Caring For You & Your Pet – “Rat Bite Fever”.
Rats make great pets and can be “starter pets’; including for children who want something different.
Like all pets, good hygiene is really important.
Pets have different germs that sometimes infect humans. Rat Bite Fever is one example.
Rat Bite Fever (RBF) is actually the name for three separate diseases in humans, but all variants produce similar symptoms and are all associated with rats, so they tend to be called the same name.
HOWEVER, Rat Bite Fever is not ONLY caused by rat bites – but it can also be caught by eating or drinking food or fluids contaminated by rats, from bites by rat-eating carnivores (e.g. cats & dogs) or a bite from a carrier (e.g. mice).
Even though most diagnosed infections involve ‘wild’ rats, pet rats can cause ill health. Children under 9 years old represent more than 50% of all reported cases.
All people including rat owners, pet shop workers, children with “classroom rats” and their teachers, as well as laboratory workers, should all be aware of Rat Bite Fever and the simple safety steps you can take to take to avoid the disease.
Links to some interesting articles;
https://www.omicsonline.org/australia/ratbite-fever-peer-reviewed-pdf-ppt-articles/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-06-01/pet-rats-may-harbour-deadly-fever/850446
https://www.asid.net.au/documents/item/437
Rodent Control Wilson’s Pest Control
