​Do smelly dead mice have bacteria?

The smelly dead rats must be covered with a variety of bacteria and viruses, as well as some parasites, which can be said to be a source of disease. Such rats should be dealt with in a timely manner, and they can be buried deep to avoid some infectious diseases. We know that rats can transmit many diseases, the most terrifying of which are plague and typhoid fever. They can also easily cause epidemic hemorrhagic fever, etc.

5 diseases that rats can spread

Mice are reservoir hosts for a variety of pathogens. Pathogens are transmitted to humans and livestock through external parasites such as fleas and ticks, carried by animals, contaminated by excrement or directly bitten by humans. It has been proven that the following diseases can be transmitted by rodents: plague, tularemia, melioidosis, forest encephalitis, tick-borne relapsing fever, endemic typhus, scrub typhus, leptospirosis, epidemic hemorrhagic fever, rat-bite fever, foot-and-mouth disease, bacillary dysentery, salmonellosis, etc.

1. Plague

Plague is the first international quarantine infectious disease and the first statutory infectious disease in my country. It is a natural epidemic disease caused by Yersinia pestis and is mainly transmitted through carrier rats. The main manifestation is local acute lymphadenitis, which is usually unilateral, mostly in the groin, followed by the axilla. The local lymph nodes suddenly become painful, swollen, and hardened, and after 1-2 days they quickly develop into lumps that are extremely tender and often limit limb movement, resulting in a forced posture. Clinically, it is often accompanied by systemic symptoms such as chills, high fever, bleeding tendency and shock, and the mortality rate is very high.

2. Endemic typhus

It is mainly spread by fleas on rats. In addition, eating food contaminated by the urine and feces of sick mice can also cause infection. The disease has an acute onset, with body temperature reaching 39-40 degrees Celsius, and the fever period is generally 9-14 days. Around the 5th day of onset, some patients develop a rash on the chest and abdomen, which spreads to the back, shoulders, limbs, etc. within 24 hours. Initially it appears as pink congested macules, which later turn into dark red maculopapules.

3. Epidemic hemorrhagic fever

Clinically, it is characterized by short-term fever, followed by symptoms such as shock, bleeding and acute renal failure. There are two types that are popular in our country: wild mouse type and house mouse type. When people come into contact with rodent excrement and secretions, they invade the human body through damaged skin and mucous membranes. In addition, dust contaminated by rat excrement can enter the human body through the respiratory tract. Typical clinical manifestations are: headache, back pain, and orbital pain, called the "three pains"; red face, red groin, and red upper chest, called the "three reds"; fever, bleeding, and kidney damage are called the "three main symptoms." It is prone to complications such as visceral bleeding, pulmonary edema and central nervous system diseases.

4. Leptospirosis

It often occurs after the autumn rice harvest or heavy rain or flooding. Symptoms include acute fever and body aches, especially in the calf gastrocnemius and lower back, limb weakness, and even difficulty getting out of bed. Severe cases may cause pulmonary hemorrhage, jaundice, renal failure, and even death.

5. Relapsing fever

Clinically, the disease is characterized by short-term fever accompanied by body aches, enlarged liver and spleen, etc., followed by a fever-free interval, and then fever again after a few days. This repeated fever is the characteristic, hence the name relapsing fever.

6. Scrub typhus

It is mainly prevalent in the Asia-Pacific region, most frequently occurring on coastal islands. It often occurs during busy farming seasons and floods, and is prevalent in the summer. Clinically, it is characterized by fever, eschar, ulcers, lymphadenopathy and rash, among which eschar and ulcer are the characteristic manifestations of the disease. In more concealed areas such as the groin, perianal area, perineum, and external genitalia, eschars with round or oval appearance and charred black edges can be seen. After the scab falls off, the center becomes sunken and becomes an ulcer, and a light red granulation wound appears at the bottom.