NewStats: 3,262,347 , 8,176,890 topics. Date: Sunday, 01 June 2025 at 09:56 PM 2f2u6i

This incident happened recently in Durban, South Africa. A woman went boating one Sunday taking with her some cans of coke which she put into the refrigerator of the boat. On Monday she was taken to the hospital and placed in the Intensive Care Unit. She died on Wednesday.

The autopsy concluded she died of Leptospirosis. This was traced to the can of coke she drank from, not using a glass. Tests showed that the can was infected by dried rat urine and hence the disease Leptospirosis.

Rat urine contains toxic and deadly substances. It is highly recommended to thoroughly wash the upper part of all soda cans before drinking out of them. The cans are typically stocked in warehouses and transported straight to the shops without being cleaned.

A study at University of Cape Town showed that the tops of all soda cans are more contaminated than public toilets (i..e.).. full of germs and bacteria. So wash them with water before putting them to the mouth to avoid any kind of fatal accident.

OK, thanks

this stuff is two years old

Leopantro:
this stuff is two years old

It may be since two years ago but its still very relevant today. If you think otherwise, simply ignore the thread instead of making sarcastic comment like the one you made above.

@op, thanks for sharing o jare. Personally i dont take canned drinks no matter the brand. I prefer plastic or bottled drinks and i dont drink from them directly because i have always discovered dirts and rust on the opening of the bottled drinks (especially Coke and Malta Guinness). I wipe off the opening of such bottled drinks with tissue paper and make use of a glass cup.

Two years old to you but some minutes old to others. I actually read it this night for the first time.

Leopantro:
this stuff is two years old

uboma:


It may be since two years ago but its still very relevant today. If you think otherwise, simply ignore the thread instead of making sarcastic comment like the one you made above.

@op, thanks for sharing o jare. Personally i dont take canned drinks no matter the brand. I prefer plastic or bottled drinks and i dont drink from them directly because i have always discovered dirts and rust on the opening of the bottled drinks (especially Coke and Malta Guinness). I wipe off the opening of such bottled drinks with tissue paper and make use of a glass cup.

lol.It's like you have never contemplated the health implications of your daily life. consider the buttons on an ATM machine; who might have touched it before you and where had his or her hands been before touching it. You eat meat or fish? flies have a field day on it; I wonder they might have been before touching it. the money you put in your wallet or pocket, a market woman or beggar might have hidden it in her armpit . You use a lavatory? hope you use a tissue to open the doors because people hardly was their hands after using the convenience.

I laughed because the possibility of getting leptospirosis is lower than getting malaria or food poisoning and it doesn't kill that fast; even Ebola doesn't kill that fast. The acute phase of illness lasts 5-7 days and is followed by a 1-3 day period of improvement before worsening. except she was very sick before getting infected but then she wouldn't have gone on a boat ride.

Google is your friend.

OK motigbo.

Leopantro:


lol.It's like you have never contemplated the health implications of your daily life. consider the buttons on an ATM machine; who might have touched it before you and where had his or her hands been before touching it. You eat meat or fish? flies have a field day on it; I wonder they might have been before touching it. the money you put in your wallet or pocket, a market woman or beggar might have hidden it in her armpit . You use a lavatory? hope you use a tissue to open the doors because people hardly was their hands after using the convenience.

I laughed because the possibility of getting leptospirosis is lower than getting malaria or food poisoning and it doesn't kill that fast; even Ebola doesn't kill that fast. The acute phase of illness lasts 5-7 days and is followed by a 1-3 day period of improvement before worsening. except she was very sick before getting infected but then she wouldn't have gone on a boat ride.

Google is your friend.

Google isnt my friend but a search engine.

Of course i am aware that there are germs everywhere. So reserve your sermon for your child.

Even if Leptospirosis doesnt kill that fast, the underlying message in the op's post is 'wash canned drinks first before opening the can'.

uboma:



Google isnt my friend but a search engine.

Of course i am aware that there are germs everywhere. So reserve your sermon for your child.

Even if Leptospirosis doesnt kill that fast, the underlying message in the op's post is 'wash canned drinks first before opening the can'.

don't have a kid so let the sermon continue

Detailed Analysis
The Leptospirosis Information Center dismisses this
emailed warning as fake.
Exposure to urine from infected rats and other
animals can indeed cause humans to contract
leptospirosis. However, the chances of someone
becoming infected in the manner described in this
email are extremely slim. An article about the
warning
on the LIC
website
notes:
First
seen in
2002,
these
emails
are
entirely
without
substance, and have been used to send spam, transport
viruses and simply to cause panic. The text of the
email varies, but the most common version we've seen
in 2005 is as follows:
[Copy of message similar to above example omitted]
The email evolves over time, and currently we are
seeing a rise in circulation in the USA, referring to
deaths in several states. If you receive one of these
messages, please delete it and ignore what it says. You
are more at risk of being hit by lightning while riding a
camel than contracting leptospirosis from a
commercial drinks container
The LIC article also states that:
Leptospira require constant immersion in water to
survive, and so drying of the surface for any length of
time would permanently kill the bacteria. Given that
drinking containers are non-porous, surface moisture
dries very quickly and cannot possibly contaminate the
contents.
The organisms that cause Leptospirosis can survive
outside the body of the original host, but only if
favourable environmental conditions are present.
An article on the Michigan Department of Natural
Resources website notes that:
The bacteria prefer moist, slightly alkaline soil,
stagnant ponds, and low-flow, slow-moving, slightly
alkaline streams. In these conditions the organism can
survive for several weeks.
Given these facts, it is highly improbable that
Leptospirosis bacteria could have survived on the
surface of the can lids long enough to infect the
alleged victim.

but cleaning the head of the can might help

Leopantro:


don't have a kid so let the sermon continue



but cleaning the head of the can might help

Of course, leptospirosis doesn't pose any major threat to any of us but that doesn't mean the message should be disregarded. Washing the top of the can or making use of a glass will help to prevent other possible infections too. Especially for kids.

my aim wasn't to ridicule the OP or his message. this email gets circulated quite a lot and most swallow it hook, line and sinker without ing the info. that was how the salt and Ebola episode started.

Please wash your cans or drink with a clean cup if you prefer