The Dangers of Rodent Infestations in Medical Facilities
A medical facility needs to be designed to limit further complications of diseases and infections. Hospitals are sensitive places where people battle debilitating conditions. As members of the administration, you need to provide an environment that’s safe and hygienic to these people. The health of your patients is your responsibility, after all.
That means that your medical facility can’t afford a pest infestation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rodents can spread as many as 35 diseases!
Let’s see what they are and how they affect hospitals:
Contamination of food
The food that’s cooked in the hospital kitchen has to be free of toxins and harmful ingredients, since it’s specially cooked for patients. However, your kitchen is highly susceptible to rodent infestations if there are stores of food lying unattended and uncovered.
These rodents will either eat up the food or contaminate it to a point where it’s unfit for human consumption. The Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, for example, affects individuals if they come in direct contact with rodent droppings.
This condition is characterized by fevers, muscle aches, fatigue, and dizziness. Even your hospital staff can catch these symptoms if they breathe in air that has been contaminated by these droppings.
Rodents love meat and are naturally attracted to it. To keep the meat in your hospital kitchen safe from rodent droppings, keep all meat well-sealed and covered. Moreover, don’t use wooden boxes. Rodents know how to make their way into wooden structures, even chewing their way into them at times.
Transmission of diseases
Rodents and mice also act as vectors that carry diseases. A common example is Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome. This is a severe rodent-borne disease that affects people of all ages and is prevalent across the world.
The condition can be transmitted to someone, even if they’re exposed to the dust that rises from a rodent nest. Other common ways of transmission include rodent urine, saliva, and mucus.
Unlike the syndrome discussed earlier, this disease has more severe symptoms that can lead to kidney failure, vascular leakage, and acute shock. Hospitals, in particular, can’t afford to have such conditions spread across the facility. This can worsen the condition of patients or make them susceptible to further complications.
Other diseases spread by rodents include Lassa fever, Leptospirosis, Lymphocytic Chorio-meningitis (LCM), and Rat-Bite Fever.
Your hospital is an emblem of health, safety, and hygiene—we won’t let a couple of rodents affect a patient’s life. Hire a pest control company and save your hospital’s reputation before a few rodents mess it up. If your hospital is based in Ohio, contact Xterminator Pest Control. To book their services, either contact us online or give us a call at 1-800-948-7378.
