Lassa fever and 4 other rodent-transmitted diseases President Buhari is ‘running from’

Tosin Oluwalowo
Aug 22, 2017 · 2 min read

The Presidency today announced that President Muhammadu Buhari will be working from home because of rodents’ attack on his office.

Here are five diseases transmitted by rodents the president might be running away from.

1. Lassa fever

Image source: www.mymobiledoc.org

How the disease spreads

  • Breathing in dust that is contaminated with rodent urine or droppings
  • Direct contact with rodents or their urine and droppings
  • Eating food that is contaminated with rodent urine or droppings
  • Bite wounds, although this does not happen frequently
  • The disease may spread through direct contact from person to person

2. Leptospirosis

Image source: http://habagat.upm.edu.ph

How the disease spreads

  • Eating food or drinking water contaminated with urine from infected animals
  • Contact through the skin or mucous membranes (such as inside the nose) with water or soil that is contaminated with the urine from infected animals

3. Rat-Bite Fever

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv_MIKNJFzk

How the disease spreads

  • Bite or scratch wound from an infected rodent, or contact with a dead rodent
  • Eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated by rat feces.

4. Tularemia

Image source: https://twitter.com/Advnt_Biotech/status/889741228375330817

How the disease spreads

  • Handling infected animal carcasses
  • Being bitten by an infected tick, deerfly or other insect
  • Eating or drinking contaminated food or water
  • Breathing in the bacteria, F. tularensis

5. Lymphocytic Chorio-meningitis (LCM)

Image source: royalsocietypublishing.org

How the disease spreads

  • Breathing in dust that is contaminated with rodent urine or droppings
  • Direct contact with rodents or their urine and droppings
  • Bite wounds, although this does not happen frequently

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