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Is Inhaling Dust Contaminated With Rat Urine And Droppings Harmful?
Question: My husband and I discovered a few weeks ago that we had rats in our attic. We had someome come in and set up traps. Over the next week, he caught 3 Norway rats. There have not been any signs of rats or fresh droppings in the attic since he caught the first rat last Saturday, but he still caught one more last Monday, and the last one on Wednesday.
Today is Monday. While he was in the crawl space working to seal the house so no more rats could get in, his foot slipped and came through our ceiling. He was uninjured, but some insulation and parts of the ceiling landed in our living room, and a piece of the ceiling landed right by my one year old son.
I was reading that you can catch certain diseases from rats from breathing in dust thats contaminated with their urine and droppings. I'm worried that me and my son breathed in some of the dust.
I asked the exterminator, and he said that most of the droppings he had found were in our kitchen, and not in the area that his foot fell through. But I'm still a little worried about it.
What should I do? Do you think this was a high risk exposure?
Today is Monday. While he was in the crawl space working to seal the house so no more rats could get in, his foot slipped and came through our ceiling. He was uninjured, but some insulation and parts of the ceiling landed in our living room, and a piece of the ceiling landed right by my one year old son.
I was reading that you can catch certain diseases from rats from breathing in dust thats contaminated with their urine and droppings. I'm worried that me and my son breathed in some of the dust.
I asked the exterminator, and he said that most of the droppings he had found were in our kitchen, and not in the area that his foot fell through. But I'm still a little worried about it.
What should I do? Do you think this was a high risk exposure?
Brief Answer:
Low-risk at best, and the rats mentioned do not commonly have HPS
Detailed Answer:
Hello ma'am and welcome.
Thank you for writing to us.
I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. In my opinion, the best way to suspect or raise concern is by asking the exterminator/rodent control to send the captured rat corpses to the laboratory to first confirm the species (most commonly deer mice), and then to the laboratory to check if they have the virus (Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome).
If any suspicion is raised by their team, then you can take yourself and your son to any medical centre and request for a blood examination which will reveal abnormalities and indications for a possible viral infection. You can also take note for any symptoms such as:
+Headaches
+Fever
+Chills
+Abdominal pain
+Vomiting
+Diarrhea
+Muscle pains/aches
In my honest opinion, I do not think the rats you mentioned could have carried the virus and also the mode of transmission was not of high risk, best to be at low-risk; but I cannot be totally sure of it. So you can go to visit any medical centre and request for a blood test, or wait and watch for any symptoms.
I hope you find my response both helpful and informative. Please feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications, I would be more than happy to help.
Best wishes.
Low-risk at best, and the rats mentioned do not commonly have HPS
Detailed Answer:
Hello ma'am and welcome.
Thank you for writing to us.
I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. In my opinion, the best way to suspect or raise concern is by asking the exterminator/rodent control to send the captured rat corpses to the laboratory to first confirm the species (most commonly deer mice), and then to the laboratory to check if they have the virus (Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome).
If any suspicion is raised by their team, then you can take yourself and your son to any medical centre and request for a blood examination which will reveal abnormalities and indications for a possible viral infection. You can also take note for any symptoms such as:
+Headaches
+Fever
+Chills
+Abdominal pain
+Vomiting
+Diarrhea
+Muscle pains/aches
In my honest opinion, I do not think the rats you mentioned could have carried the virus and also the mode of transmission was not of high risk, best to be at low-risk; but I cannot be totally sure of it. So you can go to visit any medical centre and request for a blood test, or wait and watch for any symptoms.
I hope you find my response both helpful and informative. Please feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications, I would be more than happy to help.
Best wishes.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Its too late to send the specimens to a lab because he collected them days ago. He visually identified the rats as norway rats based on the appearance of their droppings and of the rats themselves. I was reading that sometimes the 2 can look similar, so hopefully he was correct.
I have a couple of questions - if we get blood tests done in a couple of days and it does look abnormal, would there be anything they could do for treatment even if we didnt have symptoms?
Also, when any disease is transmitted by rat droppings and urine -- is it transmitted from fresh droppings and urine, or can it also be transmitted by old droppings?
I have a couple of questions - if we get blood tests done in a couple of days and it does look abnormal, would there be anything they could do for treatment even if we didnt have symptoms?
Also, when any disease is transmitted by rat droppings and urine -- is it transmitted from fresh droppings and urine, or can it also be transmitted by old droppings?
Brief Answer:
My sincere apologies for the delayed response
Detailed Answer:
Hello once again ma'am.
Symptoms would appear if the virus would indeed be present, especially breathing difficulties. In such a scenario, the individual would be hospitalised and probably intubated to ensure maximum delivery of oxygen to the brain. But if the symptoms are not present, then there would be no indication for intubation, and in fact would be no cause for concern at all because with the virus come the symptoms.
Fresh droppings are the most common source of transmission as the virus can survive only in certain environmental conditions, and so it cannot usually be transmitted through old droppings, but there have been a few reported cases (which mean that the environmental factors could have been favourable in those instances).
I hope I have explained things in a manner best understood by you. Please do not hesitate to write to me anytime, I am always here to help. :)
Best wishes.
My sincere apologies for the delayed response
Detailed Answer:
Hello once again ma'am.
Symptoms would appear if the virus would indeed be present, especially breathing difficulties. In such a scenario, the individual would be hospitalised and probably intubated to ensure maximum delivery of oxygen to the brain. But if the symptoms are not present, then there would be no indication for intubation, and in fact would be no cause for concern at all because with the virus come the symptoms.
Fresh droppings are the most common source of transmission as the virus can survive only in certain environmental conditions, and so it cannot usually be transmitted through old droppings, but there have been a few reported cases (which mean that the environmental factors could have been favourable in those instances).
I hope I have explained things in a manner best understood by you. Please do not hesitate to write to me anytime, I am always here to help. :)
Best wishes.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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