death
- Subacute in adults: torticollis, disorders of balance and convulsions. Abortions and stillbirths
- Mean of contamination: ingestion of water contaminated by droppings.
- human dIsease :
- flu-like febrile syndrome,
- Abortion in pregnant woman
- sometimes meningoencephalitis in immunodepressed people
Salmonellosis
See zoonosis transmitted by reptiles
Fungal zoonosis
Ringworm
It's the most frequent zoonosis.
- infectious agent: a fungal parasite, mostly Trichophyton mentagrophytes
- animal disease

(source: http://www.guinealynx.info)
- Mean of contamination: direct contact with guinea-pigs bring spores to humans. Other rodents and rabbits can also transmit ringworm, with a much lower incidence.
- human dIsease : especially in children, tinea corporis.

(source: http://ringwormtinea.com)
Parasitic zoonosis
- infectious agent: mite parasite:
- Scabies: (guinea pig scabies: Trixacarus caviae, rat scab: Notoedres muris, ..., rabbit scabies: Sarcoptes scabei)
- Pseudoscabies (rabbit : pseudoscabies Cheyletiella parasitivorax).

Trixacarus caviae (source: http://taxondiversity.fieldofscience.com)
- animal disease: pruritus, alopecia, crusts

Lesions of guinea pig scabies by Trixacarus caviae (source http://www.guinealynx.info)

Feet and head lesions of rabbit scabies by Sarcoptes scabei, lesions of rabbit pseudoscabies by Cheyletiella parasitivorax
(source http://www.medirabbit.com, http://www.bio.miami.edu, http://www.fondleface.com)
- Mean of contamination: direct contact
- human disease:
- mostly temporary parasite: the multiple stings of Cheyletiella make papules and pruritus
- sometimes permanent parasite: Sarcoptes scabei bring to real scabies

lesions of Cheyletiella on a human arm, lesions of Sarcoptes scabies on a hand
(source https://norecopa.no, https://commons.wikimedia.org)