Rat diseases that affect humans

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Rats are pretty vile creatures that can make a huge mess around your home. Even worse, they carry a large number of diseases that pose a risk to you, yourself, and your family. This is why you need to take a lot of precautions when you are around a rat and its waste.



If you are looking to know what are the rat diseases that affect humans, here are some of the most important.

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS). This is a disease that is quite deadly if you should contract it. this is passed from a rat to a human being through its waste, which means that you have to be quite careful if you come in contact with the feces or urine of a rat. You never want to clean an area that has rat waste without wearing gloves and a mask to protect your airway. This is way too dangerous to you and can be life threatening to you, your family and your pet.

Rat-Bite Fever (RBF) – this is an illness that is spread from the bacteria in a rat. This can be contracted from a rat either by being bitten or by it scratching you. It has even been found that some got this disease by eating food that came in contact with the feces of a rat. Clearly, if a rat has been near anything you intend to eat, it is best that you simply throw that food away. You should also see a doctor right away if you have been bitten or scratched by one of these animals.

Leptospirosis – this is another disease spread by bacteria. Not only are humans in danger from this disease, but other animals can get it as well. This can lead to such symptoms as high fever, chills, aches in the muscles, vomiting, red eyes, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. This can be quite serious and can lead to liver failure, meningitis, kidney damage, and even respiratory issues.

Eosinophilic Meningitis – this is an infection that will lead to problems with a person’s brain. This will increase the number of white blood cells and is caused by worms infecting the body that come from the rat. This is a kind of worm that is found in the rat’s lungs, and gets into the human as a parasite. This leads to a serious issue with the brain and can have long-term effects.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium – this is an illness that is very much like typhoid, however, this form contracted by human beings is not nearly as serious of the primary form of typhus, but still can cause some serious symptoms in you. Those who contract the illness shows symptoms like, diarrhea, severe cramps, nausea, vomiting, and severe pain. Fortunately, the symptoms only last about 7 days, which means that you won’t suffer for long, but you will be miserable. It can lead to death for those who are sick already or who are elderly. Get treatment right away if the symptoms start to show. For more information, you may want to click on one of these guides that I wrote:
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