Rodents and disease
Rats and mice, like other animals which live in rubbish tips, drains, sewers and other unhygienic places, pick up disease-causing germs from their environment. They then become carriers of these germs and can spread dangerous diseases by entering our houses. Six hundred years ago, roof rats and their fleas were responsible for spreading the bacteria which caused bubonic plague (the Black Death) throughout Europe. Twenty-five million people died in this plague.
Rats and mice may pass disease-causing germs to humans in several ways, such as:
carrying disease-causing germs from sewers, drains and rubbish tips to food, kitchen benches, storage areas and utensils
depositing infected urine or faeces on food utensils
depositing infected urine or faeces in places where people can come in contact with it
biting people
passing the germs to household pets, which then pass them on to humans.