PET RATS WARNING

A disease associated with squalor could be on the increase in suburban homes because more people are keeping rodents as pets, warns an Australian microbiologist.

Known as rat bite fever, the disease can result after a bite, scratch or exposure to excreta or saliva from rodents such as rats, guinea pigs, gerbils and ferrets.

Dr Shivanti Abeysuriya of PathWest Laboratory Medicine at the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre in Perth says rat bite fever was previously associated with those living in poverty in rat-infested buildings.

"Now that rats are becoming popular pets and study animals, cases are increasingly seen in different groups of people such as pet owners, pet shop workers and laboratory technicians," she says.

"The message to the public is that keeping rats as pets and handling them can be hazardous to their health."

Abeysuriya and colleagues presented their findings at the recent Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases scientific meeting in Darwin.

According to Abeysuriya the risk of infection after a bite is about 10% and if untreated could result in death for 1 in 10. Complications include endocarditis (infection in the heart valves), meningitis, septic arthritis and focal abscesses.

Abeysuriya says people should be aware of the risk of infection and handle their rodent pets carefully.