Can Rats Carry Rabies?
WouterAlthough rats do not carry rabies, they can carry other diseases, such as herenavirus fever ku. In the US, rats can spread Colorado mite, and in South America and Africa, they can spread herenavirus fever and other hemorrhagic fevers. In Russia, they can even carry the disease Lyme disease. Rats found in agricultural areas can be a reservoir of this disease, and it can spread from one animal to another.
Rats can be carriers of rabies, but they are extremely unlikely to do so. Rats, mice, and woodchucks are all known carriers of rabies, but they are not often the ones that infect humans. The animals that spread the disease to rodents usually kill the rodents before they can infect humans. Fortunately, rabies is very rare in the English-speaking world. In the UK and Australia, rabies is nearly eliminated, and the United States reports hardly any cases of it.
Although mice and rats are not commonly found in the wild, if they lived near humans, they may be more prone to rabies. However, if you do find a rat or a mouse infected with rabies, you need to take extra precautions. Rabies is a virus that affects the nervous system. Since rats lack saliva, the rabies virus cannot easily infect them.
In addition to rabies, rats are known to carry a wide range of diseases. Some of these diseases have caused large epidemics and pandemics in the past. Unfortunately, many people cannot identify which animal has a rat-borne disease, and the symptoms may be similar to those caused by an allergic reaction to a different animal. Antihistamines and local hormonal products can be used to relieve the symptoms temporarily. However, full cure is possible only through specific immunotherapy.
