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Peter Martin considers the health problems posed by rats
Urban legend has it that you are never more than six feet away from a rat. While research ; suggests that rats are not nearly so prevalent as this, they are regularly encountered - dead and alive - by building control surveyors in the course of their work. As rats can carry a range of diseases, including the potentially fatal Weil's disease, it is important to take appropriate precautions when surveying.
In the UK the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus, is one of three commensal rodents; that is, creatures closely associated with human activities. Sewers, canals and rivers are prime brown rat habitats, as are run-down or derelict areas near readily accessible food sources, including takeaways and areas where rubbish has accumulated. Such is the rats' affinity with water that problems associated with them are compounded after flooding. They can - and do - live practically anywhere.
Infection
There can be few building control surveyors who have never come across a rat at some stage in their career. All surveyors should be aware that exposure to rat urine or water that is contaminated with it...