Leptospirosis Death Warning Hoax – Rat Urine on Soda Cans. Fact Check
Title image courtesy of Jared Belson.
A message urges readers to wash soda cans before consuming them because there is a risk that they may be contaminated with the leptospira virus that comes from either mouse or rat urine.
The message claimed that soda cans stored in warehouses are at risk of being exposed to rat urine and as such are potential harbingers of leptospira.
As example can be seen below –
IMPORTANT PLEASE READ: Do Not Delete this message until it is extended to others ..
On Sunday , a family picnic, brought with them few drinks in tin.However, on Monday, two family members( who joined the picnic) were admitted to hospital and placed in the Intensive Care Unit space.One died on Wednesday.
Autopsy results concluded it hit Leptospirosis. The bacteria, known as LEPTOSPIRA interrogans, is stuck to the tin cans, and were drunk, without the use of glasses, cups or sip straws. Test results showed that the soda tin was infected from mice urine, and that had dried, the mice’ urine containing Leptospirosis.
It is highly recommended to rinse the parts evenly on all soda cans before drinking it. Cans are usually stored in the warehouse and delivered direct to retail stores without cleaning.
A study shows that the top of all beverage cans are more contaminated than public toilets (full of germs and bacteria.)
So, clean it with water before putting it to your mouth in order to avoid contamination.
PLEASE SHARE FOR THE INFORMATION AND AWARENESS OF ALL,,ESP, YOUR LOVED ONES,
The warnings have been spreading online since 2002 and while leptospirosis is indeed a genuine affliction, these warnings have long been dismissed by relevant agencies. The Leptospirosis Information Center states –
First seen in 2002, these emails are entirely without substance, and have been used to send spam, transport viruses and simply to cause panic…
The email evolves over time, and currently we are seeing a rise in circulation in the USA, referring to deaths in several states. If you receive one of these messages, please delete it and ignore what it says. You are more at risk of being hit by lightning while riding a camel than contracting leptospirosis from a commercial drinks container.
And…
Leptospira require constant immersion in water to survive, and so drying of the surface for any length of time would permanently kill the bacteria. Given that drinking containers are non-porous, surface moisture dries very quickly and cannot possibly contaminate the contents.
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The rumours have been circulating for many years, and various warnings vaguely attribute incidents of such cases to various parts around the world, including the United States and Belgium, yet consistently fail to provide any verified cases or sources of infection matching the above description.
In reality, while washing soda cans before consumption may be a good idea given that you do not necessarily know what condition they were both stored and transported it, this is a warning with little substance and should not be circulated.
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