Most people look forward to summer. And in Melbourne, as the weather starts to warm up, you know you have to try to free your home and the surrounding of clutter moisture and dampness. Because these make for very favourable conditions for rodents, insects, and pest to come make your home their resting place. Before long your beautiful home can get infested with rats and mice.
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Leptospirosis
Leptospirosis is the most common disease caused by the infestation of rats and mice. When water or soil that has been polluted with the droppings or urine of rats is ingested by a person or it gets into an open wound it causes Leptospirosis.
Mostly young children, elderly people and those having a history of liver or kidney problem are prone to suffer from life-threatening cases of Leptospirosis.
Symptoms encountered by those suffering from leptospirosis are feeling cold, having muscular pain, diarrhea, coughing, and headache. At times this disease could be a threat to life. But it could be a case of one in a million. It does not spread from one person to another.
However, it is best to seek medical advice immediately, better yet, avoid the problem entirely by keeping your home free of these critters.
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Salmonellosis
This disease is also known as Salmonella. This particular infection spreads through food and water that has come in contact with the droppings, urine and the nesting material of rats.
A victim of salmonellosis will show signs like diarrhea and fever. Tummy spasms will only be visible 12 to 72 hours later.
You need to bear in mind Salmonellosis takes time to exit your system. During this time see that your body is properly hydrated and follow whatever medical advice you have been given.
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Rat-Bite Fever
There are fevers and then there is a fever that is life-threatening and is caused by rat bites or ingesting food that has been polluted with rat faeces or their spit.
A person suffering from rat-bite fever will complain of muscle and joint pain, fever, vomiting, headache, and rash. These signs can be visible between 3 to 10 days or even can take about 3 weeks to manifest depending on when the person caught the infection.
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Plague
History has shown how plagues can wipe out multitudes of peoples at a stretch. However, unknown to most people rats do not cause plague, as we have always thought. It is the parasitic fleas living on the rat's body that passes the germ to humans causing the plague.
Those infected show signs of chill, fever, weakness, and swollen lymph nodes. Lack of medication can lead to death. So the antibiotic has to be administered at once.
This is definitely something you don't want to take a risk with by not having efficient pest control and removal scheduled at regular intervals.
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Hantavirus
Rats and mice are the main carriers of Hantavirus which is a very fatal disease as no medicine has yet been discovered to treat this disease.
This virus isn't caused by rat bites alone but can also infect a person if they breathe in air that has been polluted by the rat's feces or if they ingest the rat's urine or if it gets into their eyes.
Signs like fever, tiredness, muscular, thigh, hip, back, and shoulder pain are very prevalent among those suffering from Hantavirus.
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Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis
This is a contagious and dangerous disease caused by direct connection with the saliva, urine or feces of the rats. It can even cause a child in the womb to develop defects.
Fever, stiffness in the neck, loss of appetite, headache, nausea, and vomiting, are the signs of this disease. These symptom surface 1-2 weeks after the virus has entered your system.
If you have aged family members, expectant mothers, and very young children, this disease can cause real tragedy.
What do the details of the above diseases have in common? Rats? So how can you protect yourself against these diseases? By protecting yourself/your home from rats.
It is very important to get pest control done regularly, to avoid the clutter of damp leaves and other substances that will invite rodents, and clean up any food-spills and store food in tightly sealed containers.
If at any time you notice rodent's droppings or pieces of wood gnawed at, get it attended to at once by professionals and protect your loved one from harm.