While rats have been known to be carriers of many diseases, they are now being commonly kept as house pets. With more and more children wanting to care for rats, the dangers they pose should be something everyone is well-informed about.

Rats
While they have been known to be carriers of numerous diseases, rats are now being commonly kept as house pets. Although, rat owners should be wary of the dangers that come with keeping rats as pets. Nick Savchenko / Flickr

While considered cute by many, rats can be very dangerous to your health if you do not know the risks that come with keeping them as pets. For example, rat urine, feces, and dander could cause potentially fatal allergic reactions when you are exposed to them. Additionally, exposure to infected rat urine could also cause leptospirosis which can lead to death if left untreated. Another risk that comes with keeping rats as pets is the danger of contracting rat bite fever.

Rat bite fever is an infectious disease caused by bacteria in infected rodents. People could contract the disease through the following methods:

  • Handling of rodents carrying the bacteria
  • Contact with infected rat saliva, urine, or feces
  • Through bites or scratches from infected rodents. The bacteria that causes rat bite fever can directly enter the body through open skin, a bite wound, or mucous membranes such as those found in the nose, eyes, or mouth.
  • Contact with surfaces contaminated with the bacteria that causes rat bite fever
  • Consuming food or drinks contaminated with feces or urine from infected rodents

The disease causes fever, vomiting, headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, and rashes and can cause death if left untreated. Fortunately, rat bite fever cannot be spread from one person to another.

Rash
One of the symptoms of rat bite fever is the developing of rashes. Other symptoms include vomiting, fever, joint pain, and muscle pain. cabriolet2008 / Flickr

One such case of a person contracting the disease involves an 8-year-old girl. The girl, named Cali, contracted the disease even though she had never been bitten by her pet rat. Although, her doctor theorizes the bacteria got in through her skin as Cali has eczema on her fingers and handles her pet rats quite often. Cali began showing signs of rat bite fever when she developed a high fever and her body had become covered in rashes. The little girl's joints also hurt so bad that she was unable to even walk.

Luckily, Cali was taken to get treated just in time and is now recovering. This was nothing short of miraculous as just last 2013, a 10-year-old boy named Aidan Pankey died after contracting the disease.

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