What this seems to boil down to at this point is that because there are
a number of animals at that one location who are reported as having died
and IN CASE the GI upset the humans have is the same thing (and that is
still an unknown; losing so many loved animals at the same time would be
enough to cause those same symptoms in Steve and me from sheer sorrow)
there are several things which need to be done and none of them can be
done remotely:
 
1. Isolation is essential
2. Medical care and testing of all individuals of all species is
   essential
3. Reporting to the state veterinarian at the state health department
   (who is the one who will decide whether to report to the CDC, the
   USDA, or both) is not only the moral and medically logical thing to
   do, but in a number of areas it is a legal obligation upon all adult
   parties involved.
 
Now, there is something that does need to be pointed out: we really
don't know what is going on there and what is not going on there, or if
the humans reported at that location, or the rat reported at a different
location even have the same thing.
 
At this point what is found and the veracity of reports and conclusions
are dependent on reporting to the state health department and the area's
medical professionals.  If such things occur in any location there is a
moral, medical, and legal obligation by all individuals involved to
follow-up with the state vets if there are multiple animal deaths and if
there is a possibility of the humans having the same illness.  That is
the only way to get to the truth of this.
 
There are 3 pages of past discussion to be found on this topic at
http://www.smartgroups.com/message/viewdiscussion.cfm?
gid=1423922&messageid=12050
so if reading the discussion be sure to see all pages, please.
[Posted in FML issue 4745]