Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
Rat-bite fever is a rare disease spread by infected rodents.
Alternative Names
Streptobacillary fever; Streptobacillosis; Haverhill fever; Epidemic arthritic erythema; Spirillary fever; Sodoku
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Rat-bite fever can be caused by the two different bacteria, Streptobacillus moniliformis or Spirillum minus, both of which are found in the mouths of rodents.
The disease has been seen in:
- Africa
- Australia
- Europe
- Japan
- North and South America
Most people get rat-bite fever through contact with urine or secretions from the mouth, eye, or nose of an infected animal. This most commonly occurs though a bite, yet some cases may occur simply through contact with these secretions.
The source of the infection is usually a rat. Other animals that may cause infection include squirrels, weasels, and gerbils.
Review Date: 09/15/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of
General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington
School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in
Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Assistant in Medicine, Division
of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts
General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical
Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
