Norway Rats Bites and Treatments
Species
Norway Rat Bites and Treatment
A Norway rat has long, sharp front teeth, and its bite hurts. Healthy rats would rather avoid people and do most of their moving around when a building is quiet, so bites usually happen when a rat is cornered, trapped or grabbed. Young children are bitten more often than adults, and the hands and fingers are the usual targets because they are uncovered. A bite may leave one puncture or a cluster of scrapes, and it often bleeds. Most bites are minor and heal well once they are cleaned and looked at by a doctor.
Health risks after a rat bite or rat contact
Most rat bites heal without trouble, but every bite deserves care because of what rats can carry. Right after a bite:
- Wash the wound with soap and warm running water for several minutes.
- Apply an antiseptic and cover it with a clean bandage.
- Call a doctor, especially for deep bites, bites on the hand or face, or bites on a child, and ask whether a tetanus booster or antibiotics are needed.
The main infection to watch for afterward is rat-bite fever, a bacterial illness that can cause fever, vomiting, headache, muscle pain, a rash, and sore or swollen joints. Symptoms usually start within about three to ten days but can appear up to three weeks later. It is treatable with antibiotics, so tell your doctor about the bite if any of these develop.
Norway rats can also spread illness without biting. Their urine can carry leptospirosis, which people can catch through cuts or contact with contaminated water or soil, a particular concern after Florida flooding. Their droppings can contaminate food with bacteria such as Salmonella. Norway rats are also the natural host of Seoul virus, a type of hantavirus. Wear gloves when cleaning up after rats, wet droppings with disinfectant before wiping them up, and never sweep them dry.
Dogs that hunt rats or drink from puddles where rats live can catch leptospirosis too, so ask your vet whether vaccination makes sense for your dog. For prevention, see how to get rid of Norway rats.
Serious illness from a rat bite is uncommon, but it does happen. The infection doctors watch for most is rat-bite fever, and any bite can also pick up ordinary skin bacteria, so every bite should be cleaned well and checked by a medical provider. Your doctor may also recommend a tetanus shot if yours is not current. Rabies is not a realistic worry. Rats are rarely found with it, and there are no known cases of a rat or other rodent passing rabies to a person in the United States. The larger health risk from Norway rats comes from their urine and droppings fouling food, water and surfaces.
Norway Rat photos
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