THE HOUSE EAT 



15 



SPIROCHETAL JAUNDICE 



Spirochetal jaundice, or Weil's disease, is also a dangerous and 

 highly disabling rat disease transmissible to man. It has been sug- 

 gested that the causative organism (Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae) . 

 passed in the urine of the rat, con- 

 taminates foods, water, and soil, 

 whence it is contracted by man by 

 ingestion or through the skin. A 

 high percentage of rats have been 

 found infected where outbreaks of 

 the disease have occurred. This dis- 

 ease was not recognized until 1916 

 and may be more widespread in the 

 United States than is now sus- 

 pected. Affected rats have been 

 found in many countries. The ex- 

 termination of rats is the prophy- 

 lactic measure. 



RAT-BITE FEVER 



Rat-bite fever, or sodoku, as it 

 has been called, is transmitted to 

 man by the bite of the rat. Al- 

 though relatively few cases have 

 been reported in the United States, 

 so many rats carry the organism 

 (Spirocheta morsus mures) in the 

 saliva that the danger of infection 

 is always possible following the bite 

 of a rat. Reports of babies being 

 severely bitten while asleep are all 

 too common. The destruction of all 

 rats would remove the danger. 



FOOD POISONING 



Food poisoning, sometimes incor- 

 rectly referred to as ptomaine poison- 

 ing, is usually caused by infection with 

 Salmonella organisms (8. aertryche or 

 S. enteriditis) . These are of animal 

 origin and are frequently found in 

 house rats, which transmit them to 

 human food by their droppings. The 

 salmonella bacteria grow rapidly in 

 most foods, particularly meats, with no 

 change in the appearance of the food, 

 and thus the disease is conveyed to 

 man. This type of food poisoning 

 is characterized by nausea, abdom- 

 inal pains, and diarrhea. Many thou- 

 sands of cases have been reported in 

 the United States. The death rate is probably less than 5 percent. 

 The elimination of rats from homes and all food establishments 

 would greatly lessen the incidence of this disease. 



E6247M 



Figure 13. — Rats apparently find 

 some food value in bone when 

 more palatable food is not 

 available. 



