What illnesses can you get from mice? - briefly
Mice can transmit hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, leptospirosis, salmonellosis, plague, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, rat‑bite fever, and tularemia.
What illnesses can you get from mice? - in detail
Mice serve as vectors for a range of zoonotic pathogens that can affect humans through direct contact, bites, or exposure to contaminated droppings, urine, and nesting material.
Hantavirus infection, commonly called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, results from inhalation of aerosolized rodent excreta. Early symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and gastrointestinal upset; rapid progression leads to pulmonary edema and respiratory failure. Mortality rates approach 30 % without prompt intensive care.
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) spreads via contaminated secretions or rodent bites. After an incubation period of 1–2 weeks, patients develop flu‑like illness, meningitis, or encephalitis. Immunocompromised individuals may experience severe neurologic complications.
Salmonella enterica serovars colonize the gastrointestinal tracts of mice. Transmission occurs through consumption of food or water tainted with feces. Clinical presentation includes abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and fever; dehydration is a common risk, especially in children and the elderly.
Leptospira interrogans, the causative agent of leptospirosis, survives in the urine of infected rodents. Human exposure follows contact with contaminated soil or water. Symptoms range from mild flu‑like illness to Weil’s disease, characterized by jaundice, renal failure, and hemorrhage.
Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for plague, can be carried by wild mice. Flea bites that have fed on infected rodents transmit the pathogen. Bubonic plague manifests as painful, swollen lymph nodes; septicemic and pneumonic forms present with systemic shock or respiratory distress, respectively.
Francisella tularensis, the agent of tularemia, is occasionally isolated from mice. Direct handling or inhalation of contaminated aerosols leads to ulceroglandular disease, marked by skin ulcers and swollen lymph nodes, or pneumonic disease with severe respiratory symptoms.
Streptobacillus moniliformis, associated with rat‑bite fever, may also be transmitted by mouse bites. The illness features high fever, rash, and migratory polyarthritis; untreated cases can progress to septicemia.
Bartonella spp., particularly Bartonella henselae, have been identified in wild mice. Flea or tick vectors facilitate transmission, producing cat‑scratch‑like disease with fever, lymphadenopathy, and, in immunocompromised hosts, bacillary angiomatosis.
Preventive measures include sealing entry points to eliminate indoor infestations, using traps or professional extermination, storing food in rodent‑proof containers, wearing protective equipment when cleaning contaminated areas, and practicing thorough hand hygiene. Vaccines exist only for plague; other diseases rely on early diagnosis and antimicrobial therapy.