DesertFox
11-24-2008, 05:23 PM
A new plague which jumps from rats to humans has been discovered by scientists.
Fears are growing that increasing numbers of brown rats - the most common kind in Europe - are carrying a strain of bacteria that can cause serious illness in humans from heart disease to infection of the spleen and nervous system.
The new strain of bacteria called Bartonella rochalimae is spread between rats by fleas, Taiwanese researchers have said.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/24/article-1088887-03BB80560000044D-675_468x324.jpg
Black Death: A brown rat, common in the UK, has been found carrying a new strain
of bacteria called Bartonella rochalimae, which is deadly to humans
More (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1088887/Scientists-discover-21st-century-black-plague-spreads-rats-humans.html)
Fears are growing that increasing numbers of brown rats - the most common kind in Europe - are carrying a strain of bacteria that can cause serious illness in humans from heart disease to infection of the spleen and nervous system.
The new strain of bacteria called Bartonella rochalimae is spread between rats by fleas, Taiwanese researchers have said.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/24/article-1088887-03BB80560000044D-675_468x324.jpg
Black Death: A brown rat, common in the UK, has been found carrying a new strain
of bacteria called Bartonella rochalimae, which is deadly to humans
More (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1088887/Scientists-discover-21st-century-black-plague-spreads-rats-humans.html)