Mice Poop Disease: Risks, Symptoms, and Prevention Tips

Finding mice poop in your home is an alarming sign! That might raise a question about the potential diseases caused by mice poop like hantavirus, salmonella, and leptospirosis.

Mice poop disease, also known as rodent-borne disease transmitted from mice droppings or urine to humans. Mice are known carriers of various pathogens like bacteria and viruses that can cause serious health issues for your family, especially children and elders. In this guide, we will cover everything you need to know about mice poop disease and how much it can be harmful to you and your family.

Disease spread by Mice Poop

Mice poop can carry a variety of diseases that pose significant health risks to humans, including bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections. These diseases are transmitted from mice to humans through mice poop, inhalation of airborne particles, or contaminated water or food sources. Here is the list of some famous diseases spread by Mice Poop

• Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS)
• Salmonellosis
• Leptospirosis
• Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus (LCMV)

Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is a bacterial infectious disease spread through contaminated water, soil, or food with urine or poop of infected animals, especially rodents like mice, rats, and other small mammals.

This bacterium enters your body through cuts or by animal pee in your eyes, nose, or mouth. This bacterium affects humans and a wide range of animals, making it a zoonotic (transmitted from animals to humans) disease.

Symptoms

Fever, Headache, Muscle aches, Chills, Red Eyes, Abdominal Pain, Vomiting, and Rashes are the common symptoms of this disease.

Treatment

Antibodies including doxycycline and penicillin are used to eliminate this infection. In severe conditions better to consult with a doctor because this disease can lead to organ failure and even death.

Prevention

Avoid contact with contaminated water, wear protective and clean clothes, and maintain good hygiene.

Fact: An estimated 1 million people yearly get infected from this disease worldwide and 60% of them die at the end.

Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis (LCM)

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) is a viral infectious disease caused by Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus (LCMV) a member of the Arenaviridae family. This infection is carried by house mice and transmitted to other animals and humans through exposure to poop, urine of saliva, or infected rodents.

Infection can occur via direct contact, broken skin, or contaminated food. LCM starts showing signs of disease 8-13 days after infection.

Symptoms

It typically has 2 phases.

First Phase: Fever, Malaise, Lack of Appetite, Muscle Aches, Headache, and Vomiting

Second Phase: Meningitis (Fever and Stiff Neck) and Encephalitis (Confusion, Sensory disturbance and moto abnormalities).

The second phase is a severe condition and it may lead to inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.

Treatment

There is no specific treatment for LCMV but you can overcome this by taking proper care including pain relief, staying hydrated, and hospitalized yourself.

Patients dealing with severe symptoms require proper treatment and care.

Prevention

Controls Rodents, Proper Storage, Safe Cleaning practices, and Hand Hygiene.

Fact: A study shows that 2-5% of people living in urban areas had a past LCM infection.

Less than 1% of people pass away from this disease.

Hantavirus

Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by rodents such as rats, mice, and other small mammals, particularly deer mice. These viruses cause diseases like Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) and Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) but HPS is the most well-known disease among them.

HPS is a serious life-threatening respiratory disease spread by exposure to deer mice urine, poop, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents. The first ever case of HPS was recorded in the United States of America back in 1993.

Symptoms

The symptoms can be divided into 2 stages.

Early Stage (Initial 1-2 weeks)

Fever, Fatigue, Headache, Dizziness, Chills, and Abdominal problems such as nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

Late Stage (3-10 days after initial stage)

Irregular Heart Rate, Coughing, Problems breathing, Fluid in the Lungs, Low Blood Pressure and Respiratory failure.

Treatment

Treatment for this virus mainly focuses on supportive care. In the hospital admit the patient to the ICU (Intensive care unit) if necessary and the patient will recover very soon.

Prevention

Control Rodent activity in the home, properly clean, ventilate before cleaning, wear mask and gloves while cleaning, seal up holes or cracks, and practice hand hygiene.

Fact: HPS is so deadly that 38% of people infected with this disease develop respiratory symptoms and die.

Rate-Bite Fever

Rate-bite fever (RBF) is a zoonotic disease passed from animals to humans, such as leptospirosis. This disease is caused by 2 types of bacteria Streptobacillus moniliformis in North America and Spirilum minus in Asia.

It is usually spread through bites or scratches from infected rodents such as mice, rats, and gerbils. Sometimes, it is passed through urine, feces, mice, or contaminated food.

Symptoms

The signs of this disease usually appear after 3-10 days, but depending on the type of bacterial infection, it may take a few weeks.

Common symptoms are a sore throat, fever, chills, muscle pain, joint pain or swelling, and an ulcer at the site of the bite.

Treatment

The good news is that RBF is treatable, especially if caught early. Antibiotics are used to treat RBF. Pencilin is typically the first choice, but in severe conditions, doxycycline or tetracycline can be used.

Depending on the severity of the infection, it usually takes 1-2 weeks to recover completely from this disease.

Prevention

• Keep your environment clean
• Handle Mice Poop with Care
• Control Rodent Activities
• Avoid consuming contaminated food or water
• Educate yourself and others.
• Seed Medical attention if required

How Long Are Mice Droppings Dangerous?

How long mice poop remains dangerous depends on several factors such as type of pathogens, environmental conditions, age of mice, and age of droppings.

Usually, mice poop mice remain infectious for 2-5 days in humid conditions and become less effective over time.

How Can I Keep Myself from Getting Sick from Mouse Droppings?

As we discussed earlier mice carry lots of dangerous diseases that are transmitted through their poop, urine, or saliva. Some of the most common and famous diseases are hantavirus and rat-bite fever. So, to protect yourself from these harmful diseases it is crucial to take the following preventive measures.

• Seal entry points, holes and cracks
• Proper food storage
• Waste Management
• Reduce Clutter
• Ventilate the area before cleaning
• Use proper cleaning detergents
• Maintain a clean environment
• Regular Inspection

Conclusion

Dealing with mice poop or mouse droppings is not just the matter of cleaning your house but it is also crucial for your health. Mice poop transmits a variety of harmful diseases that can cause serious health issues if not dealt with properly on time.

Understanding the symptoms and treatments of the above-mentioned diseases is crucial for early detection and effective management. By taking preventive measures, you can reduce the risk of infestation in your house, which in turn helps you stay safe and healthy.