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Tag: rat bite fever

  • Infected Rat Bite Death: Is Rat Bite Fever Common?

    An infected rat is being blamed for taking the life of 10-year-old Aidan Pankey, and now his grieving parents are suing Petco. The rat was reportedly infected with streptobacillus moniliformis which causes what is commonly known as rat bite fever, according to Fox News.

    Aidan was rushed to the emergency room on June 11, 2013 and died hours later on June 12th. He was lethargic, pale, and complaining of severe stomach pain. He was barely able to walk.

    According to the Centers for Disease Control, Rat Bite Fever can be contracted from the bite or scratch, or simple handling, of an infected rodent such as a rat, mouse, gerbil, hamster, etc. It can also be contracted through contaminated water or food.

    The CDC says that Rat Bite Fever is underdiagnosed since it responds well to common antibiotics like penicillin and is hard to detect as it presents like common viruses and bacterial infections. They also say it is rarely fatal.

    Petco expressed condolences in a statement saying,

    “We are deeply saddened by the Pankey family’s tragic loss. The health and safety of people and pets is always a top priority, and we take the family’s concerns very seriously.”

    That doesn’t do much for the Pankey family who want to prevent this happening to anyone else’s child. They say that Petco should have had more information on the health of the rodents that they sell, and should have warned about the danger to children.

    “It’s a means to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” Family Attorney John Gomez said of the lawsuit. “Apparently there was some breakdown in procedures. They want tighter controls.”

    Although they know that no win in court will bring back their son, hopefully they can honor Aidan’s memory by reducing the chances of another family losing a child to Rat Bite Fever.

    “He was a bright, energetic, friendly, happy kid who actually had a prior rat, who was a female, and he had this idea in his young head of having his female rat get married,” Gomez said of Aidan.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Infected Rat Kills 10-Year-Old Boy

    Infected Rat Kills 10-Year-Old Boy

    A ten-year-old boy tragically died from rat-bite fever. Aidan Pankey was a healthy, happy child who adored his pet rat named Oreo and wanted her to have a family of her own. Aiden purchased a black male rat called Alex from a San Diego Petco in order for his beloved Oreo to have babies. Aiden’s grandmother, Sharon Pankey, spoke about the bond between owner and pet that was special for Aiden and Oreo. “He’d pop her on his shoulder and that little rat would hang on. It was like she was saying, ‘All right! Let’s go dad,’” Sharon said.

    Aidan was excited about the prospects of Oreo having babies and wasted no time sharing this enthusiasm with he grandmother. According to Sharon, “He said, ‘You know Grammy, when Oreo has babies I’m going to be grandpa and you’re going to be a great-grandma.’”

    When Aidan purchased Alex from Petco, he was not aware that the rat had rat-bite fever. Two weeks after purchasing Alex, Aiden became sick and tragically died a day after showing symptoms. Alex, the male Petco-purchased rat, was sent to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention where it took several months for the diagnosis to be determined.

    Oreo was also infected with rat-bite fever. “One of the things he loved most, his rat, ended up in him dying because the rat we bought, we found out later, had rat-bite fever,” Sharon said.

    The family is left devastated at the loss of the vibrant young boy who adored his pet Oreo. Aidan’s heartbroken father discussed his sorrow at losing the son he loved. “He was my family. I’m probably down 30 to 35 pounds since then. I don’t even get hungry. I just go until I pass out. It sounds bad but I just want him back,” he said.

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons