bites from small rodents (including mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters and guinea pigs) may be contaminated with a wide variety of organisms including Pasteurella spp
Streptobacillus moniliformis, another potential contaminant, can cause 'rat bite fever' (also known as Haverhill fever) - this generally presents, some weeks after a bite, with an influenza-like illness plus regional lymphadenopathy, arthralgia and a maculo-papular, urticarial or vasculitic rash
squirrel bites in the USA have been implicated in the transmission of typhus and tularaemia - a small study in the UK of 21 patients suffering squirrel bites revealed no cases of transmission of either of these infection (despite only 6 of the patients receiving antibiotic prophylaxis) (2)
Reference:
Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (2004); 42:65-72.
Medeiros I, Saconato H. Antibiotic prophylaxis for mammalian bites (Cochrane review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 3, 2004.
Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page