Hmmm....spread by rodents, or spread by mites/other blood-sucking parasites? Rodents may be carriers as well, but are they the prime source of infection for snakes in this case? I'm reminded of the bubonic plague, which while thought to be carried by rats originally was actually transmitted by fleas. Both of the viruses (and potentially the third) identified in this study are related to viruses that have either unknown sources or appear to be carried by rodents. You could test it but ultimately if it's mites or rodents or both that are hosts, what will the community do? It's not like there's a synthetic option to feed instead of rodents, and mites aren't going to go away anytime soon. The easiest thing to happen is that feeder companies start getting their colonies screened for these viruses and certifying if they're clean or not. I'm not actually sure if companies like that are required to have sentinels and do regular screening....I would certainly hope so....but if they don't post their health records for their colonies maybe it's something to start encouraging them to do. That way people can be assured the feeders they're getting are clean. It may, as asplundii has noted, be possible to come up with an inexpensive test that breeders and owners can use to ensure their animals are clean, and if such a test becomes available and people can start demanding that breeders certify their animals are clean. However, we still don't know if these are the only two (maybe three) viruses responsible for causing IBD....or if that is the exact cause of IBD, two of the animals in the study tested negative for viruses.