Meeting Abstract

P1-24   -   Presence of Deer Mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and Hantavirus Cases Correlated with Human Population Densities in Texas Maeng, AG*; Healy, J; Austin College; Austin College daybreakam@gmail.com

Growing human population densities have led to increased urban development, which in turn increases human-wildlife interaction as humans move into areas previously dominated by wildlife. This increase in wildlife interactions has led to the rising prevalence of zoonotic diseases as more species become adapted to urban environments shared with dense human populations. One such urban-adapted species is the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), a known carrier for a Hantavirus that causes the zoonotic disease Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. Using historical and recent records from museum collections, primary literature, and the citizen science platform iNaturalist, correlations between deer mouse presence and Hantavirus cases were quantified across Texas through a comprehensive mapping analysis. Recent sightings of deer mice on iNaturalist mostly overlapped with major metropolitan areas of Dallas, Austin, and Houston, whereas historic records of deer mice tended to be reported from more rural counties. Overall, deer mouse detections were found to positively correlate with denser human populations. Hantavirus presence also positively correlated with denser human populations. Within the counties with reported Hantavirus cases in the past decade, deer mouse presence positively correlated with counties that had the largest population gains between the reported year and 2019. This analysis emphasizes the potential usefulness of citizen science efforts in epidemiological studies of zoonotic diseases.