Autumn rodent invasion: how to avoid deadly infection
Kyiv • UNN
With the onset of autumn, mice and rats massively move to human dwellings, increasing the risk of dangerous infections, in particular leptospirosis. This disease can have fatal consequences, affecting internal organs and causing serious complications.
With the onset of autumn, mice and rats massively move closer to people – into houses, basements, and warehouses. Along with this, the risk of dangerous infections increases, particularly leptospirosis, which can be fatal. How to protect yourself from dangerous diseases is reported by the Public Health Center, writes UNN.
Details
In late summer and autumn, rodents – especially mice and rats – massively move closer to people, looking for places to winter, where there is warmth and food. They settle in houses, basements, granaries, and warehouses, where they live until spring. This creates an additional risk of spreading particularly dangerous infectious diseases
The most dangerous of these diseases is leptospirosis. It affects the liver, kidneys, blood vessels, and muscles, and can cause meningitis, myocarditis, or pulmonary hemorrhages. The mortality rate reaches 20%. The disease is especially insidious because in 90% of cases it begins with a common "fever" – the temperature rises to 39–40°C, and the eyes turn red. Characteristic symptoms are sharp pains in the calves, bleeding, and yellowness of the eyes and skin.
The peak of the disease traditionally falls in August–October. For example, in 2024 alone, 195 cases of leptospirosis were recorded in these months, while during the rest of the year – 214.
How to protect yourself from infections carried by rodents: keep your home and yard clean, do not leave garbage and food waste, close cracks in walls, install nets, use safe traps and rodenticides, store food in tightly closed containers, drink only boiled or bottled water, thoroughly cook meat and other products, wash your hands after contact with animals, soil, and vegetables, do not swim in stagnant water bodies or near pastures, after swimming – take a shower, and treat cuts with an antiseptic, vaccinate dogs and livestock against leptospirosis annually.
Doctors emphasize: if symptoms similar to leptospirosis appear, do not delay – you need to immediately consult a doctor and start treatment, because early therapy can save a life.
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