Objective To analyze the spatial distribution patterns of rodent community and the risk factors of disease transmission in natural foci of Xiji County,Ningxia,in order to provide a scientific basis for disease control and prevention.Methods Rodents were captured at different habitats in different latitudes which were selected with a stratified sampling method in 2012-2013.Capture rate of different rodent species and spatial distribution patterns of the animal community were analyzed.Antigen and antibody of hantavirus were detected in lung tissue and blood of the rodents with immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA),respectively.Serum F1 antibody of Yersinia pestis (Y.pestis) was detected with indirect hemagglutination test and Y.pestis from liver and spleen tissue was cultured in vitro.Results Fourteen species of rodents were captured,belonging to 2 orders,7 families and 9 genera.Among them,ground squirrels and wood mouse were dominant species,accounted for 49.56％ (112/226) and 34.51％ (78/226) of the community,respectively.Infections of hantavirus and Y.pestis were not found in the rodent's community.Conclusion With the improvement of ecological environment in Xiji County,the spatial distribution patterns of rodent community is changing; the risk of zoonotic plague is reduced,but the risk of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome is being.

ABSTRACT:To improve the ability of correct classification and identification of rodents in different kinds of foci of zoonosis in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in China ,rodents samples from different habitats of Ningxia were collected .Sequences of COI gene were amplified and sequenced from 154 samples .Based on these sequences ,the pairwise genetic distance were calcu‐lated ,and a Neighbor Joining tree were constructed .According to the NJ tree ,20 clusters with high bootstrap support were found from 19 morphological species .The striped dwarf hamsters were divided into two clusters ,which suggested that there were two cryptic species with stripe on the back .The pika from Helan Mountain showed close relationship with Ochotona pal‐lasi ,and the genetic distance was as low as 3 .6% .Results show that DNA barcodes could be used to accurately identify speci‐mens of rodents and correct morphological identification errors .It could discover appearance indistinguishable implied species and could better study the classification and evolution of rodents .