A Canadian man was sent to the intensive care unit after being bitten by a rat in his toilet, leading to an unusual and severe infection. The 76-year-old Montreal resident visited the emergency department with fever, headache, and abdominal pain, three weeks after encountering the rat. The man’s wound was treated, but he developed sepsis and was admitted to the hospital’s ICU.
Doctors suspected that he had contracted either rat bite fever or leptospirosis. Both diseases can be treated with the same drugs, so the man was placed on intravenous antibiotics while further testing was conducted. Eventually, he was confirmed to have leptospirosis.
Leptospirosis is caused by Leptospira bacteria, commonly found in rodent urine. The infection can initially cause nonspecific symptoms such as fever, chills, and muscle aches, making diagnosis difficult. Severe cases can lead to liver, kidney, and brain damage, with a mortality rate as high as 15%.
What made this case unusual is that leptospirosis is not typically contracted from rat bites, as the bacteria is shed in a rodent’s urine. The man’s infection may have been a result of the rat’s urine, possibly due to exposure during the encounter in the toilet bowl.
