Man, 76, is bitten – and infected – by a rat that emerged from his TOILET bowl while doing number two in Canada
A man who went to the toilet in Canada was bitten and infected by a rat that emerged from his toilet bowl.
The 76-year-old man suffered bites on two of his fingers when he tried to remove the rodent – and was rushed to hospital for treatment.
His wounds were dressed and he was discharged, but returned 18 days later complaining of fever, headache and abdominal pain and was admitted to intensive care.
At that point, doctors ran tests that showed he was infected with leptospirosis, a bacteria found in the urine of rats — and also discovered he had warning signs of multi-organ failure and sepsis.
He was quickly given antibiotics and after a few days he had recovered enough to go home.
The 76-year-old from Canada tried to quickly remove the rodent, but suffered bites on two of his fingers – and was rushed to hospital for treatment (stock image)
Doctors suggested that the rat that bit the man may have recently urinated and then “contaminated its oral cavity” with urine.
It then bit the man, releasing the bacteria directly from the urine into his bloodstream.
Leptospirosis infections are uncommon in the US, with only about 100 to 150 diagnoses per year – up to 15 percent of which are fatal.
Transmission normally occurs after people unknowingly touch rat urine or water contaminated with rat urine, although transmission through bites has previously been reported.
The bizarre case was revealed by doctors in Quebec in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association.
The doctor wrote in the journal to highlight that rat bites can cause leptospirosis – which can be difficult to diagnose.
They also wanted to suggest that antibiotics could be administered shortly after a bite to prevent infections.
“Although preventive antibiotic therapy after rat bite remains an unresolved problem,” they wrote, “rat bites may warrant antibiotic prophylaxis because they frequently lead to rat bite fever and cause puncture wounds that carry a higher risk of infection.”
Antibiotic prophylaxis refers to the use of an antibiotic to prevent an infection in people who are at risk of developing one.
In this case, the man was treated with 500 mg of amoxicillin, administered three times a day for 14 days.
He also received a tetanus shot on his first visit to the hospital, and during his second trip he was also given an IV for fluids and to administer immunoglobulin – or a blood product that contains antibodies to fight infections.
The man also suffered from kidney damage, doctors said, which may have been caused by the bacterial infection traveling through the blood to the kidneys.
Symptoms of a leptospirosis infection include high fever, headache, muscle aches, abdominal pain, and yellowing of the eyes (jaundice).
Diagnosis is usually made by testing patients’ blood for antibodies against the disease.
The disease is usually treated with antibiotics to kill the bacteria.