
What Do Mouse Droppings Look Like?
Mouse droppings are usually concentrated in the areas where they nest and breed. They may also be found in the areas where they feed and where they collect nesting material. Fresh mouse droppings are black or brown with a moist appearance. Older droppings may look drier and more grey. Mouse droppings are roughly cylindrical in shape with tapered ends. In size and shape, they resemble grains of rice.What Diseases Can You Get From Mouse Droppings?
The disease that most people are concerned about getting from mouse droppings is hantavirus. This is a pathogen that causes severe respiratory distress that may require mechanical ventilation in a hospital. There is no cure or vaccine for hantavirus, and approximately a third of infected patients do not survive. The good news is that only a few rodent species carry hantavirus. The bad news is that some of the most common mouse species in Ontario, such as the white-footed mouse and the deer mouse, are known hantavirus carriers. Hantavirus may be the most serious disease you can get from mouse droppings, but it is by no means the only one. Other conditions that mice can spread through their feces include the following:- Tularemia is a bacterial infection that can cause different symptoms depending on how it enters the body. If you consume food or water contaminated with mouse droppings, tularemia may cause symptoms such as swollen lymph glands in the neck, sore throat, tonsillitis, and mouth ulcers.
- Salmonellosis is a bacterial infection that causes gastrointestinal complaints.
- Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that can cause systemic symptoms that may be mistaken for other illnesses. Possible complications include meningitis or failure of the liver or kidneys.