"One thing domestic rats do get, and which they might be able to pass on to you, is ringworm, which they may arrive with or catch from e.g. hay at any time. Watch out for scabs forming at the corners of the rat's mouth and under the chin. If you see any, treat as described in the section on infection (http://members.madasafish.com/~cj_whitehound/Rats_Nest/Norway_Rats/HealthTips/infections.htm) , and don't cuddle the rat too closely until the problem has cleared up.
"Ringworm in humans usually manifests as a roundish red patch of little blisters. If you do catch ringworm from your rat, don't panic - any decent chemist will sell you an ointment which will clear it up in about 2 weeks. Nor is this problem specific to rats: most mammals can get ringworm, and a lot of them can pass it on (I once caught it from a rabbit)."
Dip them in anti-fungal or anti-mite preparations to clear skin conditions. Doing a search brings up Dermacloth for animal, Neem Ringworm Package for people...there's alot out there for treating ringworm in humans when i did a search.
More for animals: There are a number of drugs…topical and systemic…which are useful for treating clinical ringworm infection in individual animals (usually cats). The vaccine can alleviate the clinical signs BUT does not eliminate infection!
In some instances, whole-body clipping, including the whiskers, may be desirable. Clipping removes infective spore reservoirs and allows for a more efficacious topical medication administration.
Animals must be at least four months old to receive the initial and subsequent booster immunizations. This vaccine has been shown to: reduce clinical signs of infection BUT does NOT eliminate organisms from the animal. Clinical improvement after vaccination may last eight weeks (i.e. up to two week following the last booster). Some animals, approximately 8%, will develop mild adverse reactions to the vaccine, ranging from local soreness to discrete nodules at the injection site. These usually resolve over a period of a few weeks.
Environmental contamination with infectious spores can be widespread. Spores, unfortunately, are extremely resistant to most disinfectant protocols, including dilute (1:100) bleach, chlorhexidine, phenolic and quarternary ammonium solutions. Bleach (e.g. Clorox) at 1:10 dilution has some ability to inactivate spores, but only about 20% or so.
Recommendations:
Thoroughly clean all hard surfaces, including floors, baseboards, heating registers and auto interiors to mechanically reduce the amount of infected material. If feasible, swab surfaces with 1:10 dilute bleach
Bedding, rugs, cages, litter pans, carriers and similar products are vacuumed, scrubbed, washed in hot water with detergent and 1:10 dilute bleach.
Vigorously and frequently vacuum or steam clean all carpets, upholstery and drapes (dry cleaning of drapes, if necessary)
Replace forced air furnace filters weekly.
Frequently groom rat to mechanically remove spores and to prevent the establishment of infection (or reinfection).
I would suggest a vet trip just to be on the safe side. Remember I was doing a search of vet sites and looking at my favorite rat sites.I don't proclaim to be a vet and I suggest you at least get the opinion of someone who is. You can find a list of rodent vets at http://www.rmca.org/Resources/vets.htm
