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What Diseases Are Associated With Rodent Feces?

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Posted on Wed, 12 Feb 2014
Question: Hello! I live in North XXXXXXX I just found out that the cabin air filter in my car is full of mouse or rat feces. My family and i have been breathing it for weeks, at least. What diseases are associated with rodent feces and what symptoms should i look for- if any? We bought a new filter. Should we be worried?
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Answered by Dr. Chobufo Ditah (1 hour later)
Brief Answer: There is really no point to get too worried! Detailed Answer: Hi and thank you so much for trusting us with your health query. I am so sorry that you had to go on for sometime with cat or mouse feces in your cabin filter. The good news is diseases related to rodents are actually transmitted by ingesting the contaminated feces, urine, trough bites, etc and not by air particles. This means that rarely would you have an infection resulting from a mouse being airborne. If you had consumed food contaminated or sustained a bite or ingested its feces, then you may get worried. Because none of these happened, the chances of any possible infection are very limited. Lyme Disease, Salmonella (Food Poisoning), Rat-Bite Fever, Hantavirus, Typhus, rickettssia, etc. Non of these diseases is airborne and reason why I am advising you not to get over bothered by this. The symptoms are very diverse. Some of the symptoms are fevers, joint pains, muscle pains, etc. There is really no major reason to get worried. If you should however notice any abnormal symptoms, report to your treating doctor. I hope this addresses your query fully. feel free to ask for clarification and more information related to this. I wish you and your family well. Dr. Ditah,MD.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Chobufo Ditah

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2009

Answered : 6323 Questions

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What Diseases Are Associated With Rodent Feces?

Brief Answer: There is really no point to get too worried! Detailed Answer: Hi and thank you so much for trusting us with your health query. I am so sorry that you had to go on for sometime with cat or mouse feces in your cabin filter. The good news is diseases related to rodents are actually transmitted by ingesting the contaminated feces, urine, trough bites, etc and not by air particles. This means that rarely would you have an infection resulting from a mouse being airborne. If you had consumed food contaminated or sustained a bite or ingested its feces, then you may get worried. Because none of these happened, the chances of any possible infection are very limited. Lyme Disease, Salmonella (Food Poisoning), Rat-Bite Fever, Hantavirus, Typhus, rickettssia, etc. Non of these diseases is airborne and reason why I am advising you not to get over bothered by this. The symptoms are very diverse. Some of the symptoms are fevers, joint pains, muscle pains, etc. There is really no major reason to get worried. If you should however notice any abnormal symptoms, report to your treating doctor. I hope this addresses your query fully. feel free to ask for clarification and more information related to this. I wish you and your family well. Dr. Ditah,MD.