The Importance of Rodent Control :

Diseases Transmitted by Mice & Rats

Some of the diseases transmitted by mice and rats in Cardiff, South Wales include:

Salmonellosis – bacterial food poisoning, infection with or disease caused by bacteria of the genus Salmonella typically marked by gastroenteritis but often complicated by septicemia, meningitis, endocarditis, and various focal lesions (as in the kidneys) when food is contaminated with infected rodent feces.

Lymphocytic – of or relating to lymphocytes; “lymphocytic leukemia”,

Rickettsialpox – a disease characterized by fever, chills, headache, backache, and a spotty rash, caused by a bacterium of the genus Rickettsia transmitted to humans by the bite of a mite of the genus Allodermanyssus living on rodents such as the house mouse.

Leptospirosis – Any of a group of infectious diseases that are caused by spirochetes of the genus Leptospira, are characterized by jaundice and fever, and are transmitted to humans by contact with the urine of infected animals.

Choriomeningitis – Cerebral meningitis in which there is marked cellular infiltration of the meninges, often with a lymphocytic infiltration of the choroid plexuses

Ratbite fever – either of two febrile human diseases usually transmitted by the bite of a rat: a : a septicemia marked by irregular relapsing fever, rashes, muscular pain and arthritis, and great weakness and caused by a bacterium of the genusStreptobacillus b : a disease that is marked by sharp elevation of temperature, swelling of lymph glands, eruption, recurrent inflammation of the bite wound, and muscular pains in the part where the bite wound occurred and that is caused by a bacterium of the genus Spirillum called also sodoku.

Tularemia – An infectious disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensisthat chiefly affects rodents but can also be transmitted to humans through the bite of various insects or contact with infected animals. In humans, the disease is characterized by intermittent fever and swelling of the lymph nodes.

Lyme disease – an acute inflammatory disease that is usually characterized initially by the skin lesion erythema migrans and by fatigue, fever, and chills and if left untreated may later manifest itself in cardiac and neurological disorders, joint pain, and arthritis and that is caused by a spirochete of the genus Borrelia  transmitted by the bite of a tick especially of the genus Ixodes, I. dammini in the eastern and midwestern U.S., I. pacificus especially in some parts of the Pacific coastal states of the U.S., and I. ricinus in Europe called also Lyme, Lyme borreliosis

Dermatitis – inflammation of the skin; skin becomes itchy and may develop blisters and is caused by the bites of mites from the mice.

Tapeworm – Any of various ribbonlike, often very long flatworms of the class Cestoda, that lack an alimentary canal and are parasitic in the intestines of vertebrates, including humans.

Favus – a contagious skin disease of humans and many domestic animals and fowls that is caused by a fungus called honeycomb ringworm.

Black Plague – the epidemic form of bubonic plague.

Hantavirus – pulmonary syndrome, a type of virus carried by rodents causing severe respiratory infections in humans, and in some cases, hemorrhaging, kidney disease, and death. Hantavirus is another danger becoming more common. Recently there have been numerous outbreaks of Hantavirus in the United States carried and spread by the house mouse. The virus is contracted by humans through inhalation of dust in contaminated rodent areas, usually where droppings and contaminated food tend to collect. If you have or have had a mouse infestation, always wear a respirator when cleaning the area. Symptoms of Hantavirus are similar to the flu including fever of 101 +, chills, body ache, and troubled breathing. It can be fatal, so if suspected see your doctor IMMEDIATELY.