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Characteristics associated with contact with rodents in, around, and outside homes in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand.

Rodents are an important reservoir for zoonotic diseases. To enhance the evidence on the human-rodent interface, this cross-sectional study was conducted in 2011 to investigate characteristics associated with rodent contact in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand. A standardized, interviewer-administered questionnaire elicited information from 201 adults (101 males and 100 females). Overall, 86.6% of participants reported encountering or seeing evidence of rodents in or near the home, whereas 57.2% encountered rodents while working with crops. Encountering rodents in or near the home was positively associated with the number of agricultural activities, whereas encountering rodents during crop work was positively associated with perceiving that disease can be acquired from rodents, the number of food crops grown, the number of agricultural activities, and living in a house with wooden walls. Surprisingly, neither outcome was associated appreciably with gender, age, or setting (urban, forest, or agricultural). These results provide information on the potential risk of rodent-borne zoonoses; this evidence has implications for risk communication strategies in this province and likely elsewhere.