Hantavirus

[Helpplease20]

Hi guys, first of all I have health anxiety.

I have a pet rat, and it sadly died. so I was clearing around the area the rat had been (pulled out the cabinet and cleaned behind it) and i cleaned its poo up - I SWEPT. The poo was old. Now i'm absolutely petrified I have hantavirus. I swept it up with a big brush and then my other half used the little brush and pan to clear it up and put it in the bin.

I woke up with a headache the next day, felt sinus like, and went to the toilet properly three times (sorry for TMI) and today (morning after) i've woke up with another niggling headache and have been to the toilet just once (but it was quite runny)

Now I'm just so so so scared. Can pet rats carry hantavirus? I'm in the UK. I know its rare but it happens.

Also, is it possible for you to sweep up rat droppings and NOT catch hantavirus, or do you catch it every time?

What should I do?
I cleaned it up Thursday and now it's Saturday
Symptoms:
Headache/sinus headache
Toilet more than usual
Tummy feels a little off but no loss of appetite


Please somebody reply soon.
I have no temp or anything and o2 levels are normal.

[Thoughts]

No, not carried by domestic animals, and the incubation period is 30 days so your symptoms are something else

[Fishmanpa]

Sorry about your pet :( Rats are cool animals and quite smart.

What you're describing with all due respect is irrational. It was your "pet". You cleaned up after it it's entire life. What's different now besides the obvious? Nothing... It's just dried "pet" rat poo. No different than dried "pet" rat poo that would have been in the cage.

Really... you can let this one go.

Psitive thoughts

[MyNameIsTerry]

No, not carried by domestic animals, and the incubation period is 30 days so your symptoms are something else

Hantavirus is carried by pets as well as wild rodents. Our HPA issued guidance on keeping pet rats due to a couple of such cases. It's rare though.

As long as the usual care has been taken, there should be no issue. The risk of contracting it was there all through the period it was alive and so it's irrational to only worry about it when dead, a pretty typical anxiety issue in that thinking is distorted.

Sorry to hear about your pet OP.

[Thoughts]

It is very rare for domestic rats to cause hanta. They also carry a lease deadly strain, not the one that causes HPS. In any event, symptoms take a long time to show. Not 24 hrs. I bet anything she doesn't have hanta. Hanta rapidly degrades in light too...like in minutes to hours.