Forums Forums National News Well worth knowing for all who drink from cans

On Sunday a family went to picnic with a few drinks in tin cans. Monday, two family members were admitted to the hospital and placed in Intensive Care Unit. He died on Wednesday. Autopsy results concluded it was Leptospirosis. The virus was stuck to the tin cans and consumed, without the use of glasses / cups. Test results showed that the tin was contaminated because mice urinated on them, and then it dried. The urine contained Leptospira. I Highly recommend to rinse the parts evenly on all soda cans before drinking it. Cans are usually stored in the warehouse and delivered direct to retail stores without cleaning. A study shows that the top of all beverage cans are more contaminated than public toilets (full of germs and bacteria.)So, clean it with water before drinking in order to prevent this from occurring.

This is a hoax, been circulating in various forms since 1998!

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/raturine.asp
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/leptospirosis-soda-can.html
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_leptospirosis_coke_can.htm

Heard this so many times. Last one was rat piss in Cairo.

Perhaps better to delete this post then.

The story might be a phony but the risk is real. Watch back issues of the Food Inspectors on TV, enlightening.

Drinks cans always have plastic shrink wrapped around the pack of 24. So the risk must be minimal surely

Most are sold in packs of 4 aren't they? In which case all they have is the bit of plastic which kills wildlife if not cut up.

They are sold to the shops though by the case of 24 and then the shops then split them down I guess

Some sit on shelves, you must've seen them, and if they happen to have rodents in the premises then there is a risk. Can't be denied and it was filmed is what I'm saying. Just be aware. Obaviously if you buy packs of whatever with the plastic on then you are minimising the risk. On the programme the shops were shut down until they complied with food safety regs it didn't look like an urban myth to me.

Urban myth! BUT I personally wouldnt like to put my mouth directly onto an unwashed can anyway - yuk!

Urban myth it maybe ,but it is possible to contract Leptospirosis this way, usually blamed on rat urine, fishermen are other persons at risk from weils disease as it is more commonly known this disease can be tranmitted into open cuts or abrasions from water infected by rat urine, this is certainly not a myth and has happened.

you AND your pets can catch Lepto from ponds and rivers

http://www.canine-health-concern.org.uk/Leptospirosis%20Vaccines.html

In the UK

Deaths from Leptospirosis since 1996 - 3

Deaths in Bathtub in 2008 alone - 11

Best not get in the bath my friends. But drink from the can freely

I don't think anyone died on that cruise liner but they all felt like shoit. You don't have to die from something for it to be real and for you to suffer, it's quite a widespread illness. And that my friends is my last on this particular subject.