Rats Do Not Transmit Rabies Through Food Contamination
Rats and other small rodents (mice, squirrels, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, chipmunks) are almost never infected with rabies and have not been known to transmit rabies to humans through any route, including food contamination. 1
Key Evidence on Rodents and Rabies
Rodents Are Not Rabies Vectors
Small rodents are rarely infected with rabies and their bites almost never require rabies post-exposure prophylaxis. 1, 2
From 1990-1996, in areas where raccoon rabies was endemic, only 371 cases of rabies among all rodents were reported to CDC, with woodchucks accounting for 93% of these cases—making woodchucks the notable exception among rodents. 1
State or local health departments should be consulted before initiating rabies prophylaxis for rodent bites, but the overwhelming consensus is that rats, mice, and similar small rodents do not pose a rabies transmission risk. 1
Rabies Transmission Routes (None Involve Food)
How Rabies Is Actually Transmitted
Rabies is transmitted only when the virus is introduced into bite wounds, open cuts in skin, or onto mucous membranes through saliva or other potentially infectious material (such as neural tissue) from a rabid animal. 1
The primary route of transmission is through bites from infected animals, with carnivorous wild animals (skunks, raccoons, foxes) and bats being the most common vectors in the United States. 1
Nonbite exposures from terrestrial animals rarely cause rabies, though contamination of open wounds or mucous membranes with saliva from a rabid animal constitutes a potential exposure. 1
Food Contamination Is Not a Transmission Route
Contact with blood, urine, or feces from a rabid animal does not constitute a rabies exposure and is not an indication for prophylaxis. 1
The rabies virus is inactivated by desiccation and ultraviolet irradiation; if material containing the virus is dry, it can be considered noninfectious. 1
Pasteurization and cooking inactivate rabies virus; therefore, inadvertently drinking pasteurized milk or eating thoroughly cooked animal products does not constitute a rabies exposure. 1
Clinical Bottom Line
No rabies post-exposure prophylaxis is needed for potential food contamination by rats or any other animal. The virus does not survive environmental exposure in the manner required for foodborne transmission, and rats themselves are not rabies vectors. 1
The only scenarios requiring rabies prophylaxis involve direct inoculation of virus through bites, scratches, or contamination of fresh wounds/mucous membranes with saliva from a rabid animal—primarily carnivorous wildlife and bats in the United States. 1, 2