Can mice catch human colds?

by Snootietoots Wed 28 Sep 2016, 2:44 pm

I'm having trouble finding this out - is it possible a mouse can catch sickness from people? My whole family is sickly at the moment and I have just caught it as well. My mom is much better so would it be best for her to change his water and food instead, or am I fine?

by Peachy Wed 28 Sep 2016, 4:31 pm

I know there are a lot of conflicting answers to this, but the admin on the old forum always said mice couldn't catch things like colds from people. I've never gotten any of my mice sick, and they've never made me sick either, lol. I'd say it's okay to keep doing all your regular mouse stuff. Smile

by Snootietoots Wed 28 Sep 2016, 7:20 pm

Hmm, okay.. So I'll be cautious and try not to sneeze on him. Thank you very much!

by VoidThoughts Thu 29 Sep 2016, 8:38 am

As a rule of thumb you should probably wash your hands before handling your mouse's food and water anyway just for basic hygiene reasons.

I would not be surprised if your mouse could catch your cold. There's a reason that mice are so popular for medical studies and it's because their biology and genome is so similar to humans.

by CallaLily Thu 29 Sep 2016, 11:41 am

Most of what I'm seeing suggests they can not catch a cold from us, though I haven't found a definite reliable source. But I think even if there is a chance, as long as you're practicing good hand washing habits regularly like you should - both before and after handling your mice or working in their enclosure - you shouldn't have to worry.

by Peachy Thu 29 Sep 2016, 1:10 pm

It's interesting how there's no definite answer. I've seen definitely not, not likely, and definitely yes. Here's a list of zoonotic diseases, the viruses most often credited to the common cold aren't listed:
Can mice catch human colds? Screen10

Here's a couple more, just for fun...
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-zoonotic-diseases/list-of-zoonotic-diseases
http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/ehs/zoonotics/PocketPets.aspx

But I noticed that answers got a little more confusing when you changed your meaning of "zoonotic" from "diseases passed from animals to humans" to "diseases passed from humans to animals." Scratch

I did see that most sources say that most of the viruses that cause a cold are species-specific, though.

by scaredymouse Thu 29 Sep 2016, 10:43 pm

Most colds are viruses and viruses mutate. It's best to practice good infection control when handling pets. Wash your hands, cover your mouth when you sneeze, etc. Truth is most viruses are species specific until they aren't. Think of the bird flu or H1N1... i think it's best to always be careful.

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