Oh rats! Study finds New York City rodents found with fleas that could carry bubonic plague, other more dangerous viruses
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, March 3, 2015, 11:56 PM
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These little critters could make you sick.
Rats all, folks!
Fleas that can carry a slew of potentially deadly diseases — including the bubonic plague, typhus and spotted fever — are living it up on the city’s robust rodent population, according to a cringe-inducing new study.
A study of 133 New York City rats found 6,500 fleas, lice and mites that can carry bacteria that can cause serious diseases in humans, the study by Cornell and Columbia universities found.
Among the creepy critters found were Oriental rat fleas, which are notorious for their role in spreading the bubonic plague, said lead author and Cornell entomologist Matthew Frye.
All it takes is a flea bite to pass on infection: Fleas regurgitate rats’ infected blood and guts when they bite into human hosts, passing along disease, Frye said.
And rat occupancy is through the roof. While a 1925 study found one out of five rats were carrying a flea, the Cornell/Columbia study found an average of four fleas on a rat.
Some unlucky rodents were carrying as many as two dozen of the little bloodsuckers, the study said.
Thanks to advances in modern medicine, New Yorkers don’t have to worry about an outbreak of the Black Death, but the fleas are carrying other viruses that should be monitored, the study says.
Some of the fleas were carrying Bartonella pathogens, the study report.
“These pathogens can cause a wide range of clinical syndromes, some severe,”said the study’s co-author, Cadhla Firth.
Frye said the three areas he studied — a residential building, a mixed-use building and an outdoor space — had different distribution levels of rats, fleas and bacteria, meaning more research is needed to see just where disease is hiding.
BSIP/UIG VIA GETTY IMAGESFleas carried by the city's rats are carrying deadly diseases like typhus, spotted fever and even bubonic plague.
“We saw a tremendous amount of variation, and there’s probably a lot more variation within the city,” he said.
The city's Health Department stressed that plague-carrying rats have never been found in the Big Apple.
“Plague requires extreme circumstances besides fleas to pose a threat to human health, and those circumstances do not exist here,” the department said in a statement to the Daily News.
Frye’s study noted that in addition to disease risks , exposure to rodent hair, droppings and urine is linked to a higher risk of allergies and asthma, especially in children.
Even the most hardened of New Yorkers were shaken by the study’s findings.
APA look at what the bubonic plague is at a molecular level. The city's Department of Health stressed that no rats in the city have ever been found to be carrying the Black Death.
“We think we we’re safe, but turns out everything in New York is worse than we ever ever thought,” said Elvin Lopez, 32, a construction worker from Queens.
“What are you going to do? Rats are everywhere in New York City.”
The skincrawler of a study left other praying away the rodents and their disease-carrying friends.
“Wow. Plague fleas on rats in New York. I would have never imagined.” said Cola Capers, 54, of Harlem. “You take all kinds of precautions in life, but all you can really do is trust in the Lord.”
Frye also recommended good housekeeping.
“Removing food and water and preventing access to shelter are key to knocking back rodent infestations,” he said.
