Fig. 1

Main reservoir, pathogen, mode of transmission of diseases included in the study. Dengue fever is transmitted by mosquitos of the Aedes genus. Transmission happens when an infected person is bitten by mosquitoes which then transfer the pathogen to a new host. Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria from an infected individual to a new host. Plasmodium vivax is the primary pathogen responsible for malaria in Brazil [13, 67]. Chagas disease is caused by protozoa from the Trypanosoma genus. Chagas disease transmission occurs through the bite of hematophagous Triatominae bugs or orally by the ingestion of contaminated food (e.g., açaí [13]). Cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis are mainly transmitted by the bite of Phlebotominae sandflies and infect a wide range of hosts capable of infecting domestic and wild mammals. Brazilian spotted fever is primarily transmitted by the bite of ticks from the Amblyomma genus and is brought by Rickettsia bacteria. Additionally, it has a wide range of reservoirs including capybaras and horses [13]. Schistosomiasis is a helminth-caused disease, transmitted by contact with water where Biomphalaria snails are present so the parasite can complete its life cycle to be transmitted. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is transmitted by the inhalation of excreta from infected wild or domestic rodents [21]. Leptospirosis is caused by the bacteria Leptospira, transmitted by contact with water contaminated with rodents’ urine [13]. Figure made using Biorender.com (2022) and Phylopic (phylopic.org). ¹While the role of wild reservoirs of dengue virus is not fully elucidated in Brazil or South America it is discussed whether marsupials and bats are potential reservoirs in transmission cycles in the Americas, however there is no evidence of their significance in the cycle of transmission [68]. ²Non-human primates can serve as reservoirs for malaria but only in its zoonotic manifestations, which can even have a distinct pathogen, Plasmodium simium, and have a distinct cycle from typical malaria, which is caused by Plasmodium vivax [67]. ^†Although marsupials, cattle, and rodents can be infected by Schistosoma, there is no proof that these animals serve as significant disease reservoirs [16]. Instead, the maintenance of the schistosomiasis transmission cycle depends heavily on infected humans. ³Although some researchers regard the role of wild rodents as vectors of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome transmission, here we will use the definition that wild rodents that are hosts to hantavirus act as reservoirs only. ⁴Although rodents can be considered vectors of the leptospirosis cycle, we considered the concept that domestic rodents are hosts and only reservoirs of leptospirosis