11/28/2014
Health Hazards Posed by Rodents
http://www.pestworld.org/news-and-views/pest-health-hub/posts/health-hazards-posed-by-rodents/
Dr. Jorge Parada
National Pest Management Association
Monday, November 24, 2014
A focus on select infectious diseases
It's not uncommon, especially during the winter months, to have an unpleasant encounter with a rodent who has made its way into a home uninvited. What many people do not realize, however, is that these pests can be much more than a nuisance. Rodents, such as rats, mice, prairie dogs and rabbits, are associated with a number of health risks. In fact, rats and mice are known to spread more than 35 diseases. These diseases can be spread to humans directly, through handling of live or dead rodents, through contact with rodent f***s, urine, or saliva, and through rodent bites. Diseases carried by rodents can also be spread to humans indirectly, through fleas, ticks, or mites that have fed on an infected rodent.
This is especially concerning as the weather cools and rodents start to look for snug warm places to overwinter - like our homes. The National Pest Management Association estimates that rodents invade about 21 million homes in the United States every winter, squeezing through spaces as small as a nickel.
Rodent droppings can trigger allergies and transmit food borne illness such as salmonella, and as mice are capable of dropping up to 25,000 f***l pellets each year, an estimated 70 times each day - prevention and prompt removal in case of an infestation is key.
Stay tuned for posts of some of the most common diseases associated with rodents: Hantavirus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, tularemia, and plague.
It's not uncommon, especially during the winter months, to have an unpleasant encounter with a rodent who has made its way into a home uninvited. What many people do not realize, however, is that these pests can be much more than a nuisance. Rodents, such as rats, mice, prairie dogs and rabbits, are…
