Four Frightening Diseases Carried By Rodents
Posted on: 18 April 2016
Rodents are problematic neighbors for a variety of reasons. They feed on stored grains and crops, they create offensive odors in homes and they chew through wires, floorboards and screens. However, the most troubling problems they cause relate to disease – rodents can carry a wide variety of potentially deadly diseases and they should never be allowed to co-exist in close proximity to humans.
Among other diseases, rodents can carry and transmit the following four diseases to humans.
- Plague – Caused by the microorganism Yersinia pestis, plague is a serious illness carried by some rodents. However, plague is actually transmitted by tiny fleas that feed on rodents and not the rodents themselves. Humans contract the disease from contact with the infected fleas. Most famous for causing millions of deaths in the middle ages, plague is actually quite treatable with modern antibiotics, but as the disease can be fatal, prompt care is appropriate.
- Salmonellosis – Salmonellosis is a disease caused by various strains of Salmonella bacteria. The disease causes a variety of gastrointestinal symptoms and is one of the primary pathogens that causes "food poisoning," but it can also be contracted from contact with infected rodents or by consuming food that has been contaminated by their droppings. Salmonella is often treatable with antibiotics, but it can be fatal for old, young and immunocompromised patients.
- Hantavirus – Also called the Hanta Pulmonary Syndrome, hantavirus is one of the most infectious diseases carried by rodents. While the disease does not appear to be transmitted from one person to the next, humans can be infected in several other ways. People can contract the disease through contact with a dead rodent or by receiving a bite, but many become sick after breathing in dust that has been tainted with the droppings or urine of rats. Unfortunately, there is no specific treatment for the hantavirus, which can cause death in some cases. Instead, doctors primarily treat infected patients by providing supportive care.
- Rat-Bite Fever – Humans can contract rat-bite fever through a variety of means, such as having contact with a dead rodent or consuming feces-contaminated food or water. Additionally, bites or scratches inflicted by infected rodents can transmit the disease. The causal agent of the disease is a bacteria, known to biologists as Streptobacillus moniliformis. While the disease can be fatal if left untreated, it usually responds well to antibiotics; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that penicillin is the most commonly prescribed antibiotic used to treat the disease.
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