@kimlockhartga @DoomsdaysCW Rats/Mice are also a common prey animal for a lot of species, which keeps the ball rolling and some of those like cats/dogs have high human adjacency. Direct disease transmission from rodents to humans is also a concern with some diseases via piss and fecal matter and we've seen evidence that H5N1 can be highly persistent in feces. If H5N1 gets into rodents in a sustained way, that's a very bad situation.