Mice, rats and other rodents may carry infections that can spread to humans. These infections can spread through direct contact with infected mice or through contact with soil, food or water contaminated by infected mice. These infections are rare, but people should take steps to reduce their risk.
People can also become infected when they touch mouse or rat urine, droppings, or nesting materials that contain the virus and then touch their eyes, nose, or mouth. They can also get HPS from a mouse or rat bite.
Mice can carry a number human-transmissible diseases. For this reason, you should take care in handling mice that aren't kept as pets. You should also throw away food at the first sign that mice have gotten to it — even if you're not positive.
Native Australian rodents (for example Hopping Mice) pose little or no threat to public health and should be left alone as they are protected species. However introduced rodents may infest residential and agricultural areas and carry disease.
If you have to touch a dead rat or mouse then you should always wear gloves and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards to prevent any infections from spreading.
Protect Yourself and Your Family from Germs
Do: Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water right after handling your pets or anything in the area where they live and roam.
There are disease concerns with both wild (rats, mice) and pet (rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs) rodents and rabbits. They can carry many diseases including hantavirus, leptospirosis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV), Tularemia and Salmonella.
Hantavirus is spread from wild rodents, particularly mice and rats, to people. The virus, which is found in rodent urine, saliva, and feces (poop), can be easily released in the air in confined spaces when disturbed by rodents or human activities, such as sweeping or vacuuming.
Rodents such as rats and mice are associated with a number of health risks. In fact, rats and mice are known to spread more than 35 diseases. These diseases can be spread to humans directly through handling of live or dead rodents, contact with rodent feces, urine, or saliva, as well as rodent bites.
It's essential to wear gloves when handling mouse traps, as mice can carry diseases. If you catch a mouse in a trap, dispose of it immediately in a plastic bag. Dead mice should never be handled with your bare hands.
There are two main things that can attract mice and rats to your house – food and shelter. If you don't tidy up properly and there's food waste on the floor or surfaces, rodents are going to love it! Rats and mice also need shelter, particularly during winter to avoid the worst of the cold.
While many of the illnesses listed are rare, rodents are known to transmit these illnesses, meaning capturing a mouse or any other wild rodent as a pet is not a good idea. Keep yourself and your family safe by investing in a domesticated animal and leave wild things alone.
Mice actually prefer to avoid human contact and are rather shy creatures, so the chances of them snuggling up with you in bed is not likely.
Most wild mice are timid toward humans and other animals, but they are very social with other mice. Domestic mice are very friendly toward humans and can make good pets for older children and adults.
Hantavirus: Once thought to be rare this disease has been identified in rodents across Australia.
If mice have already taken refuge in the bedroom, there's a chance that they will crawl on you in bed. They typically do this when the fastest way to get from one place to the other is across the bed.
Early symptoms include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, especially in the large muscle groups—thighs, hips, back, and sometimes shoulders. These symptoms are universal. There may also be headaches, dizziness, chills, and abdominal problems, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
Diseases are mainly spread to people from rodents when they breathe in contaminated air. CDC recommends you NOT vacuum (even vacuums with a HEPA filter) or sweep rodent urine, droppings, or nesting materials. These actions can cause tiny droplets containing viruses to get into the air.
It is believed that humans can get sick with this virus if they breathe in contaminated dust from mice nests or droppings. You may come in contact with such dust when cleaning homes, sheds, or other enclosed areas that have been empty for a long time. Hantavirus does not seem to spread from human to human.
Surfaces infested by mice should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Dampen the urine, droppings and nesting materials with a commercial disinfectant or a mixture of bleach and water (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) and let soak at least 5 minutes.
As it turns out, there are several smells that these pests cannot stand, which means you can use them to your advantage. But what exactly do mice and rats hate to smell? Mice can be kept away by using the smells of peppermint oil, cinnamon, vinegar, citronella, ammonia, bleach, and mothballs.
Rodents can carry dangerous pathogens, like hantavirus. Hantaviruses are a family of viruses found worldwide. In the United States, deer mice and other wild rodents can shed hantavirus in their urine, droppings, and saliva. People can become infected when they breathe in contaminated air.
There is no specific treatment, cure, or vaccine for hantavirus infection. However, we do know that if infected individuals are recognized early and receive medical care in an intensive care unit, they may do better.