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Do Rats Really Carry Disease?

Part of a Day in the Daily Life of a Rat Owner

By Basil MillerPublished 6 years ago 2 min read
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(left to right: Mew and Tumbles)

Rats.

When most of us hear the word for these furry rodents, our minds picture dirty grey creatures, with red eyes and worm-like tails, crawling out of sewers and garbage cans. The word rat is almost synonymous with "disease." The majority of us live with a preconceived idea that rats are "dirty, sewer animals that carry disease."

Why? Why is it that we think this? Why is it that out of all animals that there are, we directly relate rats to disease, carnage, and death?

During the 14th century, the Black Death became a pandemic. It swept across Europe, Asia, and Africa and killed an estimated 25 percent to 60 percent of the human population. The Plague was being carried by fleas. If someone or something was bitten by one of these fleas that was carrying the disease, they would then contract the disease.

In the 14th century, everything was carrying the fleas that carried the plague: humans, dogs, cats, squirrels, rats, etc. However, it tends to be rats that come to mind as the cause. Rats reproduce quickly, are intelligent, and are highly adaptive. Once they realize that something is not a threat to them or if they believe the possible reward outweighs the risk, they will do whatever it is that they so choose to do.

For example, in the 14th century, rats were visible all over the place in cities. Cities have high concentrations of food waste. Rats began to thrive in large cities due to the readily available supply of food. Rats were more visible in cities than cats, dogs, or squirrels. So the obvious answer that people of the time came up with was "Rats cause the plague."

It has since been scientifically proven that a specific species of flea were the ones to spread the plague. Unfortunately for rats, the false information stuck with them. To this day, people still are convinced that rats harbor more diseases than any other animal.

Wild rats do carry disease. But they carry disease like every other wild animal carries disease. For example, Seoul Virus, Rabies, etc.

Domestic rats typically do not carry such diseases. Rats are actually quite clean. They tend to bathe themselves just as much as cats do and my rats personally love when I put a bowl of water in their cage so that they can bathe themselves in it.

The notion we have that rats are disgusting, dirty creatures is a false stereotype built upon poorly researched connotations from about 700 years ago. I believe it's time that the rat facts come forth and that these lovely rodents are acquitted of the crimes they never committed.

health
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