Rat bite fever is a zoonotic disease caused by bacteria transmitted from rats or mice to humans. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and joint pain. It is treatable with antibiotics and can be prevented by handling animals with caution and avoiding exposure to rodent droppings.
Rat bite fever is a zoonotic disease, meaning it is transmitted from animals to people, which is most common in Japan although it can also be seen in other regions. People get rat bite fever when they are bitten by rats or mice that carry the bacteria responsible for the condition. Fever is the hallmark symptom of the disease. It is highly treatable and in most cases can be resolved very quickly with a course of antibiotic therapy.
Two different bacteria can cause rat bite fever. Spirillum minus and Streptobacillus moniliformis are both transmissible from rats or mice to people, but not from person to person, so someone with the disease is at no risk of passing it on to someone else. This condition is also known as spirillary fever, streptobacillosis, streptobacillary fever, or sodoku, depending on which region of the world it’s diagnosed in and which bacterium is responsible.
The onset of rat bite fever occurs between two and 10 days after exposure. The area around the bite may become inflamed and itchy, and the patient will experience muscle aches, joint pain, headache, nausea, chills, vomiting, and the characteristic fever. In some cases, the condition may resolve on its own without treatment, although this can take months. In other cases, the patient may develop complications that could lead to death. For this reason, it is usually recommended to seek treatment for rat bite fever.
The patient may not remember being bitten. If someone presents with these symptoms in an area where the disease is common and has an open wound or irritated area on the body, these may be indicators that the patient may have rat bite fever. Diagnostic tests may be done to see if the bacteria are present in the body, and antibiotics may be prescribed to treat the infection.
This rare disease is most common among people who handle rats and mice, such as laboratory workers and pet store employees. People can also get the disease from house rats and mice. People can reduce their risks of contracting rat bite fever by exercising caution when handling animals, and when in areas of the world where this disease is common, it is advisable to drink only pasteurized or sterilized liquids because the disease can be transmitted through liquids and to avoid exposure to rat and mouse droppings.
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