| Abstract: | ![]()
Rat-bite fever, called "sodoku" meaning "rat-poison" (1) in Japan, is usually considered a rare and interesting disease contracted from thebite of an infected rat. In regions where careful investigations havebeen made, the causative organism, Spirillum minus, has been foundin a high percentage of rats (2). It is primarily a disease of rats,transmissible to other rats, to cats, dogs (3) and other rodents (4) andto man by their bite. T!ie comparative rarity of the disease can be accounted for by thefact that, under ordinary circumstances, men are only exceptionallybitten by rats. The factor of great importanceis the degree of infesta-tion of rats in a given locality. Considering the prevalence of theoffending organism among these rodents, rat-bite fever would probablydevelop in most instances following its bite. It is not surprising,therefore, that rat-bite fever has a wide distribution the world over |
