Toxoplasmosis and a little nasty mouse (Health)

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I am freaked out completely. We have a cabin on some land that we go to on most weekends. We know we have a mouse (I think just one, cuz of the few droppings we find), but he is a bratty little guy.

While we were sleeping he BIT my dh's finger. My dh flicked him off, he hit the wall and ran off. We know it was a mouse (though it was dark) because of the little indentions on his finger and what else could it have been. We heard the thump on the wall when he flicked him, and we've had mouse droppings. He did not break the skin (thankfully, cuz in S. Colorado the mice can carry the very deadly Hanta virus). Well, that disgusts me and majorly gave me the creeps.

Why in the *&%## would a little mouse bite. Could he be rabid? Or maybe he sniffed my dh's hand, he flinched and scared the mouse into biting him???? Is it normal for a mouse to bite? We don't know, but here's another thing.

I am newly pregnant and have just found out that mice carry a parasite called Toxoplasmosis. It is virtually nothing to an adult, but if a pregnant mom gets it, the unborn baby could die, or have severe brain damage.

Well, I cleaned up a few droppings the 2 times we have been down there since we found out I was pregnant. I didn't know they were diseased little creatures until this week, cuz of studying up on why a mouse would bite.

Cats are usually the animals pregnant women are to be leary of during pregnancy, but that is because they hunt mice. We have never had cats, so I am certainly not immune to Toxoplasmosis, and so I am kind of freaking out.

What do you know about this? I washed my hands, and either vacuumed or used a wet paper towel to pick up the droppings. But, the 2nd morning we were there, I didn't wash the countertop - it didn't cross my mind to soap it down and clean it cuz there were no droppings on it. But now I am paranoid, cuz what if he was on the countertop where I prepared food etc. I don't put the food directly on the countertop, but the plates and silverware sat on the counter and I touched them, then maybe put food in my mouth with my potentially contaminated fingers....aaahhhhhh, I could fret endlessly about this.

What do I do? What do you know? HELP.

Thanks.

-- andrea smith (a-smith@mindspring.com), August 16, 2001

Answers

Response to Toxoplasmosis and a little nasty mouse

I've been told by my doctors that the only way you can get toxoplasmosis from a cat is from cleaning the litter box. So, if you like cats, you might want to get one, and have your hubby do the cleaning. We have two indoor cats, and several barn cats, and we've never had a problem with mice.

Have you tried setting any mouse traps? Sounds like you definitely need to get rid of the nasty little critter! I'd be seriously creeped out if I thought there was a mouse joining my hubby and me in bed!

-- Cheryl in KS (cherylmccoy@rocketmail.com), August 16, 2001.


Response to Toxoplasmosis and a little nasty mouse

if your concerned about it,, clean EVRYTHING, with bleach, dishes,, countertop,, everythihng,, then set up some mouse traps,, a few,, baited differently,, cheese,, peanut butter,, cooked meat, ect. The critter problaby bite because DH had something on his hands that smelled good,, food maybe? Tell DH to wash his hands before bedtime from now on :)

-- STAN (sopal@net-port.com), August 16, 2001.

Response to Toxoplasmosis and a little nasty mouse

I wonder if maybe the critter that bit your husband was a shrew rather than a mouse. Shrews are about the same size, but smaller. I would guess that their dropings are about the same. Here are the differences: shrews have very little fear of humans. They will walk right up to you and meander around the house at night right under your feet. Their face is different. The biggest difference is that shrews are voracious meat eaters and cruise around constantly looking for something to eat. They eat mice, if it were a shrew, that would explain why there is only one. We have a LOT of mice here, and all my babies have turned out fine, and we have never been bitten by a mouse. We have had several shrews move in, and I was concerned about the possibility of their sampling one of the children for some fresh meat. They are interesting to watch, and very easy to catch in a trap as they are not skittish and fearful the way mice are. You could even kill one with a stick, shoe or something if you saw it meandering around the house.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), August 16, 2001.

Response to Toxoplasmosis and a little nasty mouse

And I must add because it sounds so disgusting that we are not filthy pigs. In fact, our cabin is kept very clean and whenever we leave it to come back home, we leave it emaculate. There is nothing for the little critter to possible eat, so why does he hang around? At night before we go to bed I make sure the kitchen is very clean, but maybe he wants us and not our food.

Just had to justify myself.

-- andrea smith (a-smith@mindspring.com), August 16, 2001.


Response to Toxoplasmosis and a little nasty mouse

Oy vey! Andrea, I don't think you're a filthy housekeeper. It sounds like you're a very nice, newly pregnant lady and you are worried about your baby. This is perfectly normal! Follow all the advice given and you'll be fine. As for mousie or whatever, get a trap and also check for any cracks and crevices he and his family might use to get in your cabin. Also, tell hubby to keep his hands under the covers! LOL!

-- Ardie from WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), August 16, 2001.


I think there is a test to see if you are immune to toxoplasmosis. Ask your Dr. or do some searching on the web. I could be wrong but I think it is a titers test.

Keep in mind those little critters don't care if your clean or dirty, shelter is shelter. Also, where there's one there's bound to be more as winter approaches. Get some traps, let hubby empty them.

For many of us who have worked around the barn for years, pregnant and otherwise (I prefer the otherwise at this point in life), we had healthy kids and were probably exposed to who knows what?? Try to keep a good perspective.

By the way, CONGRATULATIONS!

-- TAB (burnash@gisco.net), August 16, 2001.


A few years back a cousin and her family bought a farm/house in Mo. House had been empty for several years but extremely clean and tightly sealed. Anyway..the first night there after setting up the beds and getting a couple of towels out for bathing upon going to bed my cousin was to bitten by a mouse. She too flung him against the wall but was fortunate in that it did kill it. The following morning they were at the Health Dept. when it opened. The inspector sent the mouse away to be test for rabies (negative) and told them not to worry. The next week my cousin found out she was expecting and mentioned to the Dr. the bite (did break the skin) he too warned her of the same dangers that you mentioned but also warned about getting a cat. He advised to use the proverbial trap..they did caught 2 more..baby was fine and all was well...don't fret and stress out..more harmful than mouse..get a trap..

-- sandi (msjazt@aol.com), August 16, 2001.

Dear Andrea, try not to worry so much, people have been co-habitating with mousies for thousands of years and despite the plague, which was rats fault, not mousies, we all have gotten along just fine for the most part!

Don't blame your housekeeping on having mice, my house is immaculate and we have mice also, if you live in the country and anywhere near woods and fields, you will have a few mice.

The oldfashioned spring loaded traps work fine, and if you prefer the more humane approach, the little live catch tip-traps you get from the feed or hardware stores work well too, just check the trap often to release any caught mice, they are so small the mice get hot and sweaty in there!!! I put additional air holes in mine to prevent this, just used the drill to add a few more holes in the plastic trap. Be sure to carry the trapped mice far away from your cabin, I found they come back if I didn't haul them at least 1/4 mile away!

Hot soapy water will kill all the nasties that the mice can carry, wash all exposed surfaces frequently and you will be alright, the infinitesimally small chance of you catching anything from mouse contact is VERY remote with proper handling.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), August 16, 2001.


New Mommy worries , everything will be fine .Set some traps and get rid of them .I have some extra cats around now and we don't have a mouse problem any more .And last but not least no one thought you where dirty house keeper , mice will come in no matter how clean you are .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), August 16, 2001.

Andrea, If you are really worried about it you can have a blood test done. In fact if you have routine bloodwork done for your pregnancy it may be a part of what they test for - I know it was with me. One of my pregnancies turned up a positive for toxoplasmosis so I know how you feel. It turned out after a repeat test that I showed an immunity that was misinterpreted by the first test (it was a hairy wait to find out!) Anyway through the course of all this and the research I did, I learned that most people have an immunity to it if they have had cats or even if they haven't but have lived a country lifestyle which involves getting in the dirt (gardening etc...) Don't drive yourself crazy worrying. Get the blood test if it will ease your mind or ask your doc to add it to the routine bloodwork they do. Keep in mind though that an immunity can show up as an infection (as in my case). I'll say a prayer for you :-)

-- Amy (gshep@aeroinc.net), August 16, 2001.


Thank you for all the responses. I talked to my midwife and she too reassured me that the chances are so very slim. In her 21 years of midwifery she has never heard of anyone having a baby that had problems due to toxoplasmosis. I am relieved.

I will no longer be cleaning up after this critter (dh will), and we do plan to kill it. We bought traps, but we wouldn't be back for 2 weeks and we didn't want it rotting for that long in the house. So, the poor guy has til Labor Day.

I doubt I am immune cuz I have never really been around cats much - we are dog people. But, I have done a fair share of gardening in my life - so maybe I am. Oh well, I am done worrying.

Thanks again.

-- andrea smith (a-smith@mindspring.com), August 16, 2001.


Andrea,I have had cats for years and I am not immuned...My doctor basicly told me just not to clean out the litter box and to wear gloves when in the garden.All will be fine.. Oh yah yes you can have a blood test to see if you are or not immuned.

-- renee oneill{md.} (oneillsr@home.com), August 16, 2001.

Getting off the subject a bit. For PG. Women, Don't Eat Soft Cheese's I can't remember what bacteria it is that it has but it is very bad for the unborn baby!!!! Ask you doc. I saw it on 20/20 or one of those TV shows. They say most women havn't heard about it but should be told!!

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), August 17, 2001.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. You'll get all stressed out and that will be worse for your munchkin. When we lived in a trailer, one year we killed 60 mice over the winter before I stopped counting out of shock and despair. Mouses motto: Where there is a will there's a way. Anyway, I worried about TP and read up on it. What I remember is that the further along you are, the more chance of spreading it to baby BUT the less damage to him. The reverse is also true. Anyway, hope this helps. Do what is in your power to do and let everything else go. And... CONGRATS!!!!!!

Mrs G

-- mrs G (gunnar@yifan.net), August 17, 2001.


Andrea, as the others have told you, the odds are small that you will have any trouble with this incident.

I surely am not boasting, but I live in an area (Kentucky) in a cabin in the woods. The ticks have been really bad this year. As you know, the deer tick (the little black one) carries Lyme Disease. I have been bitten at least a dozen times this year. Deer cross my yard on the way to the spring. But I have not had Lyme disease. True, when I find one, I put him in reverse and then treat the bite with Neosporene, then three-percent spray iodine after that for a few days. Obviously, all deer ticks do not have Lyme Disease, nor do all mice carry TP. But, of course, you are only being a good mother by being concerned about it.

I do not eat any food with my fingers, after having spent a year in Korea,where rice patties have been spred with human manure for 5,000 years. I eat bread even, with a fork. I get stares sometimes in a fancy restaurant. But what do I care? It is part of my mission to bring humor to the dysfunctional eaters who do use their fingers. Guess that is near 100 percent of the people. When I was a young news reporter traveling a lot and eating in some of the worse places to be seen, I had colds all winter, despite attentiosn to diet, despite taking vitamins and sometimes flu shots. As a fuctional eater, it dawned on me that the mid-morning coffee break could easily infect Napoleon's army and that every cup no doubt had cold germs all around the rim. I never pick up a cup in my right-hand, since most people are right-hand and drink from that side of the cup. I have not had a cold in years. I drink from the left side of the cup and as we know, reducing my chances of picking up germs . If that sounds kookie, next time you wonder where you got a cold, call me and I will let you drink from the left side of the cup.

So Andrea, you see we can be too afraid of things.

All the best, and if you and your husband have trouble naming the baby, how about naming him 'Gordon?' A lovely Scots name, if I ever heard one.

-- Gordon Crump (hermit@duo-county.com), August 17, 2001.



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