NEW FEARS ABOUT RATS
A UBC researcher says the rodents carry more diseases than previously known and ‘people should be worried’
UBC Assistant Prof. Chelsea Himsworth has discovered evidence indicating people should be “worried” about rats in their carports and bushes.
“When people look at rats, they should see them as potential sources of disease,” said Himsworth, who has been working on the Vancouver Rat Project since 2012. “People should be worried. Rat infestations should be taken seriously, both on a personal level and a municipal level.”
Himsworth said a Jan. 14 report released by the Rat Project uncovered new facts about the rodents.
She said rats carry more diseases than previously known; and, their guts act as “mixing bowls” in which microbes “trade genes” to create worse strains of drug-resistant diseases than existed beforehand.
“It’s a big discovery. We’ve blown the door open and shown previous thinking to be completely incorrect. Rats are able to absorb and transmit bacteria in their environment,” she said.
‘Significant death’
Typical diseases discovered were E. coli, the superbug MRSA and leptospirosis, a fever that has caused “significant death” in parts of the world. “We’ve only scratched the surface of what they can carry,” Himsworth said.
However, Dr. Reka Gustafson, medical officer for Vancouver Coastal Health, said the public has no reason to be concerned about the project’s discoveries.
Gustafson said one vital link is missing between rats and human health: No link has been established that rats are transmitting diseases to humans in Metro Vancouver.
“It’s a real stretch to say that rats are spreading organisms. The role of rats in transmitting diseases isn’t particularly likely to be important,” Gustafson said.
The project’s four-year study has focused on 725 rats trapped in Downtown Eastside alleys in 2011. They were found near dilapidated buildings and places where garbage was strewn. Himsworth said humans living in those environments, such as the homeless, are particularly at risk.
‘Reduced health status’
“They are people with reduced health status, which makes them more vulnerable,” Himsworth said. “They’re not going to be able to afford to take care of a rat infestation themselves.”
She said alleys are problematic because that’s where people would come into contact with rat feces and urine, which can make them ill.
Himsworth admitted her findings run “counter to current health messages” but thinks authorities are being complacent.
Though there are no known cases of rats causing human sickness in metro, Himsworth said health officials are “operating on an outdated set of assumptions” about the animals. “People should be tested, where possible, to see if rats are the cause of their illness.”
Himsworth said municipalities aren’t collecting information to determine the size of populations.
Outbreaks have required pest-control measures at the Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, a YMCA childcare centre under the Burrard Bridge, Vancouver’s provincial courthouse on Main Street, New Westminster Secondary School and an East Vancouver neighbourhood.
Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang said neighbours in Renfrew-Collingwood have told him there’s “an explosion of rats in certain places.” Jang said the city recognizes there’s a problem and is trying to map “hot spots.”
Himsworth advised local municipalities to adopt rat-control programs such as those in New York. In 2012 in that city, 94,000 rat-“indexing” inspections were performed and bylaw inspectors issued tickets for properties found with rats.
No program exists to the same extent in Metro Vancouver. The city of Vancouver depends on information received from its 311 hotline. Vancouver spokesman Jag Sandhu said staff are preparing a report with information collated from all 2015 rat-related calls.
“Complaints largely stem from unkempt properties and improper garbage disposal. If residents are concerned, they should call 311,” he said.
Jang said the city doesn’t need an expanded program because tracking rats is covered under existing budgets.
Randy Celinksi, the owner of AAA Wildlife Control, said rat-related calls make up 80 per cent of the firm’s business in the fall and winter.
‘In the attics’
“We have five or 10 problems a day,” he said. “It’s amazing how many places have rats living behind walls and in the attics. Some people can’t handle it. They move out and stay in hotels. I have seen houses where rats chewed through the plastic water piping three times.”
The latest findings of the project will be published in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases in April.
“When people look at rats, they should see them as potential sources of disease. People should be worried. Rat infestations should be taken seriously, both on a personal level and a municipal level.” — University of B.C. Assistant Prof. Chelsea Himsworth of the Vancouver Rat Project