Health Risks Associated With Rats
WouterThere are some health risks associated with rats, and you should consider removing them from your home if you see them around. Rats are host bodies for various insects and parasites, and the parasites carry disease-causing pathogens that humans can contract. One such disease is leptospirosis, which is caused by a bacteria called Leptospira. It affects humans and animals but is usually mild and treatable.
Rats can carry various types of parasitic worms, including the rat tapeworm. It is one of the most common types of tapeworm infection in humans. This disease can be transmitted from one human to another and can cause enteritis. It has recently been recognized as a zoonotic pathogen in the UK.
A study on the rat-borne pathogen spectrum in Europe found that rats carry 53 different pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, macroparasites, unicellular eukaryotes, and protozoa. It also found that some zoonotic microbes were more widespread than others in different geographical regions.
Rats can carry several diseases, including plague, and many are responsible for some of the worst plague outbreaks in history. The number of deaths caused by plague is believed to be higher than the number of wars in the past thousand years. The UK’s rat population is increasing rapidly, which means that people are at a greater risk of contracting diseases from them than they thought.
