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What diseases do rodents carry?

There are plenty of reasons to not want a rodent or two to be around your home. These critters can be incredibly messy and do a lot of damage to the property, both in and outside your home. It is one of the reasons why so many seek to remove these creatures from their property as quickly as possible.



However, the fact that they make a mess is the least of your concern. The truth of the matter is that it is the health risks that they pose to your family that are the most dangerous of them all. There are many different kinds of parasites and pathogens that rodents carry, and so coming in contact with them or their waste can be quite dangerous to you.

Depending upon the kind of rodent you are talking about will let you know what kind of potential health risks that you face. For example, one of the most common ailments that you will find from a rat is rat-bite fever, which is a bacteria that is carried by rats all over the world. This is spread through coming in contact with the rat and it biting you or scratching you, or by its feces getting into your food. The result of this illness is that you can get quite sick and suffer a lot of abdominal pains.

One of the ailments that has had the most dramatic impact upon the world is bubonic plague, which is commonly found on fleas that live on rats. While not directly passing the disease to human beings, the disease thrives because of the rat providing a host for it to prosper.

Learn more: What to do about a trap-shy rodent

Rats are not the only rodents to carry different diseases. Raccoons are known to carry a large number of them, including such things as rabies. In fact, in the rodent family raccoons are the animal that is most likely to pass this disease on to human beings. In fact, many researchers believe that 20% of raccoons carry the disease. If not treated right away this is always fatal.

Other diseases that you will find from different kinds of rodents include such things as salmonellosis, leptospirosis, lassa fever, and hemorrhagic fever. All of these can pose a serious risk to your health, and can be lethal in those that are young or elderly. Even those who are already battling an illness find themselves at a much greater risk should they contract one of these diseases.

Depending on the location you are in also adds to the possibility of you contracting other kinds of diseases from rodents that can be extremely dangerous to you. For example, there are several different kinds of illnesses that rodents carry that are specific to the South American region. This includes such things as the Argentine hemorrhagic fever, the Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever, and the Bolivian hemorrhagic fever. Both of these can lead to death if not treated right away. Hemorrhagic fevers can be brutal to suffer through, and in many cases lead to death. Read more: Rat Control, Get Rats Out of the Attic, Rat Trapping, Rats in the Ceiling, Rat Feces.


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