With the onset of cold weather, small rodents, in search of food, penetrate human dwellings and begin to "take over".
A small rodent can cause significant trouble for humans, as they are carriers of pathogens of a number of infectious diseases: rickettsioses, Q fever, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), plague, yersiniosis, pseudotuberculosis, leptospirosis, listeriosis, erysipeloid, salmonellosis, tularemia, brucellosis, toxoplasmosis, tick-borne encephalitis, borreliosis, typhoid fever, spirochetosis, cutaneous leishmaniasis, hymenolepiasis, trichophytosis, trichinellosis, rat-bite fever, giardiasis, rabies.
Human infection occurs through consumption of food contaminated with rodent excrement, contact with infected objects or rodent carcasses, consumption of infected raw water from open water bodies, springs, and wells, inhalation of dust containing rodent secretions, and through bites from horseflies, mosquitoes, and ticks.
We would like to elaborate on tularemia. It should be noted that the causative agent of this infection was detected during the examination of rodents caught in the Lepel district in 2024.
Tularemia is an acute infectious disease of natural focal occurrence, characterized by symptoms of general intoxication, fever, and lesions of the skin, lymph nodes, mucous membranes, lungs, and intestines, and eyes. It can have a prolonged course.
The causative agents of tularemia have been isolated from over 100 species of wild animals, as well as from domestic animals (sheep, dogs, ungulates).
From the moment of infection to the appearance of the first symptoms of the disease, it usually takes 3 to 7 days, with variations up to 2-3 weeks. The disease begins acutely with a temperature rise to 38-40°C, chills, severe headache, weakness, and muscle pain (most often in the lumbar region and calf muscles). On the 2nd-3rd day, the lymph nodes enlarge in the area through which the pathogen entered the body (in the neck, ears, armpits, groin, or other areas). Angina, eye diseases, and prolonged complicated pneumonia in the winter period may be observed. The disease usually lasts 2-3 weeks (sometimes longer), and in rare cases, it can recur.
A person who has recovered from tularemia retains lifelong immunity to this disease. A person with tularemia is not dangerous to others.
To protect yourself and your loved ones, observe the following measures:
- Carry out rodent and insect control measures, create conditions that prevent their entry into premises;
- Keep the territory around houses and garden plots clean, do not allow it to become cluttered;
- Timely remove garbage and food waste;
- Store food products and water in conditions that exclude contact with rodents;
- When working in premises where signs of rodent activity are detected (cleaning, tidying, working with hay, animal feed, etc.), use personal protective equipment: masks, respirators, gloves.
Ordinary cleaning of a summer house, which was accessible to mice all winter and which you only visit in spring, can lead to serious health problems. However, this can be avoided by wearing rubber gloves and protecting your respiratory organs.
We remind you that on issues of infectious disease prevention and rodent control measures, you can consult during working hours at the state institution "Lepel Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology" (Lepel, Voykova St., 69a) and by phone: 68575
Epidemiologist Natalia Pobortseva