How commonly are humans infected?

[Thecuriosityinme]

Hello,
I’m curious as to how often, or how common it truly is for a 5 week old squirrel to contract, let alone pass an illness to a person? My daughter was taking care of a baby until we were able to find him a rehab center and I had to look at google and suddenly be flooded with “information” about all the illnesses they carry, so now I’m worried. It is as common or definite as Google says?
Thank you for your input.

[Spanky]

Most frequently the sites on the web spreading information about squirrel to human diseases are pest control companies trying to fear monger folks into using their services. Some even falsely claim that humans can get rabies from squirrels though there has never been a documented case of a human contracting rabies from a squirrel; squirrels are NOT considered rabies vector species (RVS). The vast majority of rabies in humans are a result of dog bites, so make sure your dogs and cats (...and the neighbors!!!) are vaccinated.



They'll also list things like Lyme disease, which a squirrel can get, but the squirrel is infected from a tick bite (the same way humans get the disease).

Bottom line it is not very common at all, in fact it is rare for people to contract a disease from a squirrel. Having said that, proper precautions are always necessary like handwashing after handling a squirrel, keeping them parasite free (and treating for parasites when warranted), etc.

[Thecuriosityinme]

Thank you!
That makes me feel so much better! You are right, I saw “Orkin” and “critter control” (or something like that) as the reference site on some of what I was reading, so that totally makes sense.
Again, thank you!