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What if you are bitten by a rat
If you are bitten by a rat, we would always recommend that you seek urgent medical attention. Even if the rat has
barely touched you at all, you will still want to seek medical attention. We're not trying to be overdramatic about
this, but there are a wide range of diseases that can be spread by rats, and coming into contact with the rat, or
being bitten or scratched by it, is just one of transmitting those diseases. For the record, a rat bite or scratch
CAN be fatal.
Will a rat give me rabies?
Rats carrying rabies is rare. There are almost no reports of humans contracting rabies from rats, although parasites and
fleas / ticks / mites on rats can transmit the virus from other animal to the rat, and then to another animal again.
Rabies is NOT usually a concern with rats, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be concerned.
What diseases can you get from a rat bite or scratch?
Rat bite fever, just as the name would suggest, is a disease that be passed on from a rat to another animal, and even to
humans. There are two types of rat bite fever to worry about:
Spirillary RBF
Streptobacillary RBF
After about a week or being bitten or scratched by a rat, most of the symptoms of the incident are basically gone. You
may have a small scar, of course, but unless that bite or scratch becomes infected, you won't have sought medical attention because
of it.
In the meantime, however, you get what feels like it might be the symptoms of an impending cold or flu - headaches and muscle pains,
pain in the joints, wanting to sleep all the time, losing your appetite, feeling nauseous and maybe even vomiting.
You wouldn't usually associate your symptoms with the rat bite, but it could be a sign of Streptobacillary rat bite fever. The symptoms
can take a few days to appear, usually three to ten days, and in some cases, it can even take three weeks or more for you to even start
to feel unwell. A rash might appear next, and then the joints will start to sweep and become very painful. It won't be long before you are
hospitalized, and at no point will you have even considered the rat bite to have been the source of the problem.
These diseases are rare, admittedly, but there are cases all over the world - mostly Japan, but also lots of Europe, America, and even
as far as Australia and Africa.
When a rat is infected with rat bite fever, it can secrete mucus from all orifices, contamination food, soil, and even water sources. As the
name suggests, it is often the bites and scratches that are the worst culprits, and these can affect not just humans, but other animals including
household pets and farmyard animals.
If you have been bitten or scratched by a rat, we would highly recommend that you wash the area immediately with clean water. We also recommend that
you clean it with an antiseptic solution and seek medical attention. Just because you think you are fine, doesn't mean you will actually be fine. There
are many dangerous diseases associated with rats, rat bite fever being just one of them.
For more rat information, visit our rat removal tips page, or for more specific how-to instructions, read the how to get rid of rats page with 6 step-by-step instructions.
If you have a problem with rats above your ceiling in your house, read my rats in the attic guide. The most important part of rat control is sealing shut entry holes into the building, but after
you've done that, you'll want to know how to kill rats humanely to complete the rat control job. If you need to hire professional help in your city, click on my directory of over
200 rat removal companies servicing 95% of the USA. we can help your with your rat problem!
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