Seoul Virus Outbreak Caused By Pet Rats

The Seoul virus outbreak was caused by two ratteries in Illinois.

The CDC confirmed Friday that pet rats were the source of the Seoul virus outbreak in Wisconsin and Illinois. Based on the agency’s report, eight human cases of infection have been reported so far.

Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, the CDC deputy division director for high consequent pathogens and a veterinarian, says that this is the first time in the U.S. history when humans get infected with the Seoul virus in pet rats.

Previous outbreaks occurred, but all of them were caused by wild rats. McQuiston adds that a similar outbreak linked to pet rats occurred in Europe a few years ago. The first patient who contracted the virus was a Wisconsin resident, who reported having flu-like symptoms.

When his doctor learned about the man’s exposure to small rodents, he decided to check if the patient might have been infected with hantavirus. The sample tested positive for the rat virus, so the public health specialists in Wisconsin sent them to the CDC.

Plus, they also sent a second sample from a family member who was a home-based rodent breeder too. On the 11^th of January, the CDC officials confirmed the two cases of Seoul virus infections in both men.

McQuiston explains that the Seoul virus is unusual in the United States. The infection usually triggers mild symptoms similar to the flu, but in the worst-case scenario, it can lead to severe complications, including renal disease.

More precisely, the patients can experience abdominal pain, headache, fever, nausea, chills, rashes, and eye infection. It is worth mentioning that in the rarest cases, this simple infection might lead to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a potentially deadly disease which causes severe aches, fever, and fatigue.

In some patients, the disease might be asymptomatic. The symptoms generally appear within seven to 14 days after the patient contracts the Seoul virus, but in some cases, the symptoms appear after eight weeks.

The investigators discovered that two ratteries in Illinois were responsible for six other cases of human infection. However, only one of the patients experienced the symptoms. Fortunately, the Seoul virus cannot be transmitted from one person to another, so the authorities believe that they will successfully contain the outbreak as soon as possible.

People can contract the Seoul virus if they come in contact with urine, saliva, blood, and other infectious fluids from sick rats.

Image Source:Pixabay

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Roxanne Briean

I am a geek, a gamer and a writer. I have always been fascinated with the online community. At the moment I work as a full-time writer and study interior design. When I'm not scouring the net in search of interesting new gadgets and software I spend my time in MOBAs or drawing.