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Can An Infection Take Place After Coming In Contact With Rat Droppings?
Question: I have muliple questions about diseases caused by rats. We found out today that there is a rat crawling around in our ceiling and walls. So far there have been no signs of it in our house. The pest control guy spotted some rat droppings (not sure if he touched them), and set some traps. After doing this, he handed me a pen to sign a sheet of paper, and shortly after touching the pen i touched the bridge of my nose with the same hand. Afterwards, i started researching rats and rat bourne diseases and saw that one way to get most of the diseases caused by rats is by breathing in their droppings and urine, so ive been worried about it nonstop. Is there a way to screen for things like hantavirus or hemorrhagic fever or any other illness caused by rats before symptoms appear? I also have a one year old son and im very worried about his possible exposure.
Brief Answer:
there is no reason to do that...
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
first of all you can't start testing without symptoms. Leptospira for example which can be transmitted by coming into contact with infected rat urine, is diagnosed with serologic testing. The body needs at least a couple of weeks (usually more) to develop the antibodies that we test for. Besides that there is (and there should be) no intention to treat an asymptomatic "patient". You can only clean the area thoroughly and get rid of those rodents. Some of the diseases cannot be treated like the hantavirus you've mentioned, so there is no real benefit from testing.
I hope you find my comments helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.
Kind Regards!
there is no reason to do that...
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
first of all you can't start testing without symptoms. Leptospira for example which can be transmitted by coming into contact with infected rat urine, is diagnosed with serologic testing. The body needs at least a couple of weeks (usually more) to develop the antibodies that we test for. Besides that there is (and there should be) no intention to treat an asymptomatic "patient". You can only clean the area thoroughly and get rid of those rodents. Some of the diseases cannot be treated like the hantavirus you've mentioned, so there is no real benefit from testing.
I hope you find my comments helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.
Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
I do have more questions - can you please tell me symptoms and incubation periods for some of these diseases?
Brief Answer:
I'll mention some symptoms and incubation times
Detailed Answer:
OK...
let me start with the diseases you've mentioned.
Hantavirus causes a respiratory tract disease. It may start with non-specific symptoms like fever, muscle aches and fatigue and continue with respiratory tract symptoms like shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, etc. The symptoms usually start 1 to 5 weeks after exposure.
Leptospirosis starts with non-specific symptoms too. Fever (usually high), headache, muscle aches, abdominal pain, diarrhea, jaundice, kidney damage, meningitis. The first phase of the disease can be indistinguishable from many similar diseases. The second phase carries the worst features of this disease. 2-4 weeks after exposure is the expected time of getting sick.
The symptoms are similar for rat-bite fever also. A rash can be added to the symptoms of fever, headache, muscle aches, lymph node enlargement, etc. 3 days to 3 weeks is the incubation time.
Tularemia (by Francisella tularensis) may involve various parts of the body. Depending on the site of involvement a lymph nodes, the throat, the lungs, the eyes may be insulted and present with relevant symptoms like fever, lymph node enlargement, sore throat, shortness of breath, cough, etc. Incubation time 3 days to 2 weeks.
Plague symptoms also depend on the site of involvement which could be the lymph nodes, the lungs or it could be a systemic disease. The septicemic disease may cause bleeding inside the tissues and black extremities, shock, high fever, etc. The lung involvement may present with respiratory failure, shortness of breath, cough, etc. The symptoms may start 1-6 days after exposure.
I hope you've got a good idea of the symptoms. They are not very specific. If any of you develop a feverish disease, you'd better contact your primary care physician and mention potential exposure to rats.
Kind Regards!
I'll mention some symptoms and incubation times
Detailed Answer:
OK...
let me start with the diseases you've mentioned.
Hantavirus causes a respiratory tract disease. It may start with non-specific symptoms like fever, muscle aches and fatigue and continue with respiratory tract symptoms like shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, etc. The symptoms usually start 1 to 5 weeks after exposure.
Leptospirosis starts with non-specific symptoms too. Fever (usually high), headache, muscle aches, abdominal pain, diarrhea, jaundice, kidney damage, meningitis. The first phase of the disease can be indistinguishable from many similar diseases. The second phase carries the worst features of this disease. 2-4 weeks after exposure is the expected time of getting sick.
The symptoms are similar for rat-bite fever also. A rash can be added to the symptoms of fever, headache, muscle aches, lymph node enlargement, etc. 3 days to 3 weeks is the incubation time.
Tularemia (by Francisella tularensis) may involve various parts of the body. Depending on the site of involvement a lymph nodes, the throat, the lungs, the eyes may be insulted and present with relevant symptoms like fever, lymph node enlargement, sore throat, shortness of breath, cough, etc. Incubation time 3 days to 2 weeks.
Plague symptoms also depend on the site of involvement which could be the lymph nodes, the lungs or it could be a systemic disease. The septicemic disease may cause bleeding inside the tissues and black extremities, shock, high fever, etc. The lung involvement may present with respiratory failure, shortness of breath, cough, etc. The symptoms may start 1-6 days after exposure.
I hope you've got a good idea of the symptoms. They are not very specific. If any of you develop a feverish disease, you'd better contact your primary care physician and mention potential exposure to rats.
Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Final question - do you get these diseases from coming in direct contact with rat droppings and urine, or can you get them from indirect contact. For example, if someone was crawling around in our crawl space where the rat isand then walked through our house, and then my son was to sit on the floor a few hours later, would he be at risk?
Brief Answer:
it requires direct or indirect contact with contaminated material
Detailed Answer:
Besides the urine or droppings themselves, indirect contact with them may transmit the disease. Even inhalation of infected rat urine may cause transmission. So it's possible but less likely compared to direct contact.
Kind Regards!
it requires direct or indirect contact with contaminated material
Detailed Answer:
Besides the urine or droppings themselves, indirect contact with them may transmit the disease. Even inhalation of infected rat urine may cause transmission. So it's possible but less likely compared to direct contact.
Kind Regards!
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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