RatsDrawBlood
Active Member
Is it dangerous (for people) to have pet rats?
I was looking up how to keep rats from picking up fleas from soil in dig boxes. (It says you first bake the soil to kill any eggs/larvae/etc.)
Happened to notice it said put nematodes in your yard to help keep the soil from having fleas. (Says this is safe for the cats and dogs that play there.)
Looked up nematodes and it said they infect rats?
And says it can cause permanent damage to or kill humans!
Why are Garden Centers selling us a pathogen to add to our environment?!
Um, I obviously must be totally missing something.
"Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a parasitic nematode (roundworm) that causes angiostrongyliasis, the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Basin.[2] The nematode commonly resides in the pulmonary arteries of rats, giving it the common name rat lungworm. Snails are the primary intermediate hosts, where larvae develop until they are infectious.
Humans are incidental hosts of this roundworm, and may become infected through ingestion of larvae in raw or undercooked snails or other vectors, or from contaminated water and vegetables.[3] The larvae are then transported via the blood to the central nervous system, where they are the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis, a serious condition that can lead to death or permanent brain and nerve damage.[4] Angiostrongyliasis is an infection of increasing public health importance, as globalization contributes to the geographic spread of the disease.[5]"
I was looking up how to keep rats from picking up fleas from soil in dig boxes. (It says you first bake the soil to kill any eggs/larvae/etc.)
Happened to notice it said put nematodes in your yard to help keep the soil from having fleas. (Says this is safe for the cats and dogs that play there.)
Looked up nematodes and it said they infect rats?
And says it can cause permanent damage to or kill humans!
Why are Garden Centers selling us a pathogen to add to our environment?!
Um, I obviously must be totally missing something.
"Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a parasitic nematode (roundworm) that causes angiostrongyliasis, the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Basin.[2] The nematode commonly resides in the pulmonary arteries of rats, giving it the common name rat lungworm. Snails are the primary intermediate hosts, where larvae develop until they are infectious.
Humans are incidental hosts of this roundworm, and may become infected through ingestion of larvae in raw or undercooked snails or other vectors, or from contaminated water and vegetables.[3] The larvae are then transported via the blood to the central nervous system, where they are the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis, a serious condition that can lead to death or permanent brain and nerve damage.[4] Angiostrongyliasis is an infection of increasing public health importance, as globalization contributes to the geographic spread of the disease.[5]"
(poor snails)
