Pet rats caused a Seoul virus outbreak in the US.
Humans like to keep as pet various animals, from the conventional dog or cat to more exotic creatures. However, some can more dangerous than others. A new report from the CDC has revealed that the recent Seoul virus outbreak in Wisconsin and Illinois has been caused by pet rats.
The United States is not entirely unfamiliar with the disease as previous outbreaks in the country have been caused by wild rats. However, the recent outbreak occurred due to pet rats. An outbreak with a similar caused has also occurred in Europe.
The first identified patient to come in contact with the virus was in Wisconsin. He visited a hospital with symptoms similar to that of flu. However, the doctors decided to test for hantavirus, as he was breeding rodents in his house, and the virus is often carried by rats, both wild and domesticated.
The results of the test came back in the last days of December and confirmed the fact that patient was infected with the hantavirus. The doctors decided to send the CDC a sample of the patient’s blood together with another sample from one of his family members who also worked with the pet rats.
A few days later, on January 11, the CDC reported that both individuals have been infected with the Seoul virus which is hantavirus commonly found in rats and can cause chills, fever, nausea, and abdominal pain.
The patients infected with this virus tend to develop symptoms as soon as one or two weeks after contact. However, there have been cases where the symptoms started to show even eight weeks after. Fortunately, most patients infected with the Seoul virus can recover, but there have been rare cases where patients have developed a hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. This condition starts with fatigue, fever, and acute pain, and can even become fatal.
Besides the two initial patients, which made a successful recovery, doctors have also identified six other patients working at various other rat breeding facilities in Illinois. Among the six patients, only one has experienced the symptoms of the illness. Health authorities continue to investigate and will very likely find more patients infected with the Seoul virus.
What do you think about the outbreak caused by the pet rats?
Image source: Pixabay
Deborah Campbell
