Bite from toilet rat hospitalizes man in Canada

In an unusual new medical case, a man in Canada was hospitalized with a severe bacterial infection after being bitten by a rat that was lurking in his toilet.

The 76-year-old visited the emergency department at a hospital in Montréal, Quebec, after encountering a rat in his toilet bowl. He was trying to remove the rodent when the critter bit two of his fingers. At the emergency department, doctors gave him basic wound care, as well as a tetanus booster. 

However, about 18 days later, the man was back in the hospital having experienced fever, headaches and abdominal pain for several days. By this time, although his finger wounds had mostly healed, the man's blood pressure was low and his heart was beating very fast. 

Initial blood tests showed that the patient's kidneys were damaged and that his blood had a low number of platelets — the fragments of cells that form clots to prevent or stop bleeding. Doctors admitted him to the intensive care unit (ICU) as he showed signs of multi-organ dysfunction and sepsis, a dangerous phenomenon in which an infection sends the immune system into overdrive. 

Related: New species of bacteria discovered after man is bitten by stray cat

To uncover the cause of the man's illness, doctors took and analyzed blood and urine samples. These revealed that he had an infectious disease called leptospirosis, according to a report of the case, published in January in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. 

Leptospirosis, also called Weil's disease, is caused by bacteria in the genus Leptospira. Globally, it is the most common infection caused by germs that are transmitted between Animals and humans. Each year, more than 1 million cases of leptospirosis are reported worldwide, resulting in almost 60,000 deaths. Around 100 to 150 cases occur in the U.S. annually.