An elderly man was rushed to hospital after being bitten by a rat he found lurking in his toilet bowl.
The unnamed 76-year-old man, from Montreal, Canada, had two of his fingers bitten by the rodent as he attempted to fish it out of the loo.
He was given a tetanus jab by doctors and sent home, but started experiencing fever symptoms 18 days later.
After also enduring headaches and abdominal pain, he returned to the doctors where they found his blood pressure was low and his heart was beating extremely fast.
Initial blood tests showed that his kidneys were damaged and that his blood had a low number of platelets — the fragments of cells that form clots to prevent or stop bleeding.
The man was admitted to the intensive care unit where doctors found he was suffering from multi-organ dysfunction and sepsis which can be fatal.
He was eventually diagnosed with a diseased called leptospirosis, believed to have been trasmitted by the rat bite.
The man was given antibiotics, as well as other treatments to address his kidney damage and low platelet levels. After a few days, his symptoms improved and he was discharged from the ICU.
People generally contract leptospirosis after coming into contact with the urine of infected animals or with contaminated soil or water.
The disease is commonly found in farm animals, but can also be spread by dogs and raccoons.
Although it is typically transmitted through bacteria making contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth, it can also enter the body through broken skin. Contaminated water can also lead to infection.
Those suffering from the disease often develop symptons such as fever, headache and muscle pain, which can later lead to vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and a skin rash.
Despite most cases being easily treated with antibiotics, approximately 10percent of cases become severe and can lead to multi-organ dysfunction and death.
